Chocolate, strawberry, vanilla, mango, and cappuccino –- this may seem like a list of typical flavor options offered at any ice cream shop today, but they are in fact only a few of the many frozen yogurt flavors offered at L’Amour, a new frozen yogurt cafe in downtown Palo Alto.

L’Amour, which opened at the beginning of May, even one-ups ice cream shops, as well as its nearby frozen yogurt competitors Red Mango and Fraiche, with bolder, less-heard-of frozen yogurt flavors such as Irish mint, New York cheesecake, and peanut butter. On Memorial Day, the cafe will introduce an orange Creamsicle flavor.

Still, the new flavors aren’t even close to stopping there.

“We introduce new flavors on a regular basis, and especially on holidays,” L’Amour founder DJ Le said. “In the upcoming months, frozen yogurt fans can expect to see a variety of new flavors that include organic chocolate, blueberry, cookies and cream, cake batter, [and] pumpkin pecan, just to name a few.”

L’Amour is the perfect place for enthusiasts of choice, and rightfully so. At the comparatively low price of 47 cents per ounce, it’s easy to go overboard with the 40-plus toppings that the cafe offers, including a medley of fruits, cheesecake bits, rainbow mochi, Fruity Pebbles, Cap’n Crunch, Heath Bar chunks, and Andes Mint Chips, not to mention an assortment of wet toppings like condensed milk, chocolate fudge, and strawberry jam.

Le, who founded L’Amour with his brother Ringo Le, believes that L’Amour’s variety of frozen yogurt options and the freedom that L’Amour affords its customers to choose what kinds of frozen yogurt they want are exactly what give the cafe an edge over its competitors.

“What differentiates L’Amour Frozen Yogurt Cafe from the other frozen yogurt cafes is that we have many more flavors to choose from,” Le said. “L’Amour provides over 10 flavors everyday and we like to listen to customer feedback and make the store a community experience…In a true frozen yogurt democracy you get to choose which flavors you like and which flavors have to go.”

It is this choice that has already drawn senior Sarah Haydock to L’Amour four times since its opening earlier this month.

“It’s [L’Amour is] more fun than the traditional places like Fraiche and Red Mango because you get to serve it [the frozen yogurt and toppings] yourself,” Haydock said. “There are also more choices for flavors and toppings.”

The power of choice further pervades the mission of the cafe itself, which advertises the slogan “Create your own treat with LOVE.”

What also makes L’Amour unique is that its downtown Palo Alto location is its only location in the United States. The Le brothers decided to set up shop in Palo Alto because of the area’s strong communal atmosphere.

“In all the Bay Area cities, Palo Alto is the most friendly and inviting,” Le said. “Palo Alto is, in every sense of the word, a ‘community.’ The residents really care about their community, and we love that about this city.”

As evidenced by the three other frozen yogurt shops (Fraiche, Culture and Red Mango) in Palo Alto, it’s obvious that the town also cares about some good frozen yogurt, and this is exactly what L’Amour offers.

Among more traditional menu items like coffees and teas ($1.95-$3.50) and more distinctive options such as Hawaiian shaved ice ($4.95) and Vietnamese Iced Coffee ($3.50) are L’Amour’s claim to fame: its frozen yogurts, the different flavors of which are mixed on site at the cafe.

One of the most intriguing flavors L’Amour offers is its nonfat peanut butter frozen yogurt. Although the name of the yogurt may not seem appealing to some, the yogurt itself decadently balances an initial sweetness followed by a perfectly complementing salty aftertaste that boldly completes the flavor experience. The pleasantly savory peanut butter flavor is not at all overpowering, and an indulgent, creamy base can still be detected underneath its nutty front.

Another gem among L’Amour’s frozen yogurts is its nonfat cappuccino flavor. Lightly mocha brown in color, this flavor embodies a delicately mild and pleasant coffee taste that barely lingers on the tongue after it is consumed, perfect for those who like frozen yogurts that aren’t overly powerful.

The nonfat Irish mint is reminiscent of mint chocolate chip ice cream, sans the chocolate pieces and full-out thickness of regular ice cream. It is refreshingly crisp yet silky smooth, and its pastel, pistachio green color makes for a fascinating flavor choice overall.

Even L’Amour’s more traditional flavors are superb.

The nonfat Eurotart encompasses a refreshingly icy texture, a satisfyingly sour aftertaste, and a fresh, clean finish. This particular flavor is not creamy, nor is it heavy; a wispy, light, and airy consistency makes this the perfect flavor upon which myriad toppings can best be enjoyed.

A richly elegant vanilla body and perfectly silken feel make the low-fat white vanilla frozen yogurt a satisfyingly lavish vanilla soft-serve.

The no sugar, nonfat chocolate is also powerful in its simplicity. Although not for those who are looking for a full-out chocolate bonanza, this flavor involves a delightful marriage of chocolaty sweetness and bitterness, mildly swirled into a luscious, velvety frozen yogurt.

All in all, the options to choose from at L’Amour are tremendous, while the frozen yogurts offered are pleasantly mild, yet simultaneously powerful in their flavor accuracy, texture, and cleanliness. These qualities make L’Amour a true contender in Palo Alto’s frozen yogurt industry.

Located on 276 University Ave., L’Amour is open from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m. on Mondays through Thursdays, and from 11 a.m. to 12 midnight on Fridays through Sundays.