Treat Yourself: Berry Austin

Berry Austin is the definition of Austin food culture. Here's the odd thing though--its a frozen yogurt shop. Yes, yes, you may be thinking of Amy's Ice Cream, but Berry Austin certainly gives it a run for its money.

When you walk inside, there are at least five or six people, regardless of the time of day and season. Murals cover the walls, and there are a few guitars upon which there are a number of guitars made from welded license plates and hundreds of old CD's and records. The tables are made by covering a number of odd, everyday items (like puzzle pieces and marbles) with a layer of clear plastic...and yes these (as well as the awesome guitars) are for sale. The effect is mesmerizing. So mush so that they have devised a Scavenger Hunt for the items across the walls. This is actually quite difficult, and takes, on average, between ten and twenty minutes to complete. If you do well, they have a leader board behind the register so all your friends will see your time. As a matter of fact, I hold the top spot for the twosomes (and that is actually true :) ).

All this, and I haven't even mentioned the yogurt. It is fantastic. There are all the everyday flavors like chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet cake--but they change the other flavors daily--so it will be different the next time you eat there. The specialty flavors include things like coffee, mango, berry berry, kiwi, guava and many more! They are wonderful--but even better are the toppings. Unlike ordinary restaurants where you are charged by topping, Berry Austin charges by the weight of the yogurt and the toppings--so you can have as many as you want. Basically they give you a bowl and you add all the frozen yogurt and toppings yourself (don't get carried away!). The toppings aren't ordinary toppings--ooooh no. They are everything from cereal, to cheesecake, from brownies, to chunks of fruit, and even (my personal favorite) Mochi--which is a Japanese rice cake that is a bit like a marshmellow (they have those too).

Mochi (tastes better than it looks)

All in all you would be hard pressed to find a restaurant with as much Austin culture as Berry Austin (which for the record, is better than Amy's by quite a bit, despite being less well known).