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Shaka Shaka Tiki is what Companion Cafe turns into after dark. It’s run by Gary from Hawaii, and it’s a pretty cool concept. Makes sense to turn a coffee shop into a bar at night. I wonder why everyone doesn’t do it? The space used to be Bergen Dean Sandwich Shop (located across the street from the exterior of the Brooklyn Nine-Nine precinct. Not the largest space, but they have bar seating, and two tables. They have a daily juice special that they squeeze fresh. When we went, it was Granny Smith apple, kale, and ginger beer with gin as the mixer. It was SO GOOD. And also makes you feel like you’re being healthy instead of a drunkard. Win/win! They also have a cool bathroom!

Shaloka Healthy Eatery – Staten Island – Menu with Prices – 2230 Hylan Blvd, Staten Island

Shaka is one of the new bowl places to break onto the growing bowl scene of Staten Island. Shaka is unique because it offers both Baya and Poke bowls. It also offers fresh juices and smoothies. Inside is immaculate, with about 5-6 tables. When placing an order you fill out a sheet and submit when ready. There are many options that you can choose without an additional cost. Some other bowl places charge extra for peanut butter or Nutella; not the case here. Very few of the toppings do include an additional cost. I had an açaí bowl and added strawberries, pineapple and mango. Mango was $1 extra, but I checked in on Yelp to receive that $1 off. The reason for 4 stars is because the pineapple was not fresh and from a can. The mango was totally fresh and added a nice flavor to the bowl. I’d spring the extra $1 for the mango. Skip the pineapple. Staff was friendly and welcoming, which is always nice. Price is on par with other bowl places on Staten Island, but I think Shaka has more free add-ons than their competition. It is worth a visit as they have many options for Poke bowls.

Nick & Mike Bar and Grill – Menu with Prices – 11524 N Tryon St #7, Charlotte

Overall-Food: Delicious | Service: Friendly and attentive | Space: Modern, chic, and clean I was pleasantly surprised during our 10/05/19 visit to Nick & Mike’s. The food was great. I went for the wings, and I wasn’t disappointed. They were well seasoned, lightly breaded, crispy, and HOT. I had garlic parm & plain. My cousin has the hot. If you order the hot wings, you might want to get the sauce on the side, because they get a little salty. And that’s coming from a person who likes salt. Calamari was off the chain. Burger was good, but it was upstaged by the wings. Did I mention the wings were good? Taylor, our server, was very nice and knowledgeable. The prices are set at a comfortable price point. And they know how to mix a nice cocktail. It’s tucked away in a shopping center and appears modest and a little small when walking up. But walking in the space opens up a little. For a small space, they’ve planned very well. The seating is either bar or gastro seating. I’m not a big fan of the banquet/chair gastro pub type seating because the tables are usually pushed so close together. But here, they allow a respectable distance between tables. So there’s no problem with people overhearing your table conversation or having to squeeze into your seat between tables. Great food, good staff, nice vibe. I definitely recommend you check them out.

Planet Smoothie Menu with Prices 231 Peachtree St, Atlanta

This is a great smoothie / juice spot downstairs in the Peachtree center. When you go down the stairs, planet smoothie is to the right. There aren’t many smoothie and juice options and downtown Atlanta, so this place is a great option. I arrived at 5:55 PM, right before they were scheduled to close at 6 PM. She originally said I couldn’t get a juice as they had already clean the machines, but she very graciously made an exception for me and allowed me to order a juice anyways. I ordered the green lemonade juice with spinach kale cucumbers apples lemon and lime, a 2 ounce ginger shot. I mixed the two, which was a great combination. Both of the juice and the shot, they made on the spot fresh for me, which is different from some of the juice places I’ve been to where they make the juice is only once or twice a week and store them in the fridge. I came back the next day to get an amazon açaí bowl (and another green lemonade). It was good, but the tall bowl made it such that there was too much açaí and not enough toppings. A shallow bowl would help. So while the juices are good, the bowls could be improved.

Bikes and Beans Menu with Prices 1350 S Vista Ave, Boise

Had no expectations going into this new spot and I was pleasantly surprised by how cool it is! Literally a bike shop and coffee shop mixed into to one awesome place! Greeted right away by the southern belle barista and found out that the coffee shop is not messing around when it comes to there coffee. Felt like the barista was quite knowledgable about the variety of coffees offered here. Lots of seating for a group of friends to get together also couple of outside tables. My coffee was excellent and service was superior! Highly recommend and I will return sooner than later! Don’t hesitate to visit this cool coffee shop

Main Squeeze Juice Co. Menu with Prices 9659 Antioch Rd Suite 100, Baton Rouge

This is goodness! This is also the best location for me since I workout in this area! Brett was so wonderful explaining the organic choices I can choose from and no dairy products! I was able to sample and able to take my time looking at the menu. Brett was awesome explaining about all the different smoothies, bowls, and cold-pressed juices to choose from. The owner Eric let me take a video and explained how they juice the kale – everything is organic and fresh. Everything is made right on the premises! You can even mid your own smoothie by pedaling in their Main Squeeze bike! I love the organic sitting area and this place is super clean!!! They also have a rewards program -right up my alley since I will be a regular customer here! So pumped this place is here and looking forward trying more yummy items on the menu!!!!

Salads & Juice Bar – Menu with Prices – 981 Adams Ave, Montgomery

This is the ONLY bona fide juice bar in Montgomery, and it’s fantastic!! I was in Montgomery on business and was disappointed to initially find out that there were only Smoothie establishments around town; no Juice Bars. I wanted a healthy juice, with Kale, Cucumber and other stuff that’s good for the bod, so I didn’t give up. I looked and looked and finally found this place on FB. They were able to make my custom juice at a very affordable price, and with a huge smile to boot. Their salads looked yummy too. Had a 20oz green juice. I felt like Pac-Man after eating a power pellet. Awesome place! Don’t miss it if you’re ever in Montgomery.

Electric Beet Juice Co. Menu with Prices 1313 N State St, Bellingham

I visited Electric Beet a few times at their previous location at the Public Market, and was super excited to see they were opening up their own spot nearby on State Street. I was not disappointed! Their new space has a great vibe, and while the old location was fun for people-watching it was also kinda loud and there wasn’t much seating. This new spot features a brightly-lit storefront with cool Bellingham/modern decor, ample seating, good wi-fi, and all the ingredients of a sweet little cafe. Plus, dare I say, the juice and food are phenomenal too! They have juice, smoothies, and tasty food – they even have a food pick-up service so you can order your meals in advance and know you’ll be eating healthy throughout the week. And, thank goodness, they still have that delicious avocado toast that keeps me coming back. The staff here is always friendly and helpful, too. They can make suggestions based on what you like, or what you’re in the mood for. And they hand-make every juice/smoothie to order so you know you’re getting the freshest ingredients.

barismo 364 – Menu with Prices – 364 Broadway, Cambridge

Barismo boasts a beautiful space in a charming neighborhood–high ceilings, interesting lighting, and a curving, stylish coffee bar dropped smack-dab in the middle of the space. You’d think this would be a canvas for a funky Cambridge coffee shop to mold as a display of its character. Noting this upon walking in, I was disappointed, but after eating, I realized that this space was, in fact, a perfect representation of Barismo’s essence. I got a real vanilla latte. The reality was that there was no vanilla, no espresso, no flavor of any kind, and no attempt at any serious kind of latte art unless Barismo prides itself in some sort of avant garde, Rothkoesque presentation. It was a disappointing latte, especially in an area with many better lattes. I also got a “meat quiche.” What meats were in this quiche? Mushrooms outweighed the mystery meat 10:1, and the egg was improperly cooked and, somehow, improperly reheated. I will say that the food looks very pretty and is well-presented (unlike the coffee), but the taste leaves something to be desired. I have a little more to say about the space itself. It’s such a large, beautiful building. The window into the kitchen is charming and hip, the bar in the center is quirky and cool, and the large windows let in all the stunning Cambridge light. That said, the space is entirely under- or mis-utilized. The seating is all cramped against the left wall, all tables pushed over there making it hard to get to the booth seating without bumping someone’s coffee over. Coffee shops tend to be like this, though, so it’s a not a problem in itself–it’s more that there is SO MUCH unused space in this building that they don’t use. So much empty floor, so much awkward shelf space and so many awkwardly-placed plants that you’d think they’d reorganize everything and actually create some character here. The coffee shop market is not lacking for character, quirk, or charm, but if all that bothers you and muddies your vision of an unrealized space, Barismo might be the spot for you.

Black Coffee Lounge – Menu with Prices – 824 Elm St, Cincinnati

Customer service is on point. I hate the parking but it’s downtown so what do you expect. But… the chicken salad sandwich makes up for the parking. It’s $8 and comes with a bag of BBQ Grippos (chips). Have to buy the drink separately which is to be expected I mean it is a coffee shop. But I didn’t order coffee I purchased the vegan juice. It’s called Macho Green. It was sooo good! A good cold pressed juice is hard to find, but I found it. It’s also a local brand so I killed two birds with one stone buying local juice from a local store. There is a ode to hip hop in the artistry placed around the coffee shop (cough made by local Cincinnati artist as well). I must say this… for my black Yelpers… A BLACK OWNED COFFEE SHOP IN CINCINNATI IS HERE!!! It is finally here!! This coffee shop is for us… BY ONE OF US!! It’s ok white Yelpers you can go to, everyone is welcome at Black Coffee, but if you can’t be happy around our blackness then go to Starbucks. BECAUSE THIS IS A LOVING SPACE FOR ALL SHADES OF PEOPLE. They have small intimate events coming up that I can’t wait to check out. The music isn’t elevator music it is however hip hop, jazz, smooth tunes, neo soul, modern soul, r&b, and ya mamas Saturday morning clean up music. The cakes, pies, and cookies offered for sale is also (cough local black owned bakeries and chefs cough) good. I had sweet potato pound cake that made me wanna slap my mama! I can’t wait to go back for the vegan chocolate chip cookies. I’m super proud that this coffee shop is owned and operated by some young business man who is on his way to becoming a mogul. GO HERE!!! Because it’s a local man, building and collaborating with local people for a space for Cincinnati to begin to thrive as a modern growing metropolis. It’s not that stuffy uppity coffee shop that you can’t chew to loud. It’s a space to have meetings and chat and laugh and not get the police called on you for openly being black and chilling *side eyeing star.. nvmd* ITS JUST A SPACE TO BE WHO YOU ARE with your buzzcuts and chin piercings and red lace fronts.

The Distillery – Menu with Prices – 1 Bowman Dr, Fredericksburg

A couple weeks ago I was in Northern Virginia for a friend’s birthday party. Now, of course, if I’m making a road trip in the middle of September than I’m making a stop at a local distiller. There was one particular distillery that I’ve been trying to get to for years and for whatever reason every time I would plan the trip it would get derailed. So, on my way to Dumfries I made a short stop in Fredericksburg. The distillery I’m talking about (in case the heading didn’t give it away) was A. Smith Bowman. If you live in Northern Virginia or DC and you haven’t taken the train down to Virginia’s largest distillery yet. You’re doing yourself a disservice. In fact if you’re in the DC area it’s a very simple train ride to get to the Bowman distillery. Founded in 1934 on the day prohibition ended this distillery has been in it’s current location, I nice sleepy spot right on the river, since 1988. The cavernous tasting room has got to be one of the largest ones I’ve ever been to. The staff were very nice and their bourbon is great. I took home their John J Bowman bourbon as well as the Carmel Bourbon Cream Liqueur. Even if you can’t make it out to the distillery the John J Bowman is worth picking up at your local liquor store. But if you don’t believe us. Checkout what Paste had to say. One thing I’ll note for those, like me, that sometimes travel with a furry companion. Unlike many tasting rooms. There’s not any outdoor seating and you cannot take your little buddy in with you. Leave the doggo at home if you decide to visit the Bowman distillery. https://whiskeytramp.com/blog/2019/9/22/virginia-spirits-month

ColdPress Express – Menu with Prices – 2010 Festival Plaza Dr, Las Vegas

Wow. ColdPress Express = GAME CHANGER. Let’s get this straight…I am not a “juice” person. I usually feel like juices are hiding a ton of sugar, and I don’t feel it’s a healthy habit to get into to absorb all your daily nutrients. BUT, there’s a big BUT here… ColdPress Express is different. You notice it from the moment you are greeted, and that continues as you are treated by staff with care, and knowledge on ingredients. There is a lack of facades here. You know what you are getting in every way; and you also are in full control of what you want to receive. Wide selection of juice options, with the ability to manage your own nutrients – desired sugars. I love this place, and also can’t forget to mention their quick bites!!! Healthy bomb bowls, and great unique toasts. They also have the best avocado toast in town (truth). And a really delicious espresso bean (makes great americanos)- cool machine that is worth a trip in to check out. Love to see SkinnyFATS expand their concepts, and look forward to my many visits in this 2019!!

First Watch – Pinnacle Village at 119th Street – Menu with Prices – 12040 Blue Valley Pkwy, Overland Park

We stopped by this restaurant after church, and this restaurant welcomed us with friendly staff and amazing food. It reminded me of a big open kitchen that you would see on tv. There were some cast iron skillets hanging up for decoration, and the light fixtures were among some of the most unique ones I’ve seen. Service was excellent, and it did not take long for our food to come out. My husband and I both got the tri-fecta. It included your choice of meat, eggs any way you like, and either a pancake or waffle. With mine, I got the waffle and he got the pancake. The waffle was airy and topped with Powdered sugar. I tasted his Pancake, and I would recommend the waffle over the pancake. The pancake was good…but the waffle was much better (trust me on this). We both topped our meals off with a nice glass of juice. I had a simple apple juice, while my husband had the Kale Tonic Fresh Juice, which was delicious!! I had a very good experience here as a first-Timer, and I will definitely be back!