HedgeHopper Week One: Swirll Frozen Yogurt

By Jordan Davis     8/21/08 7:00pm

In response to the Student Association's revamped HedgeHopper program, providing discounts for Rice students at 16 restaurants around Houston, the Thresher embarks upon a journey to review participating establishments. This week: Swirll Frozen Yogurt in the Rice Village. which now provides a 15 percent discount for Rice students.Swirll, located at the corner of University Blvd. and Kirby Dr., right next door to Half Price Books, is a dainty little hole-in-the-wall frozen yogurt shop that captures the eyes of people passing by. Despite its unimposing appearance, it boasts wireless Internet and two huge plasma-screen TVs. One screen displays all of the items Swirll offers, while the other is locked on premier products. For an outing, the atmosphere is a four out of five, because while the ambiance is good, it feels a bit cavernous. Go in a group or go alone, as Swirll will accommodate any group size with room to stretch out. If the weather is beautiful, the patio provides another place to kick up feet. Customers can pick something up to go or bring their own board games to kill time, and people who have work to do should not hesitate to bring it. Walking or taking a bike from campus is appropriate transportation to a health-conscious place like Swirll, which claims that all of its frozen yogurts are 25 calories per ounce with zero grams of fat, without sacrificing taste - quite the temptation for those who are watching their figures. Cone and cup sizes are five, 14 and 28 ounces, and Swirll offers free samples of all of its flavors. With a Rice discount of 15 percent on top of the already student-affordable prices, Swirll is almost giving away all of that delicious frozen yogurt. Tried all of the flavors before? Why not add some mixings? Play it conservative by adding cereal, granola or fruit to an order, or take a note from the reviewer's book and go with chocolate chips, coconut, gummy bears, M&Ms or Oreos. Experi-menting is definitely worth it. Swirll is a welcome alternative for on-campus kids tired of Smoothie King, and if Jamba Juice is not satisfying anymore, a trip to Swirll provides that smoothie fix. While it has a much smaller variety of smoothie flavors - with only blueberry, blackberry, cafe latte and cappuccino - Swirll makes up for it in quality taste.

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