Watch out TCBY.  There’s a new frozen dessert place in town.

Tasti D-Lite, located in The Festival at Bel Air Shopping Center, provides frozen dessert in the most entertaining way.  The bright colors and “punny” signs located throughout the small restaurant allude to Willy Wonka’s Chocolate Factory.

Deeper into the restaurant is a row of soft serve dispensers with large pink signs telling the customers what each dispenser is filled with.  Customers have a chance to sample each flavor by filling itty-bitty cups with the flavor of their choosing.  Once they’ve decided what they like, there are bigger cups to fill with whatever they desire.  An array of toppings like chewbies, sprinkles, cheesecake bits, caramel, and raspberries are also at hand for personalizing their treats.

The price of customers’ frozen desserts depends on how much they weigh. According to tastidlite.com, the frozen dessert is “not frozen yogurt, because it doesn’t contain fermented yogurt cultures. Not ice cream, because it contains less than 10 percent butter fat.”  There’s a science to frozen treats and it’s quite delicious.

I opted for the strawberry shortcake flavor and added bits of cheesecake, strawberries, blackberries, raspberries, and graham cracker crumbs.  My soft serve was creamy and fresh.

I also sampled some of the chewbies after hearing how delicious they were.  These little balls of gelatin are filled with fruit juice.  Aside from delectable soft serve, coffee is also served.  The French roast that I had was brewed in front of me and was smooth and simple tasting.

Tasti D-Lite has fridges filled with cake, pies, and soft-serve for those who want to enjoy the goodness at home or at parties.  The restaurant boasts of its soft serve being low in calories. Most of the soft serve is 70-100 calories per serving.

Despite the questionable spelling of Tasti D-Lite, the food is worth it and I can definitely see it as a popular place this upcoming summer.  “Dessert your guilt,” and head to Tasti D-Lite located on 5 Bel Air South Parkway, Bel Air, MD.  The restaurant is located in The Festival at Bel Air next to Robert Ashtin Salon.

Chioma Iheoma is an A&E editor for The Patriot and jcpatriot.com