Chocolates at Penny Chocolates in Olney

If you want some exquisite chocolates and a back-roads ride, shoot down Rte 108 to Olney and Penny's Chocolates & Gelato.

Penny's is a little shop on Georgia Avenue in Olney. I wanted to love it. I wanted the gelato to be worth driving all the way from Howard County. But you can get ice cream for a summer night in many places. (You can even get Yogiberry yogurt in Olney.) The draw at Penny's are small chocolates -- different types of chocolate wrapped around caramels, nuts or flavorings of lemon, tea and similar exotics.

The chocolates are expensive. Like $1 each or more, but you pay a special price to get this kind of special chocolate. We split every chocolate because every flavor sounded inspired. They're a treat if you're driving through Olney, and they'd also make a classy gift. This would be a "must visit" if it were in Columbia, but I can't say it's worth the round-trip drive just for gelato. I love shops like Capogiro Gelato in Philadelphia where they serve a serious treat with a sense of fun. Penny's is just serious. Employees in little chef outfits. Nobody smiling. It's impressive chocolate, but you can tell they're impressed with themselves.

(Update: Oh, dear! The owner of Penny's Cheryl Schneider wrote a very nice comment below. She explains a bit about why those chocolates are so delicious and why they cost a little extra. I editted my post to be clear that I thought the chocolates are worth the price -- just didn't necessarily recommend a special trip from Howard County. I always hestitate about criticizing people who are trying to serve good food because I don't visit multiple times or have editors to catch inadvertent smackdowns in the text. Also, I have absolutely ridiculous standards for gelato because I have been infected by Capogiro. So I'm glad that Cheryl responded with a little humor and a description of her place.)

Penny's Chocolates & Gelato
16834 Georgia Avenue
Olney, MD 20832

(301) 774-9022

NEAR: This is just south of Rte 108 on Georgia Avenue. Drive south of Rte 108 from Clarksville, and you'll pass into Montgomery County. Drive the speed limit. There is a radar camera set up south of the county line, and Mrs. HowChow paid the price for zipping home too rapidly. When you get into Olney, turn left on Georgia Avenue and look for Penny's and Roots on the right.

Yogiberry in Olney

The new frozen yogurt fad has not yet washed ashore in Howard County, but it is lapping at the borders at Yogiberry in Olney.

(Update: Yogiberry opened in the Columbia Mall in August 2009.  But the Olney one might be closed, says a comment below.  Call ahead.)

Yogiberry is the suburban outpost for this tart yogurt trend. You choose from four flavors of frozen yogurt and then mix in toppings like fruit, candy or sugar cereals. ("Fruity pebbles!") It's not the celebrity attraction of Pinkberry, but it is a fun treat -- especially because the fruit is fresh and not some canned syrup.

The yogurt is delicious. The standard is a touch sour. That is the point of this fad, I guess, but our favorite was the berry yogurt with mochi topping. This is little cubes of the rice sweet that you often find in Japanese desserts. They're lightly sweet, sort of an adult gummy bear.

Yogiberry is shockingly modern for the shopping center where it sits right off Rte 108. See-though chairs. Replica Barcelona loungers in the front and replica Nelson benches against the wall. The colorful displays should entertain kids or people who miss a little urban cool. The bathroom looks like a club, not an ice cream store.

(Update: The weekend after this post, I saw a Pinkberry for the first time in New York City. Yogiberry's design is a hilarious rip-off of Pinkberry. Same floor. Same chairs. Same kind of lighting. I still like Yogiberry, but I was wrong to assume that someone with a sense of style created a modern look for Olney. Someone just bought cheaper versions of what they saw at Pinkberry! Go for the yogurt.)

(Update #2: Anonymous protests in the comments that the plastic chairs are not cheaper versions. They apparently cost $300 each. OK. Let's be clear -- I really like Yogiberry, and I own knock-offs of modern furniture. They knocked off good stuff unless people are dripped yogurt on $800 Nelson benches and $4,000 Barcelona chairs. I'd *love* anything as cool as Yogiberry in Columbia. I was just shocked to realize that the design came right from Pinkberry.)

(Update #3: YogiBerry is COMING to the Columbia Mall in July 2009.)

(Update #4: Or more like August 2009, the mall customer service said in early July.)

YogiBerry
18107 Town Center Dr
Olney, MD 20832
(301) 570-7575

NEAR: This is about 15-20 minutes from Clarksville and Fulton. You take Rte 108 south from Clarksville through Sandy Spring and into Olney. Yogiberry is in a shopping center on the right just as you enter Olney. You turn right at a light for Spartan Road and them immediately left into the shopping center.