Photos by Evie Carpenter
Location and Hours:
4700 N Central Ave
Phoenix, Ariz. 85012
602-264-8010
Mon. – Thurs., Sun. | 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Fri. – Sat. | 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
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I’ve frequented several frozen yogurt shops, and am generally willing to pay a little too much for the delicious treat. My recent frozen yogurt adventure took me to Twirl Frozen Yogurt on Central Avenue just south of the Camelback Road and Central Avenue light rail station. It was nostalgic of the recent chill but not nearly as cruel.
Food: 28/30
The frozen yogurt at Twirl was delicious. There were ten flavors, all either non-fat, low-fat, non-dairy or had no sugar added.
I chose the classic Original Tart with strawberries, kiwi, blackberries, mochi and Fruity Pebble toppings. This turned out to be a fantastic idea. The fruity toppings balanced out the tartness well. But by the time I reached the bottom of the frozen yogurt, I was out of fruit to balance out the flavors. The tart was lacking without the colorful toppings.
One of my companions had a sweet tooth. She tried the Cookies and Cream and Cake Batter fro-yo mix topped with Sour Patch Kids, a single gummy worm, gummy bears, a brownie and strawberries for a healthy touch. The Cookies and Cream was perhaps too sweet to eat alone, but the Cake Batter was nice and the toppings were fresh.
Another pal of mine indulged in a Milk Chocolate and Praline combination with a caramel and white chocolate drizzle, chocolate sprinkles, white chocolate chips, peanut butter cup pieces and a whole Twix bar. My taste buds danced when I tasted this. The flavors worked well, especially with the toppings. The Praline was a little overwhelming at times, but the Milk Chocolate calmed it down.
With the amount of yogurt I piled on, I expected it to cost $8 or more. I anxiously watched the bowl weigh in, and was happily shocked when the price was around $5. I was relieved to discover that an ounce of yogurt only costs $0.40.
Service: 26/30
I wouldn’t say the employee was bursting with joy behind the counter, but there were no problems when paying for the yogurt. He even did me the courtesy of ignoring my excited exclamation over the price of the yogurt with bored indifference. The facilities were clean without any messy fruit or yogurt laying about. The toppings were all fresh and immediately refilled when low.
Atmosphere: 22/30
The overall look of Twirl was an appealing mix of wood, concrete and random antiques, including a typewriter. One corner had a living room theme with carpet, a couch, chairs and an old TV set constantly to static.
The seating options were surprisingly limited, especially given the amount of open space. Inside seating consisted of one large table, two bars with stools, and the living room area’s couch and chairs. The arrangement and size of the furniture created large distances between people. The only places two friends could sit and have an intimate conversation without shouting to each other were the bars and couch.
Big windows and a garage door with window panels provided plenty of natural light and an excellent view for people-watching on Central Avenue.
Behind the cashier counter, a chalkboard was decorated with Twirl’s slogan, “Making the world a happier place one cup at a time,” a drawing of Peter Pan and other fun items like the Twirl Facebook and Twitter pages. The flavors were written on chalkboards above the corresponding yogurts.
The music was generally quality indie songs. But an occasional song from another genre would pop up. I would be tapping my foot to Miike Snow’s “Animal” or MGMT’s “Electric Feel” one moment, then find myself shamelessly singing along to Kelly Clarkson’s “Stronger (What Doesn’t Kill You)” the next. But the surprise music changes were startling and disrupted the flow of normal conversation as everyone puzzled over the song choice.
Wildcard: 10/10
It’s a shame when I can’t eat my frozen yogurt and browse the web at the same time. Thankfully, that is not a worry at Twirl. This joint gets major points for boasting free wifi and having the password conveniently displayed on the aforementioned chalkboard.
Final Score: 86/100
Contact the reporter at danika.worthington@asu.edu
