Tart

I am so sorry to hear that Tart closed on May 31^st. Went there today to get some custard and they were gone. Where oh where will I get my custard fix now? Very very sad. Goodbye Tart. You will be missed.

The pistachio frozen yogurt that I had was REALLY great. It tasted like jello pudding, but frozen, and better.
Its easy to get in over your head here (and any frozen-​yogurt-​by-​the-​ounce place).

All right, so I’m coming round on the self service. I still don’t like it, but I understand it’s something to do with needing to compete with how chain stores operate. You gotta do what you gotta do I suppose.
When the owner is there the service is great. Not so great when it’s high-​school hipster time and you have to tear them away from their phone conversation or computer to get anything.
The yoghurt is still great though, and overall I like it enough to overlook their one or two (severe) shortcomings (inconsistent staff, still using high-​fructose corn syrup).

Upside: Their dairy-​free blood orange sorbet is really, REALLY good. And I would have loved to give Tart at least a 4 star review, but…
Downsides: the service was as cold as the sorbet and not at all informative. In this foodie town, customer service matters and for that I knocked off a star.
When you consider the lousy service and you have places like Swirl over on Hawthorne which offers many more options and you pay 40¢ per ounce, paying $ 3.50 for a small plain sorbet seems a bit too much.

I’m a jerk from California… Chasing the pinkberry dragon & this just didn’t really cut it for me. The name of the place is tart & the yogurt is anything but that. Plus the service sucked ass, they don’t weigh their cups & their portions are inconsistent. Wah wah
The hipster behind the counter was unfriendly & was having such an in-​depth conversation with her coworker that I had to interrupt them and say «hi» so I could get some service.
Overall… poor service coupled with just «okay» fro-​yo. I will spend my time, effort and $$ elsewhere.

Thumbs up for serving a unique product: custard. The varieties we had were quite good, so much that I’d go back. The yogurt was nothing special. The business model seems a little flawed: why not just serve custard? And the menu is a bit confusing; when the counter gal states, «yeah, we often have to explain a few times» that probably means some refinement is necessary.
* A daily flavor menu that only applies to the custard, not the yogurt.
* the pricing scheme is all over the board, e.g., the size minimum for the daily flavor is a medium, what?
* clover coffee — is that a flavor, no it’s just the name of the machine
…the brain freeze info on the wall is very cool. Hope the place succeeds, but iffy seems to be the forecast.

Not much of a selection, just tart, green tea, vanilla custard, and chocolate custard. Very small selection of toppings too, and when I went there were only like 2 fruit options (strawberry or blueberry).
I got the tart and green tea (not the swirl, just separately). I think the tart was okay, it wasn’t tart enough for my tastes… but the green tea was really good. The green tea is not too strong, so if you’re scared about trying it, go for it!
This is close enough to where I live that I’ll probably be back again, but I’m still on the search for a really good tart froyo place in Portland (preferably even self-​serve). I’ve heard of a few, so watch out for updates in the near future…(keep in mind I come from California, where froyo is HUGE and the quality is amazing since there’s so much competition… and I’ve also spent a couple months in Korea, the birthplace of tart frozen yogurt… so my standards are quite high).

«Woohoo! As good as it gets», as far as I know!
I’m going to be searching high and low this spring/​summer for froyo options. Tart is my new favorite. The only other place I’ve tried is Skinnidip (near Pioneer Square) and Tart far far far exceeds skinnidip.
Tart has a menu that says, «If you’ve never been here before, let us know!» We did. And then we were immediately served samples (pretty hefty samples) of the tart and regular custard frozen yogurt.
I ended up really liking the tart flavor… it was like a creamy lemon. Not a super strong fruity/​citrus taste but almost like an italian ice lemon flavor. Subtle and not-​too-​sweet.
I also tried my boyfriend’s custard swirl with peanut butter cups. I didn’t know chocolate custard was an option! Next time, that’s my choice, maybe with Oreo pieces.
They were both about $ 4 for smalls. I coulda had a kid’s size and been plenty full. The toppings are $.50 and $ 1, depending which you choose. It’s a small place but feels nice. It has sitting space and has a nice surrounding area for walking, shopping.
I would definitely come back to Tart for any of their flavors!

In a word: delicious.
Tart is a great little (and I mean little!) dessert shop on Division specializing in Frozen Yogurt/​Custard. The menu, albiet small, offers up delicious options at extremely reasonable prices. It was my first time here, and, as such, I was immediately treated to samples of both the «tart» and the «custard» options. Both were tasty — the tart pairs perfectly with fruits while the custard goes well with the cookie/​candy toppings.
Since it’s not exactly the season for fresh fruit, I decided to opt for the custard. That said, I definitely want to come back in the summer to enjoy a refreshing tart/​fruit combination! I went with a small with 1 topping and ended up paying $ 4.25. It may sound spendy for a small, but believe me, the portions are generous. My only complaint would be that, while some toppings are $ 0.50 (fine by me) many are $ 1.00 (seems a bit expensive).
All in all, I was ready to give Tart a resounding «4» star rating — great treats, ample portions, with a star docked for toppings that seem a bit overpriced. So what tipped the review to 5 stars? Service. I was warmly welcomed as soon as I came in. I received samples to help me decided what I would like. Lastly, I was given a few doughnuts for free because they’re adding them to the menu soon and want people to try them.
So what have we learned in our few minutes together, my dear readers?
— Tart is delicious.
— Service at Tart is great.
— I want to go back.
— A fifth star can be bought for free doughnuts. What can I say, I have a sweet tooth!

Wowee! That Tart is tart for sure, and I love it! I’m not a big dessert eater, but continuing an adventurous eating path up Division the other night, ducked into Tart. The shop itself is pretty basic — order (to eat in or to go available) at the counter, menu is the frozen yogurt or custard, beer, wine and… wait for it… a THREE dollar glass of bubbly, oh hello!
I told my plus-​one to remember that… $ 3 glass of Cava is a darn cheap date, especially considering a glass of Cava next door at Bar Avignon is going to run at least $ 9. While not all Cava is created equal, $ 9/​glass is a rip-​off, that’s for sure.
Anyway, back to the actual namesake product. This frozen yogurt is great because it’s unsweetened, naturally fat-​free, and friggin’ delicious! Add a sauce topping for free or assorted other toppings (cookie pieces, nuts, marshmallows, etc.) for a small charge. They really encourage guests to sample everything (typically, 2 yogurts and 2 frozen custards offered at once), so we were coerced into trying the Chai Spice flavor as well– very good, but I prefer the non-​sweet, classic tart variety.
Fun shop, free wifi, good coffee selection as well. Nice addition to that little strip on Division!

I learned of frozen custard from the Food Network. It looked so damn delicious that I licked the screen. This was not such a great idea because the fuzzy taste of a dusty tongue is not very pleasing.
I immediately did two things. 1) I vowed to clean my TV screen more often, and 2) I fired up the Mac, logged into Unilocal and searched for «frozen custard».
When I got to Tart was met with friendly service. They gave me the run down on how to order and asked me if I’d like free samples. «Free samples?!» I said. «Don’t mind if I do!»
I tried the first frozen yogurt… hmmm… that not so good. Then I tried their signature Tart flavor and fight every urge to spit it out. I asked the girl that just handed me the samples if she has checked the dates recently, because from the taste of it it must have expired. That was the most sour rotten tasting frozen yogurt ever… EVER!
Then she handed me the vanilla frozen custard (I don’t like chocolate things).By this time I had lost my high hopes after nearly puking up the yogurt, and carefully took a bite. OMG! De-​effing-​licious!
Frozen custard is not like soft serve ice cream or frozen yogurt. It’s BETTER! Top that cup of custard off with some crumbled oreo and mini peanut butter cups and you will be in taste bud ecstasy.

And so it was, dessert before dinner last night. Got the chocolate/​vanilla custard swirl in a kids cup (which is probably like a small size cup at other ice cream/​frozen yogurt places I’ve been to in the past). The custard is deliciously smooth, thick and creamy. I’ve had frozen custard before and there’s just something about that ultra creamy texture that makes it so good, plus just hearing the word «custard» is fantastic enough.
Current seasonal frozen yogurt flavor is Lime Riki which is apparently the bee’s knees but I haven’t tried it yet.

Funny thing, Fro-​Yo has been getting a lot of love on Unilocal (and in the rest of pdx), in recent months, yet despite the fact that I miss this wonderful and relatively guilt-​free frozen yumminess, I haven’t partaken in any of the well reviewed fro-​yo spots in town. The last time I had any fro-​yo in pdx was at a TCBY in/​about Tigard about 5 years ago.
Anyway, it was with high hopes and lofty expectations that I visited Tart on SE Division today, and it was by no means bad… but left me feeling a little… sour.
It’s a pretty spartan, but pleasant, little spot a couple blocks east of the nearby New Seasons. The nice young girl at the counter asked if we’d ever been before, then directed our attention to the wall on our right to see what flavors they had. I have to admit I felt a little dim for a minute because all it said was «Original Tart & _​_​_​_​_​_​_​»
Thinking, «I’m gonna have to look like an idiot and ask», I queried whether (since no other flavors were listed) they had any flavors of fro-​yo OTHER than «Original Tart». I felt somewhat vindicated when she told us that they DID have a seasonal pomegranate but other than that, nada.
I’m sorry, but that’s awfully disappointing to me that they only have TWO flavors. No chocolate, vanilla, rasp/​blue/​boysenberry, peach… nothing! The fro-​you joints I grew up on always had at least 4 – 6 flavors, and often many more.
As if sensing my unspoken dismay, she volunteered that they did have both chocolate AND vanilla frozen custard (fro-​cus?), but that’s just not the same thing. Maybe fro-​cus is great (many Yeeps seem to recommend it), but it’s no substitute for the nonfat, lactobacillius filled treat that I had been craving.
Anyway, My Lady and I ordered up a small cone, and child’s cup of the pomegranate fro-​yo (fairly reasonable at $ 6.25 all in) and off we went to enjoy a frozen treat in the welcome dose of sunshine on this Saturday afternoon!
I was thrilled to see the eco-​spoon (looks and feels like solid plastic, but is made with processed veggies) they offer for cups and to-​go orders — way to go green! And they had a small but nice selection of mostly healthy (granola, fruit, etc) toppings, and a few not-​so-​healthy choices (M&Ms, coconut, etc) — but unfortunately my favorite fro-​yo topping on earth (gummi bears) was nowhere to be seen.
Finally getting to the point, the yogurt itself was quite good. It had the proper light, semi-​smooth, and creamy texture, and with just the right amount of yogurt-​tartness (though I agree with James that it was a little lacking in flavor — I would have had a hard time identifying it as pomegranate in a blind taste test).
So, maybe for fro-​cus Tart is THE place to go; and for fro-​yo it’s not horrible, but it didn’t wow me and the selection was weak. Ultimately I don’t see myself coming back here at least until after I’ve tried some of the other fro-​yo shops in town… and now that the weather may finally be turning a bit warmer, hopefully that will be soon!

The frozen custard and strawberry special led our dinner group to Tart. Upon our arrival, we found out they were out of strawberries, but the woman behind the counter was sweet and broke the bad news gently. She was attentive and understanding. We could not have asked for any better service. We had a peanut butter sandwich cookie with our frozen yogurt. I much prefer the frozen yogurt over the custard.
What irked our visit the most, was not the restaurant, the food or the service; but the patrons. Two women and one child walked in after us. The child was shoeless and had an air of innocence about her. She said to her mother-​figure, «I want to work here!» The mother-​figure replied, «No. You don’t want to work here. I don’t want to work here. You wouldn’t want to work here.» It was loud and clear enough that there was no way it could have been ignored by the woman behind the counter. This scenario reminds me when children say they want to be objects like, «I want to be an bulldozer or a semi-​truck» or hold occupations like «I want to be a bulldozer driver or a semi-​truck driver.» The child loved the atmosphere of the store, so much so that she would love to be surrounded by it. It still surprises me how human beings treat each other.

If you have to choose between the custard and yogurt, pick the custard.
We paid our first visit last night to Tart as it was spitting snow outside. Even though Tart is only a block from our house and has been open since last summer, we still didn’t notice Tart was open for business until this past week!
On first impression, Tart seems bare-​bonesy, from the toppings to the interior décor.
The dude at the counter offered us samples of, first the yogurt, and then the custard. The yogurt tasted like regular (not frozen) yogurt. In other words it was surprisingly sour. The custard was much more pleasing to the palate!
I ordered the chocolate vanilla swirl custard plain since the selection of toppings was so pekid and none of them really looked that great (one of them looked like gummy worms!).
But you know, while very good, the custard was about on par with the frozen yogurt that Costco sells (identical in both flavor and texture). Maybe because of Unilocal reviews for other locations, such as Amb. Katie S’s review of Peak’s Custard in Seattle, I had high expectations for Tart Dessert (until today, I had never eaten frozen custard).
I will come back to Tart Dessert, but I’m gonna wait until summer when it will be more tempting.
Oh, one last thing — Tart indicated that their Voodoo doughnuts were half off after 5:00pm, but I didn’t see any doughnuts. But I understand that, Voodoo doughnuts are delectable and they are not bound to stay in stock!

Blowing into your hand alleviates brain freeze. True! This friendly hint (along with some less efficient suggestions) adorns a wall of Tart.
The people of the counter were friendly and helpful. I showed up for free stuff (disclosure!) and was presented with three teeny paper cups of Tarts wares. There was a «tart» (read: unflavored) frozen yogurt, a black currant, um, I’m not sure if it was yogurt or custard, and a vanilla frozen custard. All were tasty and I decided on a cup of the black currant, whatever the hell that is, other than yummy.
I got a serving that came in one of the small waxed cups used for soup in some places. In fact there was a warning that the contents were hot. Oh, Tart, you so funny,.
Disclosure, this was also free. I was prepared to pay for it, but no money was required (I put some in the tip jar).
The wares are tasty, the space friendly. There was a game of Risk being played, a surprisingly curse free one. Not the way I’ve played it with my friends, but the good folks of Tart are undoubtedly nicer than the loser squad.
Hm, I think this review is coming across as sarcastic. Well, it ain’t. If you’re into frozen yogurt and custard, you’d dig Tart. I still don’t know why people would do this when ice cream is available. I’m starring as if this isn’t the case.
If there are cons, Tart’s selection is limited, both in flavors and toppings. And they have some kind of light projector thingie that drove me out of an otherwise comfortable seat. Weird, that.

The promise of frozen custard led me to go to Tart. Or should I say, the girlfriend did, but the custard was the main focus of our trip to Division Street.
I’ve had frozen custard, being from the midwest and all. This isn’t like the stuff I’m used to, but it’s still good for what it is. Plus they have a Clover coffeemaker– a cup of custard and some Stumptown is a good way to end your day and get ready for the weekend.
Last time I went there, I had some of their chocolate cookies– they were very good because of the addition of salt on them. You’d think salt on a cookie would be bad news, but I have news for you. And it is that these cookies are a good addition to the custard. Therefore, we have ourselves a Trinity of Tart Goodness here: custard, coffee, and cookies.

I’ve been to Tart a couple times, and each visit has truly been a treat. After reading reviews and seeing they had frozen custard, I knew I had to try it. I’m an Oregon girl so I’d never experienced such a thing, it’s mostly an east coast phenomenon, but lots of my east coast friends have raved about how awesome frozen custard is.
Well, I’m not sure how it is out there, but the frozen custard here is pretty awesome. It’s much creamier, sweeter, and denser than the soft serve you’d get at a place like Dairy Queen or McDonald’s. The vanilla might be easy to confuse with normal soft serve, but holy crap the chocolate frozen custard? It’s unmistakeably thicker, sweeter, and creamier than any other soft serve ice cream I’ve ever had in my life. For the record, so is the vanilla. And I should know, I love me some DQ soft serve.
The frozen yogurt is also a treat. I was just in the other day and tried their seasonal Black Currant yogurt. It’s sweet and smooth with a tart kick. Topped it with granola, strawberry, and honey. I gotta say, it was a delightful breakfast. Yeah, I’m counting it as a breakfast meal since their yogurt is fat free with active cultures that are good for you! With fruit and granola and honey? I’m totally feeling guilt free here.
I was tempted to add one of the Two Tart cookies they have on top of my yogurt, but I was being good. I did get a cup of Stumptown coffee brewed fresh on their Clover machine. A damn smooth cup of coffee, I almost felt bad adding crème and sugar (almost). With frozen yogurt places popping up all over the place up here, it could be hard to distinguish one from the other. With the frozen custard, Stumptown, and wine and beer offerings, I’d say this one is a keeper!

That frozen yogurt boom from the early 90s has returned, but with a tangy flavor twist. Stop the Insanity™!
These boutiques are sprouting like that circus game where all the little frozen yogurt shops pop up and you’re trying with your little spoon to hit them all before they disappear.
Tart is one of them. And it’s just fine. Maybe not The Country’s Best Yogurt (TGIF), but good enough. And in a good neighborhoodly spot.
I hope they’ll ride the wave with grace.

sold. (And today was supposed to be about Phở, not Fro…)
As discussed earlier, I’m on team «pro-​fro-​yo.» While I can appreciate the fight that team «anti-​yo» is putting up, I think they’re gonna lose this battle. We’re only in the first half of the fro-​yo craze that we’re bound to see play out here in Portland, and I’m thinking that you’re either going to have to take a ride on my fro-​yo thimble, or, well, go to jail.
Not a monopoly fan? Well good, because Tart is independent. Oh, and delicious. As soon as I walked in, before I could even ask, two amazing samples were eagerly passed my direction. I devoured the namesake «tart» fresh yogurt, which by the way, is delicious with FREE honey on top, and that’s when I found out about Tart’s secret weapon:
Frozen…wait for it… CUSTARD.
wow. For those who can’t get behind the fro-​yo craze, give frozen custard a chance. Tart is the only joint offering it in Portland, and it’s something I could really get behind. This creamy, eggy, custard deliciousness only has one thing going against it…
What are we gonna call it? Fro-​Cus? Fro-​tard?
I can see it now: «Give Tart Fro-​Tard a Chance» or maybe «Try Tart’s Fro-​Tard» Or not.
p. s. Ok, so my team names aren’t nearly as cool as, I don’t know, «Oklahoma Thunder,» but what is, really?