New York’s finest fro-yo

Really, I just like how people say fro-yo: a much cooler way to say frozen yoghurt, making it sound edgier and not at all like the low-fat alternative to ice cream. There are a few competing fro-yo chains here, but my cousin took me to the newest (and, according to most of the locals, the best) addition to the fro-yo scene here in NYC. It’s called 16 Handles, so can only presume they’re Molly Ringwald fans. Either that, or they are just very literal folk – there did appear to be 16 flavours of fro-yo.

I’ll let the creators explain what it’s all about, this “hands-on revolution”: 16 HANDLES is mixing things up and at the center of our frozen playground is you: an uncontainable, independent champion of your own taste. More of this, less of that—you want frozen yogurt your way and we’re all about it. With 16 rockin’ kosher certified flavors on tap daily, we provide you with a twisted canvas, your own fat-free backdrop of calcium, protein and probiotic goodness. At our mammoth toppings bar, you’ll find a world of possibilities, from wholesome berries to decadent sauces, that you handcraft into something uniquely yours. Welcome to the hands-on revolution.

16H — Some of the 16 handles of flavours (and one of the topping bars).

Basically, you get a cup and fill it with whatever flavours you like by pulling the handles. Then, you can go to the topping bars and add whatever toppings you like – healthy things like fruits and nuts; or badder things like candy corn, peanut butter cups and gummi bears. It’s pretty much what I imagine heaven to be like at dessert time, to be honest (although with ice cream handles, rather than fro-yo).

16H_handles — Some of the handles – I tried peanut butter, apple pie, coffee and birthday cake. I could only actually taste the apple pie.

16H_fruit — The fruit topping bar. I did take some maraschino cherries and chopped almonds.

16H_sweets — I promise that I only took little chocolate-covered peanut butter cups from here. And only because they matched the peanut butter fro-yo, of course.

So, the verdict: the consistency was fantastic and I really like the whole self-service concept and especially the topping bars. But the flavours weren’t strong, with the exception of the apple pie – which is maybe why they offer so many different toppings, so you can add flavour to the otherwise fairly tasteless low-fat fro-yo. Although that probably defeats the purpose, I guess. Anyways, I liked it and would definitely return, although the weather is starting to get chillier now so it feels more like time for ho-cho (that’s my cool new word for hot chocolate) rather than fro-yo.