The Juice Shop is the exact healthy lunch spot that the Flatiron/Chelsea neighborhood needed because how many times can you seriously go to Chop’t or venture to Dig Inn, Hale and Hearty, Juice Press, etc.? This fresh salad, bowl and juice shop could really have been the answer, but it’s not as life-changing as I had hoped. When you need a juice or to grab something with kale in it, this is your answer, but when you want something delectably scrumptious, the kale bowls just aren’t 100% satisfying. What is pretty cool is that you can get them over brown rice or quinoa though. I like the Spice Market the best, and the spicy Matbucha sauce really adds the flavor here. The bowl comes with chickpeas, butternut squash, yellow squash, zucchini, cauliflower and dried apricots. On the plus side, the staff is very accommodating. You don’t want chickpeas in your bowl- you want broccoli? No problem. They’ll do it free of charge. Thank goodness some people allow substitutions these days! I also really like the Salmon add on. You can get Chicken or Tofu as well. The Green Curry is pretty similar to the Spice Market. All the veggies taste steamed and not seasoned, but the sauces are all great. So on those days that you’re looking for something simple it could be a win-win. However, I’m a bigger fan of the more flavorful veggie options at Hu Kitchen and Peacefood Cafe in Union Square.
Smoothies range from the standard $8-10 with options like Cool It Now (Green Tea, Mint, Pineapple, Honey, Spirulina); Funkytown (Raw Cacao, coconut meat, espresso beans, banana, fresh pressed coffee, agave); Mr. Almond (Almond Butter, Dates, Banana, Almond Milk, Pumpkin Spice, Himalayan Sea Salt). You can add on anything from Flax Seeds, Cinnamon, Chia Seeds and DHA Oil.
They also have pre-made salads to grab and go and other unique snacks that are the kind you pick up and think wait what is this and then try it. I love that the Acai Bowls use coconut water and coconut milk- something I haven’t seen at all of the juice shops. They even have a PB&C which is peanut butter, coconut yogurt, banana, cocoa powder. That could be a fantastic afternoon snack replacements for some of you fro-yo addicts. The Juice Shop also has several puddings such as: Purple Yam Coconut Pudding, Butternut Squash Maple Pudding, Chocolate Coconut Pudding, etc.
The Juice Shop is run by the founder of Liquiteria if that tells you anything. It’s a juice shop for sure that just also has complete meals that you can order to be made. Grab an already made juice, order a post-workout smoothie or have your own kale bowl created on the spot. Either way at least you have a healthy new lunch option in the hood.