Welcome new readers...! And some information for current (but not forgotten) readers!

Hey everyone! I just wanted to inform current readers, and give a quick welcome to anyone being directed here from la.foodblogging.com! I am now a "guest writer" on one of the best food resource websites pertaining to LA...I sure use it a lot to scope out places to eat, and I wanted to contribute back to one of the sites that inspired me to do this blog.

So concurrently, there will be new postings on both sites, but the bulk of my posts will still originate from this blog, and not everything that I put up on this blog will go to la.foodblogging (gotta keep it fresh, right?)

So, strap in tight and please keep enjoying my food adventures throughout LA and beyond!

Fiore "Natural Italian Yogurt"
Little Tokyo, Downtown LA

Getting into the whole "natural yogurt" fad is Fiore, on the coattails of the success of Pinkberry (which I admit, still haven't been there!). A revolution in frozen yogurt? This I had to experience for myself. Stopping by the Japanese Plaza area I frequent fairly often, Fiore was quickly remodeled from a tacky souvenir shop that used to hock cheesy backpacks and California postcards (or is that the place next door?? Perhaps they combined to make UBER tacky shop with stuff for tourists.) I appreciated the redesign, as the space was suited to a more modern look - clean lines, candy colored chairs, mod couch.

I even like the signage.Note the minimalist wall decor.

This place was hopping with people, and a line that stretched to the door. Unfazed, we waited, and the line moved swiftly. Once reaching the front of the line, I saw all the delicious fruit that was laid out for possible toppings - all of them looked fresh. I quickly made my choice:

A small green tea yogurt with blueberries. These blueberries...were amazing. Not a sour berry in the bunch, bursting with that fresh fruit taste that you can only really get with good quality fruit. The yogurt, however, was in my opinion, lacking. It was refreshing enough with a sour tang- but as my friend Ryan stated, "It tastes exactly like guacamole." And it really did. Cold frozen guacamole. It wasn't exactly unpleasant but I will probably never choose to get this flavor again.
Ryan's guacamole, I mean green tea yogurt with white chocolate chips. I'm not a fan of white chocolate (too sweet, no chocolate meat!), but oddly enough, the white chocolate chips made this taste even more like avacado chunks. I highly disapprove unless you enjoy sweet things that are supposed to be flavored like things that go with tortilla chips.
Amber's smoothie was highly recommended by her - and since I don't drink smoothies (I know, a weird hangup...my explaination - I don't like drinking thick liquids. Do I have to use a spoon or a straw...why is it diffucult to use either while trying to consume this...yep. So I don't drink smoothies.) I think this smoothie contained some of the natural frozen yogurt, raspberries and strawberries.
Dean's frozen yogurt was by far the prettiest. The pleasing kiwi slices, bursting-with-freshness blueberries and the succulent raspberries gave a great color medley to look at before devouring it.

I haven't tried Pinkberry yet (I'm slow on the craze, I know!) but if natural yogurt is the "must try" new thing I think Fiore did a decent job. I love the fresh fruit, and wished they had the same quality standard at other frozen yogurt places. The yogurt itself was not something I crave - just a little too sour for my taste. If I had a choice of my favorite frozen yogurt from The Bigg Chill or these new fangled yogurts - I'd choose old faithful, Bigg Chill.