Photo by Christopher GardnerA-peeling Drink: Kim Malaguarnero slips in the ingredients for a smoothie at the Juice Club.
Local juice bars blend fresh fruit and good vibes
By Todd S. Inoue
During last summer's heat wave, routine trips to 7-Eleven for temporary relief were permanently detoured to a new site for liquid refreshment--the juice bar.
Mixing granola logic with Evian lifestyles, juice clubs are slowly catching up on Santa Clara Valley cafes and ice cream shops as the place to hang and sip. People are burned out on the daily coffee regimen. Ice cream goes straight to the rear, and only weekend athletes replace electrolytes with Bud. Fruit and vegetable drinks are breaking out of health clubs and health food stores, gaining popularity in suburban tracts and downtowns alike.
In addition to juices, there's the smoothie. A typical smoothie is rich in vitamins and carbohydrates, yet weighs in at a fraction of ice cream's calories. And if you go non-dairy, the fat mathematics change dramatically.
After a heated tennis match, a jug of blended fruit, ice, sherbet and yogurt sounds much more appealing than a sloppy pint of Ben and Jerry's. A smoothie is delicious, it kicks the sweetness craving, and you don't feel like a fat pig after devouring one.
Juice Club is considered the Starbucks of the industry. The San Luis Obispo-based company has three locations in the South Bay. The whir of blenders sounds like an A&E documentary on killer bees. There's always a line, which is cool because you can browse the guidebooks explaining Juice Club's mission, its ingredients, its drink items and its nail-biting decision to use polystyrene cups over paper.
One thing you must get used to is choosing two "additions" awarded to each smoothie. Decide what ails thee, then handpick which life-improving agent will best attack the problem: bee pollen, brewer's yeast, calcium, ginseng, honey, lecithin, protein powder, spirulina, tofu, wheatbran, wheatgerm, oat bran, rice bran and nonfat plain yogurt.
Many shops, including Juice Club, offer a wonder plant called wheatgrass. The clippings from miniature lawns of wheatberry grass are pushed through a ringer, yielding a green liqueur. A one-ounce shot of wheatgrass juice ($1) has the nutritional equivalent of two and a half pounds of vegetables. Sounds great, but you have to imbibe this green monster to get those benefits. I did, and I can safely report that it ain't no mouth party; it's warm, plain and green, like Kermit sweat. Plus, it didn't derail an oncoming cold, as I had hoped.
The specialty smoothies--with names like the Ironwoman and Cranberry Crush--are delicious and poured in huge, 32-ounce cups.
The fresh vegetable and fruit juices--including apple, orange and carrot--are available in sizes of eight to 32 ounces. One special is the Fresh 8, a combination of carrot, celery, tomato, parsley, beet, bell pepper, red onion and garlic. I gave it a try. It's not thick or spicy like V-8, so banish thoughts about mixing with a good vodka. Instead, the blend was runny and bland, but the garlic gives it a nice kick.
Despite the owner's unforgivable love of Jimmy Buffett, the Daily Squeeze in Willow Glen dishes up hearty, blender-frothed drinks in a sunny, tropical-themed shop. The front window has an open table placed in a sand pit. The drinks reflect this Key West spirit, leaning toward the passionate side of fruits. Papayas, guavas, mangos, grapefruits, pineapples and coconuts meet their destiny in glorious combinations like "Crime of Passion [Fruit]" and "Last Mango in Paris." The Daily Squeeze's zeal for creative fruit smoothies makes this destination tops.
Over on the west side, Los Gatos boasts Nectar's, a squeeze joint that replenishes the parched walkers and scraped mountain bikers that emerge from Los Gatos Creek Trail. Downtown San Jose houses Caffè Zucco. Zucco's motto is "From Juice to Java," and they get bonus points for diversifying their product. The juice drinks were huge and refreshing, though not as adventurous in their ingredients as the ones at the Daily Squeeze. Juice Club has nothing on Zucco's interior, which is retro coffeehouse cool with an upstairs crashpad, perfect for studying, reading the paper or sipping. Plus, Zucco has fresh salads, sandwiches and gourmet coffee, and is open till midnight on weekends. And it's becoming known; as we were on our way back to the office, a complete stranger on a bike passed by, saw our cups and remarked approvingly, "Zuc-co!"
Caffè Zucco, 74 S. First St., San Jose (408/297-9777)Nectars, 81 W. Main St., Los Gatos (408/395-2333)
Daily Squeeze, 1389 Lincoln Ave., San Jose (408/295-0523)
Juice Club, 848 Blossom Hill Road, San Jose (408/225-2582); and 21265 Stevens Creek Blvd., Cupertino (408/366-2582); Embarcadero Road and El Camino Real, Palo Alto (415/325-2582)
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From the Jan. 11-17, 1996 issue of Metro
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