The Big Muddy Ice Cream Blog

Man, what a crazy week this has been. I've done a lot of going out with friends, because that's the life of a graduate student in the summer! Take advantage of the free time while you've got it. And by free time I simply mean a schedule even more flexible than normal, but just let me pretend that the Netflixing and going out I've been doing is warranted. However, not a lot of my going out has involved ice cream eating, so I feel like my reviews have been coming a little slowly as of late. Luckily, one night this past week included going to Yotopia after getting dinner with some friends! The main purpose of this trip was to convince one of my friends that Yotopia is way better than Aspen Leaf. I got quite a few eye rolls as I expounded upon the wonders of the local dairy and no powdered mixes used to make Yotopia's froyo, but then again, the taste of Yotopia's froyo speaks quite nicely for itself. It's a little heart breaking that they misspelled "l...

Alright, folks, you've got a short and sweet review coming your way. I went to Yotopia with a friend this past Friday evening, and not surprisingly, it was very crowded. Right after we walked in, like three very large groups walked just after us. Normally I take my sweeeet time deciding on what froyo flavors and toppings I want, but when feeling pressured by other impatient customers, I get panicked. I definitely felt my friend and I were being glared at so I rushed through my process and totally forgot what Yotopia flavors I'd already tried. I ended up getting two flavors I've already reviewed, Chocolate and Strawberries and Cream. But there was a seasonal flavor, Georgia Peach, that caught my eye and I ended up getting some, which was a fabulous decision. The peach is down at the bottom of this picture. I very much enjoyed this flavor. I was surprised by how strong the flavor was. But I really shouldn't have been because Yotopia knows what they are doing. It w...

So much yogurt excitement. This past week was all of the round 2 match ups for Yotopia's March Madness. Since this isn't actually my day job (and oh how at times I wish it was), I really did not have time to go to Yotopia everyday these past few weeks to try all 12 of the March Madness flavors. But luckily, two of the flavors I thought sounded the most exciting, Chai Tea Spice and Taro Root, won their first round match ups, so I had another chance to try them during the second round. Taro on the left, Chai on the right! Wednesday afternoon, Charlie and I walked over to Yotopia to try the March Madness flavors. Again, I filled up on the March Madness flavors and limited my toppings so I could make a good decision about which was better. Reviewing froyo flavors is one thing, having to definitively decide one flavor is better than other is super tough. I'll start with the Taro Root. Charlie was super excited about the Taro Root and liked it because he said it was...

For many people, March is one of the best months of the year because of March Madness. Now that I live in Iowa, I would count myself among this group. And no, this is not because of the basketball tournament, seeing as Iowa was trounced by Villanova in the second round. The reason I, as an Iowa resident, now love March is because Yotopia has their own March Madness. I topped my froyo kiwi, strawberries, and butterscotch chips, which went great with the Bourbon Caramel. But I mostly ate the toppings separately from the froyo so I could truly appreciate and evaluate the flavors! Every two days, Yotopia is having two battles between two flavors. They started with a total of twelve flavors, Irish Mint vs. Irish Cream Cupcake, White Chocolate Raspberry vs. Cherry Vanilla, Taro Root vs. Honey Lavender, Chai Tea Spice vs. Ginger Lemongrass, Hibiscus Guava vs. Peach Tea, and Nutella vs. Bourbon Caramel. The first two match ups passed and I didn't get a chance to try them and Yotopi...

So far, late fall in Iowa City has meant temperatures in the mid 30s to low 50s. Even thought I know I am terribly, terribly wrong, I'm currently pretending winter in Iowa City will resemble late fall. With this current delusion of mine, I am fully embracing winter and getting on board the peppermint frozen dairy train. My class on Tuesdays gets out at 6:20, but the next bus I can catch doesn't come until 7. I'm a terribly stereotypically midwesterner, and if I don't get dinner by 5:30 at the latest, I'm a famished wreck. This past week, I did not pack enough snacks, so after my Tuesday class I was starving. As opposed to hangrily doing work in my office for 40 minutes, I decided to go to Yotopia. Best life decisions involve frozen dairy. Although my fruit concoctions at Yotopia have been fabulous, it is far past time I make a desserty concoction, so seasonal peppermint it is! I decided to pair the peppermint with classics chocolate and vanilla. I topped my ...

Ice cream is best served in EXTRAVAGANZA form. And when you put me and Madeline in the same city for more than one day (which doesn't happen nearly enough and not just for ice cream reasons), there is bound to be an ice cream EXTRAVAGANZA!! This past weekend, Madeline came to visit me in Iowa City. I haven't lived here long, and I basically never go out, but I was at least more than capable of showcasing the best ice cream in Iowa City (and Iowa, in general).  Madeline was here for Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday through mid afternoon, so there are obviously three parts to this mega-post. Part 1: Yotopia Okay, yes, we should have called this a frozen dairy dessert EXTRAVAGANZA, but that doesn't roll off the tongue quite like Iowa Ice Cream EXTRAVAGANZA! (Lets play a game. How many times can I write EXTRAVAGANZA IN ALL CAPS before I alienate all of our Dearest Readers??) (Madeline's note: at leas 10,000 times.) But Yotopia is such a central fixture to Iowa Ci...

I've got to say, I am proud of myself. I'm smoking through the Iowa City frozen dessert offerings. This past Friday, I visted Yotopia with a local fan (can I use that word?) of the blog. Thus, I participated in #FroYoFriday. By which I mean I ate froyo on a Friday, but I did not partake in any social media. It would have required me to take my attention away from my froyo for like 30 seconds and that's way too much time. I have been reviewing a lot of froyo shops as of late, so if you aren't familiar with my 8 step review process for froyo shops, you need to get it together. Please spend more of your life reading my blog and less time doing important, productive activities. 1) The variety of flavors: is there a good selection. 2) The flavor of my choices. 3) The quality of the combination of my choices. 4) The texture of the froyo 5) The variety of the toppings. 6) Quality of the toppings. 7) How well my toppings coordinated with my froyo flavors. 8) Overall ...