Thursday, March 24, 2011

Bluff City Vegan Eats: Yolo

Frozen yogurt is all the rage in the Memphis foodie circles these days, but I've not paid much mind to the trend seeing as how yogurt is not vegan. When a new Yolo, a local chain of frozen yogurt shops, opened in Midtown, I thought nothing of it. What could they possibly have for me?

Well, turns out Yolo not only sells yogurt, but they also make their own gelato. And where there's gelato, there's usually also sorbetto (a fancy word for dairy-free sorbet). A co-worker told me Yolo carried a few fruit sorbettos, so I checked it out for myself. When I was there yesterday, Yolo Midtown had two options — Orange Sorbet (in the self-serve yogurt machine) or Lemon Sorbetto (from the gelato case). Always a fan of anything lemony, I opted for the latter:


This was a small scoop, really the perfect size for one person. The lemon sorbetto is creamy and tangy with just the right sweet-to-pucker ratio. Far tastier than my usual Ciao Bella Lemon Sorbet from Whole Foods.

Now for the bonus. The new Midtown Yolo shop is also home to Lady Bugg Bakery, a local producer of made-fresh-daily sweet treats. Turns out Lady Bugg Bakery always keeps at least one vegan dessert in stock. Today, they were offering these Vegan Chocolate Spice Muffins:

Imagine Mexican hot chocolate in moist muffin form. That's what these muffins taste like. They're also flecked with chocolate chips because you can never have too much chocolate.

I'm so proud of Yolo and Lady Bugg for offering up delicious vegan desserts. Unless you make 'em in your own kitchen, vegan sweets in Memphis can be hard to come by.

Yolo/Lady Bugg Bakery is located at 6 S. Cooper St. Call 901-343-0438.

14 comments:

vegan.in.brighton said...

Oooh that looks like a good muffin. I'm going to be going on a hunt for vegan gelato in my city when the weather gets warmer.

Anonymous said...

Thanks for clearing up the sorbotto thing for me. I tried it for the first time in las vegas after i was told it was vegan. It was strawberry and awesome, but i stopped eating it because i thought it was too rich and creamy not to have dairy in it. Guess I should have kept licking. :)

The Chubby Vegetarian said...

Are you driving, eating, and taking a photograph?

Bianca said...

Haha! Justin, I drove down to Overton Park and ate the sorbotto in my car. I was parked when I took that picture.

Anonymous said...

Awesome! I had no idea sorbetto was dairy free

Debra said...

The sorbetto looks amazing!
Blessings, Debra
Raw Vegan Diet

Sheridan said...

Oooooh! Next trip to Memphis, I know where we are going! Can't wait to see you tomorrow best friend!

Leslie Richman said...

Very cool finds :)

Kari said...

Those both look really delicious. I ignore frozen yogurt places too, but maybe I'll start keeping an eye out for some sorbetto.

Unknown said...

I love the shot in the car (with the mirror and all). Don't know if you planned it but it worked out great. Awesome that those two places have vegan options that are good. I'm always weary when a bakery says they have vegan options because it doesn't always work out how it should.

Unknown said...

Recently I wrote a blog entry offering a leftist critique of the ideology of “Green” environmentalism, animal rights activism, and lifestyle politics in general (veganism, “dumpster diving,” “buying organic,” etc.). I’d be interested to hear your thoughts on the matter and any responses you might have to its criticisms.

Mihl said...

Lemon sorbet is my favourite sorbet! How funny and awesome that vegan sorbet has its own word. Over here I always have to ask.

Kelsey Ann said...

yea id be sold with the idea of mexican hot chocolate made into a scrumptious muffin form!! <3

chefbugg said...

so glad you enjoyed the muffin. you should come in and try our vegan banana nut muffins, i added chocolate chips this last time. heaven!!- heather