Frozen yogurt at Oasis Ice Cream/Valentina Silva
If you live in the Northeast corner of Los Angeles (and you’re like me), you’ve probably been jonesing for some serious ice cream. It seems to be one of the glaring omissions in the area—if you live in or around Highland Park, and you’re in need of a scoop, you’re pretty much stuck at Rite Aid.
Not that I have anything against Thrifty Ice Cream. I grew up on Chocolate Malted Crunch, and I still crave it now and again, but a drugstore is not an ice cream parlor. For that experience, I usually trek out to Alhambra for a Fosselman’s fix because nothing really fills that niche around here.
Or so I thought…and then I found Oasis Ice Cream.
Oasis is a proper Mexican ice cream parlor and juice bar hidden away on Monte Vista Street. And, get this: the ice cream and frozen yogurt are made in house every day by a very nice woman named Doris, who serves up over 20 flavors. She also takes a lot of pride in her fresh juices—she has a concoction for everything from acid reflux to weight loss—as well a huge menu of raspados, milkshakes, candy apples, chocolate bananas and even candy-coated marshmallows.
Oasis Bionico/Valentina Silva
For our first trip, we tried the yogurt and the ice cream. I had a “small” sundae, which consisted of a hefty scoop of smooth-as-can-be chocolate-vanilla ice cream done up with whipped cream, sliced bananas and peanuts. My dining companion ordered a guava yogurt topped with raspberries, mangoes and trail mix.
While the ice cream was delicious, the frozen yogurt is the undeniable star at Oasis. Made with only yogurt, agave and fresh produce, the flavor is pure and strikes the perfect balance between tart and sweet. No soft serve here. The texture of each scoop is similar to a sorbet, and the flavors range from the expected (raspberry and coconut) to the unlikely (spinach and alfalfa). We sampled the spinach and alfalfa, and our minds were blown. Who would have thought?
The bionicos at Oasis also go the unexpected route. Instead of dousing it with the traditional condensed milk, only yogurt is used to a surprisingly satisfying effect. I liked the Oasis version, which wasn’t as sweet as your average bionico, but heavy with fruit and topped with the usual granola and coconut. It was definitely more “breakfast” than “dessert”. This one pictured here is a to-go version, but if you eat in, it’s served in an ice cream cup.
Now that I know about Oasis, I’ll definitely be a regular. Seriously, Doris is going to get sick of me.
–Valentina
Oasis
5526 Monte Vista St
Los Angeles, CA 90042
Valentina Silva writes about food and restaurants. You can also find Valentina’s reviews and stories on her blog, Eastside Food Bites.
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