After a rare break from the Florida heat while visiting Towson, my rare break from furnace-like conditions was short-lived as the digits on the thermometer inched closer and closer to the 100 degrees mark after the first night. After a jam-packed Monday morning and early afternoon, my mom and I were overheated and mentally fried and in desperate need for a cold treat. While smoothies are our typical snack time splurge, I did not know where the closest smoothie place was. However from a previous visit I knew where a TCBY was so we decided to try our luck to see if their new Silk almondmilk flavors were in stock. In case you’re wondering, the Silk is the same Silk as the company that produces soy, almond, and coconut milks seen on store shelves. With our hopes high and the sun beating down, we stopped by their Belvedere Square shop located a few minutes away.


TCBY (which stands for “The Country’s Best Yogurt” by the way) is known for their soft-serve dairy-laden offerings and topping bar. Originating the “fro-yo” concept, they’ve been swirling the ice cream alternative longer than many pop up operations serving up the summertime staple. The ventured into the non-dairy fro-yo market in the fall of 2013 when they introduced Silk chocolate almond as their first vegan and gluten-free flavor. Like many others, I was absolutely thrilled at the prospect of taking part in soft-serve ice cream again but never made it out to a store because Orlando’s TCBY location is located a little too far away from my humble abode. In the meantime, this new flavor was doing gangbusters as TCBY stores across the country sold out of the flavor in days, surprising the company and earning the flavor a permanent place on the brand’s rotating flavor list. Earlier this year, they introduced a second Silk almondmilk flavor- vanilla- and a coconut milk version of non-dairy fro-yo. 

Back to the store, I was fully prepared to go with a non-dairy sorbet option not wanting to get my hopes up that the almondmilk flavor would not be swirling that day. I hopefully scanned the flavors and sure enough, chocolate almond was in stock and ready for consumption. I took advantage of the free samples offered to get my first taste and fell in love with the rich, dark chocolate taste of the fro-yo. I grabbed a bowl and filled it up with the frozen treat. For those both gluten and dairy free, I’d suggest skipping the topping bar because it is prime for cross contamination and not clearly labeled. Trust me, the almondmilk fro-yo can hold its own sans toppings. My mom decided to get the chocolate almond flavor as well and we both relished the opportunity to cool off and catch our breaths from a whirlwind of a morning. The full cup of almondmilk fro-yo hit the spot and was just enough to be a real afternoon treat.

After enjoying our yogurts, we ventured to nearby Belvedere Square Market to check out it’s offerings. Though the gluten-free offerings were few and far between, it was cool to stumble upon a local farmers’ market. I know I’ll definitely be back for the Silk vanilla fro-yo come this fall and will try to make it over to the Orlando location before I depart.

The Basics