Review: An organic hangout for vegans
Customers can easily select items from the eye-catching menu that pops with vibrant colors.
Going vegan is becoming more mainstream and a new coffee house on Rolater Road is the latest local example as Salubrious Juice & More is a 100 percent vegan and organic hangout spot that serves smoothies, coffee, and more.
Walking up to the door, customers are greeted with a poster hung on the door that reads “good vibes only”, a phrase that screams ‘vegan’ and ‘hipster’.
When walking through the door, customers will see the standard coffee house decor: wooden floors and tables, a chalkboard, the whole menu written in neon expo markers with the meaning of “salubrious” painted on the back wall: defining it as health-giving or healthy, as well as a pleasant place.
The menu features a variety of items, including the typical coffee drinks along with smoothies and other food options.
The mocha frappé is about $4 but underwhelming. Mocha is a chocolate flavored coffee and there wasn’t any chocolate taste in the drink. In addition to this, there was a lot of icy froth at the bottom of the cup, which made it it hard to drink and lessened the flavor.
The smoothie bowl (approximately $8) has a lot going on and tastes it would if nuts or granola was added to yogurt, but the yogurt is a smoothie, so it was really cold. It’s hard to eat with a spoon as the smoothie starts to melt, not to mention trying to get nuts onto the spoon as well. It’s double the price of the smallest sized smoothie but has the same amount of smoothie in it, with some nuts on top.
Another menu option is the fruit salad smoothie, which is $4 for 12 ounces. The smoothie, much like an actual fruit salad, had a bunch of different fruits in it, but also has mint. Who puts mint in a fruit smoothie? Nevertheless, the barista insisted, saying that it added flavor and the smoothie wouldn’t taste the same without it.
The mint didn’t add even the smallest hint of flavor to the smoothie. In fact, the only thing that could be tasted was strawberry, which was only mediocre and slightly watered down due to using a lot of ice while making it. Essentially, it was a smoothie anyone with a blender could make; nothing special.
The aesthetics of Salubrious are pleasing as it looks like a local coffee house and has the potential to become a hangout space for family and friends. For vegans or those that eat only organic food, this serves as a great alternative to a normal coffee place. But those without dietary restrictions will be better off going elsewhere.
Aaron Boehmer is a senior and in his fourth year of working on the Wingspan staff, third as an editor. Aaron is hoping to study journalism or political...
