Frozen yogurt: It's your choice

When you go to a serve-yourself frozen-yogurt shop to create your own concoction, you enter delectable yet dangerous territory.

Choices abound.

First, the size of the container. Options range from a 16-ouncer on up to - gasp - a 64-ounce bucket.

The frozen yogurt comes next. Depending on the shop, you could find yourself standing mesmerized in front of up to 18 flavors, mulling over which ones and how many to dispense into your dish.

After that, it's on to the toppings - sauces, candies, nuts, fruit, frostings and cookies -where some places offer upwards of 50 options.

While serve-yourself frozen yogurt is relatively new to Tucson, there are more than a dozen shops today. Why so popular?

"People like to be in control," says Douglas Carr, who founded BTO Frozen Yogurt and opened his first one in 2009 in the foothills.

Today he owns two BTO shops in town. "It's the idea that you can get just a little bit and you can put multiple flavors in there. They can get exactly what they want."

BTO keeps recipes for about 120 flavors - from New York Cheesecake and Pistachio to Taro, Creamsicle and Churro. There are two other BTOs in Tucson and four nationwide that are licensed to others.

A regular at BTO Speedway, James Nelson has his routine down pat. The reed-thin construction worker typically starts by putting three to five toppings on the bottom of the dish before filling it to the top with two or three flavors of yogurt.

"That way they don't spill over when it gets full," said Nelson, 26, who gets self-serve yogurt once a week.

Others layer toppings in between flavors of yogurt, while some go old school-style and heap them on top.

Seven-year-old Brianna Strum recently swirled in some Tahitian Vanilla, followed by a dollop of Piña Colada.

She and her mom, Lisa Strum, recently stopped into Kona Beri Frozen Yogurt for a midafternoon snack.

When they finished sprinkling toppings on their yogurt, they lugged them up to the cashier and placed them on a scale.

Most Tucson-area shops charge 39 to 46 cents an ounce. Like most shops, Kona Beri doesn't charge for the container weight.

The Strums' total: $11.32.

"It's not cheap, but it's healthier than regular ice cream and it's really good," said Lisa, 35.

At Kona Beri, employees greet customers with a jaunty "aloha." Hawaiian messages on the yogurt machines, bright tropical colors and Hawaiian music make the shop an inviting place.

Kona Beri owner Ed Shapiro and his wife, Debbie, owned an east-side Baskin-Robbins for 20 years, so they're familiar with the frozen-dessert business.

"I think the self-serve is really the way people want it," Ed said. "They can have three blueberries instead of five."

Five of our favorites

BTO Self Serve Yogurt

BTO Cortaro, 8295 N. Cortaro Road, 395-2710 (opened July 2009).

BTO Speedway, 2721 E. Speedway, 300-5008 (opened June 2009). Starting Aug. 1, this location will open at noon daily.

BTO Sunrise, 6860 E. Sunrise Drive, 299-5300 (opened February 2009).

BTO Thornydale, 9725 N. Thornydale Road, 395-0622 (opened February 2010).

• Hours: Vary by location, but open at 11 a.m. daily.

• Owners: Founders Douglas Carr and Eric Grossman own the shops on Cortaro and Sunrise. Other shops are licensed out.

• Price per ounce: 39 cents.

• Flavors: 12-16.

• Toppings: About 40.

• Our favorite topping: Chocolate-covered sunflower seeds.

• Cool flavor: Plain Tart.

• Specials: On Tuesday nights, bring your dog to BTO Sunrise and sit on the patio. From 5 p.m. until closing, your pooch gets a free treat and everyone with you gets a 10 percent discount.

Karaoke starts at 8 p.m. Wednesdays at Sunrise.

The City Yogurt

1217 W. Irvington Road, 741-1549 (www.city-yogurt.com).

• Hours: 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. Mondays-Thursdays; 10:30 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays; noon-10 p.m. Sundays.

• Owner: Debbie DeLuca.

• Price per ounce: 39 cents.

• Flavors: 14.

• Toppings: At least 26.

• Our favorite topping: Chocolate rocks.

• Cool flavor: Red Velvet Cake.

• Specials: Military, students and seniors get 10 percent off.

• Etc.: Opt for a waffle cone or waffle bowl for 75 cents more.

Shop also sells small cupcakes and cheesecakes from The Cheesecake Factory ($1.75-$1.99).

Kona Beri Frozen Yogurt

9155 E. Tanque Verde Road, 749-4922 (www.konaberi.com).

• Hours: 10:30 a.m.-10 p.m. daily.

• Opened: April 2010.

• Owners: Ed and Debbie Shapiro.

• Price per ounce: 46 cents.

• Flavors: 10.

• Toppings: About 40.

• Our favorite topping: Mochi, a Japanese gummy circle that has a sweet rice flavor.

• Cool flavor: Cupcake.

• Specials: Two organic flavors for dogs - papaya/peanut butter and banana/peanut butter - made by Yoghund of California cost $2 for a small cup.

On Fridays, wear aloha attire or a flower in your hair for 10 percent off.

Military personnel get 10 percent off.

Orange Leaf Yogurt

7725 N. Oracle Road, 382-3113 (orangeleafyogurt.com).

• Hours: 11 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 11 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

• Opened: May 2010.

• Owners: Sasha and Alisandra Flores.

• Price per ounce: 39 cents.

• Flavors: 14.

• Toppings: About 40.

• Our favorite topping: Almond slivers and chunks of Baby Ruth.

• Cool flavor: Blueberry Cheesecake.

• Specials: Mom Mondays gets moms $1 off. On Wednesdays, students with ID get $1 off. From 9 p.m. to close daily, everyone gets 10 percent off.

• Etc.: A kids' area has a kid-level flat-screen television and a stuffed-animal machine.

The squared-off, shovel-like spoons are great at scooping up the excess yogurt at the bottom.

U-Swirl Frozen Yogurt

3587 E. Broadway, 955-4556 (www.uswirltucson.com).

• Hours: 10 a.m.-10 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays; 10 a.m.-11 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays.

• Opened: July 5.

• Owner: Russell Foulk.

• Price per ounce: 39 cents.

• Flavors: 18.

• Toppings: More than 50.

• Our favorite topping: Fresh-baked Otis Spunkmeyer cookies.

• Cool flavor: Strawberry lemonade.

• Specials: Military and seniors get 10 percent off with I.D.

Keeping track

The combination of large containers and scores of options make it all too easy to create a calorie bomb.

Yet store owners are quick to tout the health benefits of frozen yogurt.

You just have to pay attention.

• Many flavors hover in the 100-calorie range for a four-ounce serving and contain a fair amount of calcium.

• Read the nutritional info for options that are fat-free or low fat, cholesterol free or low in sodium.

• Stores also carry gluten-free and sugar-free flavors.