I know. I made a face when I saw the name, too.

I know. I made a face when I saw the name, too. Menchie’s frozen yogurt? Didn’t make me immediately want to jump up and get me some.But then again, there’s almost nothing that an owner could name his frozen yogurt stand that would get me all fired up about … frozen yogurt. Even Free Frozen Yogurt: The Restaurant Where All The Yogurt Is Free!!! wouldn’t exactly make me change my plans to pay for a decent cheeseburger or plate of shu mai across the street.But still, among frozen yogurt operations, Menchie’s seems to be doing very well, with locations in more than a dozen states and a brand-spankin’ new one (as in, just opened last Thursday) right here in Federal Way, at 1409 S. 348th Street.The thing about Menchie’s (other than the insistence by its PR guy that it was the hot new place for Hollywood celebrities to hang out) is that it rewards freedom and an adventurous spirit–and I’m all for that kind of thing. Offering 100 different flavors of frozen yogurt (no, that’s not a typo, think of everything from three kinds of vanilla to watermelon tart and Georgia peach) and 60 toppings (constantly rotating, but basically consisting of various forms of candy, fruit and breakfast cereals), that means that a customer walking in has … 14 billion different potential combinations to choose from.Okay, maybe not that many, but my math skills suck and it’s still a lot. The joint also offers all manner of sugar-free, dairy-free, low-carb and, for all I know, yogurt-free options for those of you who don’t believe that eating yogurt as a meal is diet-ish enough.I talked with owner Elizabeth Garner earlier this afternoon, and I’m guessing the place was doing some bang-up business because I could barely hear her over the phone with all the racket in the background. But she did tell me that her new shop has “been really well-received in the community,” and that even she was surprised to see that she already had some yogurt freaks who were coming in three times a day–trying to set some sort of world record for digestive health and regularity, I’m guessing. Also, according to the same PR guy who tried to sell me on the idea of celebrity yogurt-eaters, Menchie’s isn’t going to stop at just one Washington location. There are already plans for more outposts in the coming seasons, and a brief invasion of Canada when the first Vancouver store opens.