Juice Press, NYC

Juice Press’s vision when it launched in 2010 was to bring a healthier lifestyle option to the market. Juice Press now have multiple branches in NYC and other US cities and are the number one organic “grab and go” in the States. They are more of a take-away than most sit-down café style Glowcations we review, but we couldn’t ignore their signature juices and healthy lunches.

The setting

We went to the 22nd St branch, between 5th and 6th Avenue. The metro stop 23th Street on Madison Square Park is close by – just take the Q or R. As this is the buzzing Flatiron district where you are surrounded cool shops. ByCHLOE is based in the same street.

The space

Juice Press is designed as a grab and go so there is limited seating.

We took one of the four small wooden tables at 10 am, but our order was still shouted from the counter. As an eat in, sadly we got all the extra plastic which we thought was unnecessary.  The café has an industrial vibe and, as it’s constantly busy, I wouldn’t recommend getting your laptop out. It’s less a sit and chat than a useful pitstop.

The crowd

I spotted mums with buggies and workers grabbing a juice or smoothie. Around lunch break 12-2pm, this office based area of New York,  can get very crowded.  So we suggest avoiding that time or going to another of their locations if you want a seat.

The fresh juice test

Juice Press, not surprisingly, has a wide range of cold pressed juices split into “mostly veggie” and “mostly fruit”.  They also do a wide range of smoothies and boosters. I’d tried the ginger fireball and the rehab boosters before which are two of their most popular drinks. This time, I wanted to try the greenest juice they had, so I chose the Mother Earth juice.

It was a raw veggie blend of cucumber, celery, kale, Swiss chard, dandelion, parsley, lemon and ginger.

And, I’m going to be honest, it made me feel very, very healthy, but the taste wasn’t the best. However, that’s only my taste and I did feel it was detoxing my body.

The little things that make the difference

They have added posters and postcards on the wall to make the café more welcoming  and you can take the postcards away for free!

What we ate

Juice Press is a 100% plant based and organic. Food wise, they focus on açai bowls, snacks, soups and salads. The smoothies and bowls are freshly made, but the salads, snacks and juices are pre-made off-site.

We ordered two signature smoothie bowls.

The green smoothie bowl, was packed with veggies and we chose home made granola, goji berries and a chia and flax seed mix for toppings.

The granola added a nice crunchy texture and sweetness to the veggie bowl.

Our other bowl was an açaï bowl which we also loved! It wasn’t too sweet, and was made with water instead of a nut mylk, so it lacked a little creaminess. We topped it off with cacao nibs, maple toasted coconut chips and almond butter. The topping portions are very generous.

For dessert, we had the Sin-o-buns which were gluten free and made out of buckwheat, flax, gluten free oats, coconut, cinnamon and coconut nectar. The frosting was a little splash of coconut, Irish moss, vanilla, coconut nectar, cinnamon with a raisin on top. The frosting complemented the buns perfectly and they had a delicious cinnamon-y flavour.

What we’d go back for…

We’d grab the juices, boosters and smoothie bowls and go picnic nearby.

The bill

Mother Earth   10.99$
Sin O Bun  5.00$
Açai blueberry bowl   10.85$
Green bowl   10.85$

 

goop’s Megan O’Neil’s New York City Top 5 cafés

Gwyneth Paltrow launched goop in 2008 from her kitchen table as a homespun weekly newsletter with her unbiased travel tips, wellness insights and health-centric recipes. Roll forward ten years and goop has arrived in London with a pop-up lifestyle store in Notting Hill’s Westbourne Grove. To celebrate we asked New York City resident Megan O’Neil, goop’s senior beauty editor for her favourite cafés in her home city. There’s nothing she doesn’t know about wellness in New York City.

abcV

abcV makes me insanely happy.

It’s light and airy inside, the vibe is polished yet breezy and they set the tables with the most beautiful plates and rustic linen napkins and dainty teacups. I one day want to be a woman who sets her table so exquisitely! And the food is beyond.

Contrarian carnivores love it as much as plant people. I die for the green chickpea hummus (so creamy and luscious) with fresh pitta, the turmeric cauliflower steak and the market carrots with nut butter.  I was skeptical when I spotted it on the menu because that doesn’t sound that great, but it’s spectacular.  The mushroom walnut Bolognese literally tastes like a decadently rich meaty pasta situation. Also, the adaptogenic cocktails are perfect when you need a 4pm pick me up or you’re meeting a work person for “drinks” and don’t want to drink because maybe you did enough of that over the weekend. I get an almond milk latte there every single morning. It’s frothy, soothing, energising, but a considerable part of the appeal is starting my day in such a lovely place.

The Butcher’s Daughter

I love the abundance of plants they have in there, and I love the food. The banana walnut pancakes and the coconut-date-almond butter smoothie are my jam. It’s called 7 Minutes in Heaven on the menu, and, yes, it’s worth the $10. They serve water in a pretty carafe full of fresh mint leaves. Eating at the Nolita location on a sunny day is just bliss. And everyone who works there is so friendly, you just kind of want to hang there all day.

Juice Press

I bring my lunch from home most days, but when I don’t I always go to Juice Press.

Their split pea soup is rich and cosy and perfectly seasoned. It tastes homemade! There is NOTHING bad in it! It’s just so impressive that the only ingredients are water, split peas, zucchini, onion, carrot, celery, olive oil, jalapeno, garlic, thyme, lemon juice, pepper, garlic, and bay leaf. I cut and pasted that from the web site because I want to recreate it at home for fall! Their cashew milk oatmeal is also fantastic, it tastes like creamy dessert.

by Chloe.

Someone sent me one of their cakes—vanilla with vanilla frosting—on Valentine’s Day. I closed my eyes and was moaning as I ate it in the office. And then I learned it was gluten free!!

It’s plush and decadent, it tastes like the absolute opposite of “gluten free.”

And it’s festively multi-tiered. Just looking at it makes me happy.

Cook Space

If you love to eat, love to cook, don’t love to cook, love a beautiful Brooklyn-y design aesthetic then you’ll be obsessed with Cook Space. It’s this beautiful kitchen loft space—literally my dream kitchen—that offers cooking classes for every kind of food and skill you can imagine.

There’s an awesome vegetarian food class, and then there’s everything else under the sun: pizza, pasta making, Jewish comfort food, knife skills, Vietnamese street food.

It’s the best thing to do with friends or your mom or brother or husband, and you can even rent out the whole space for a night. My husband, brother, and I just signed up for the pizza class. You sit down at the end to eat the meal you’ve all made, and you don’t really have to even clean up—they do that! They mix you a dynamite cocktail to sip on during class and music is always wafting in the background. The whole thing is very atmospheric.

New York City
New York City