Froyo Throwdown: A Case for J.P. Licks

In a series of reviews, members of The Crimson's summer staff are making a case for the best froyo in the Square. We've already reviewed Pinkberry, Ben and Jerry's, Yogurtland, and Lizzy's. Now up: J.P. Licks.

It’s hard to deny the significance, the gravitas, of the year 1981 in the lives of Bostonians. No, not because it signaled the beginning of the eight-year run of Ronald Reagan, better known in Cambridge as "He Who Must Not Be Named." Instead, it was the founding of a little paradise that has since expanded to a handful of locations around the greater Boston area. I’m talking, of course, of J.P. Licks.

Now, my fellow writers have gone before me and extolled the virtues of their various establishments, how this place or that spot is truly American. But America, you steely-eyed beauty, nothing better captures your greatness than the city of Boston. And there’s no frozen yogurt establishment in Beantown quite like our very own J.P. Licks. It even has Boston in the name—"J.P." stands for "Jamaica Plain," where this chain was born. Take that, Yogurtland.

Some of you might say that J.P. Licks is an ice cream establishment first, and a froyo hotspot second. Au contraire (or as a true Bostonian might say, “Go fack yahself.”) Sure, J.P. Licks’s ice cream is first-rate, no question. But what other establishment has flavors like "Yogurt X," "Mango X," and "Peach X," so loaded with deliciousness they had to throw an "X" on it just to let you know? Certainly not Berryline.

In short, the decision is clear. If you want a flavor rollercoaster, a taste of Boston and of America, a brief sojourn back to the days of yore, when everything was just a little simpler, a little more wholesome, then friends, J.P. Licks is your answer.