Food: Mochi Frozen Yogurt

Gainesville has a few alternatives to the maddeningly sweet frozen yogurt peddled by American chains like TCBY. The newest of these is Mochi, an upscale yogurt cafe along the same lines as Pinkberry and Red Mango.

It's a very simple product sold in a very simple way. There are dispensers at the back of the place that pump out various kinds of yogurt. These are sort of hit and miss, with the best being the original flavor (a tart, creamy confection that oozes out like warm Play-Doh) and the vanilla flavor.

So, you grab a bowl and fill it with as much or as little yogurt as you want. If that were the end of the story, Mochi wouldn't even rate a mention on the blog. After getting your yogurt, though, you can then choose from an assortment of toppings - fresh diced fruit like strawberries or mangos, or ice cream type toppings like candies, nuts, and crumbled cookies.

You can choose as many or as few as you want. Since Mochi charges by weight exclusively, you can literally get a spoonful of every single topping they have without paying through the nose. The price is reasonable, too, at about 45 cents per ounce. The only caveat here is that the yogurt quality isn't quite as good as the fancy California-based yogurt boutiques (no idea if they all use the same mix). Still, it's a fun treat.

Rating: 2/4 stars