DISCLOSURE: If you are in a serious state of hunger and/or starvation, proceed with caution. You have been warned.

Have you ever found yourself fantasizing about the large cup of frozen yogurt you’re going to have after your long day of classes? Do you picture the beautiful swirls of yogurt and dream of the magical toppings you’re going to sprinkle onto it? Down to the exact amount of cookie dough to cheesecake ratio, accompanied by the perfect three pumps of caramel?

OK, that may be a bit dramatic, but come on, I mean, who doesn’t love filling up their froyo cup (or bowl rather) to the rim with all the different flavors and then loading up the toppings? Multiple flavors, endless toppings… it’s like a dream.

For the past few years, build-your-own ice cream and frozen yogurt shops have taken over the dessert scene. And this customization trend has spilled over to other parts of the food industry as well. We all know of franchises such as Yogurtland and Starbucks that are quite like the dependable best friend that’s always there for you, or maybe more like the stalker ex-boyfriend who follows you everywhere you go. In this consumerist society, we produce, consume, and repeat. The idea of consumerism that has taken over the world provides us with choices. Everyone has to eat, but we get to decide what we want to eat. With this in mind, companies such as Starbucks have taken advantage of our desire for options in that they have transformed a cup of coffee into a menu with 87,000 possible drink combinations. They have created something we didn’t even know we needed. The unique experience of personalizing “signature” drinks or picking your own toppings has become how we reward ourselves. We have become fascinated with individualizing everything to our exact liking. Is it simply because we can or do we really need such precise dispositions? Whatever happened to grabbing a cup of coffee — black?

Starbucks’ vision, or perhaps greed or ambition, has brought about the transformation of coffee from a commodity to a five dollar splurge that can be consumed in 87,000 different ways. Following their pioneering innovations, different types of build-your-own eateries have been emerging in the last few years. Berkeley is no exception, as we are quite up on our “foodie” game. And around here, we go big or go home. After all, we’re always looking for new places to binge at 12am when we still have a novel to read, a paper to write, and a world peace issue to solve.

Here are some of our favorite build-your-own places in the Berkeley area:

Build Pizzeria: Located at 2286 Shattuck Avenue, Build offers a variety of different toppings, crusts, and cheese options to create your own personal pizza. It’s great for anything from date night to family night!

Cinnaholic: A vegan bakery that offers gourmet cinnamon rolls topped with your choice of toppings and frosting. The chocolate chip cookie dough roll is a must try! It is located at 2132 Oxford Street, directly across the campus and near the Downtown Berkeley BART station.

Cafe Yesterday: We stumbled upon this cafe on Yelp! and were fascinated by their cereal bar. They offer different cereals, toppings, milk, and to top it off, some chocolate syrup, honey and more! They also have sandwiches and are known for their great coffee. It is located at 1122 University Avenue and is a nice place to study if you’re looking to hit the books and snack.

Cream: The infamous Cream is a must when visiting the Berkeley area. With a variety of freshly baked cookies and delicious ice cream flavors, they offer a unique and tasty experience. You choose you favorite cookie(s) and ice cream flavor, and they make it into a mouthwatering dessert sandwich. It’s also easy on your wallet, as prices are pretty affordable. Cream is located at 2399 Telegraph Avenue.

Social media also plays a large role in this obsession with food customization. Let’s be honest: how many times have you snapped a picture of your frozen yogurt or your ice cream cookie sandwich before taking a bite and then proceeded to tweet or Instagram it? I know I sure do, especially with those filters… It’s a problem. The crazy part is that there is no longer any shame to pulling out your phone in a restaurant and taking a picture of your meal, flash and all. It has become a social norm, a part of our culture.

I mean, we are what we eat, right? Why not express our colorful personality with fruity pebbles and gummy worms and sprinkles? Anyways, about .3 seconds after your creation’s photo-op, you don’t even care what it looks like. You dig in and enjoy.

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