A Whir-wind Tour

Richmond’s juice bars want to bowl you over, but some strike out with toast

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In my tour of locally owned raw juice bars, meaning that none of the juice is pasteurized, I noted a number of similarities, including cozy nooks for reflection, avocado toast and smoothie bowls. While I understand the caloric difference between eating fresh fruits or vegetables versus drinking them (an 8-ounce cup of juice can contain twice as many calories as a cup of fruit or vegetables), I can say that after each juice bar visit, I felt energetic and light — a nice change from the zipper-bursting discomfort I usually feel after a meal.

Ginger Juice

7021 Three Chopt Road, 804-282-3002; 12171 Broad St., Suite B, 804-364-8600

Owner Erin Powell got into juicing in an effort to get her son to eat his vegetables. In addition to raw, cold-pressed bottled juices that have a shelf life of three days, Ginger offers smoothies, acai bowls, soups, energy shots and toasts. At the counter, there is an ice bar holding juice and soup samples for customers to try, which is a nice touch. After helping myself to too many samples, I choose Guiltless, featuring kale, spinach, cucumber, pear, parsley, lemon and ginger. When I order, the cashier directs me to a cooler and tells me to help myself to a bottle. (Because no heat is used in the extraction, enzymes and vitamins are preserved up to three days.) I also try the Garlic Cashew Dream Cheese toast, served with a cup of warm Golden Guyana soup. The soup is blended smooth with sweet potato, ginger, coconut and turmeric. The toast, topped with a garlic cashew “cream cheese,” is a delight to behold. The cashew cream cheese, made pink with beet juice, is spread thickly and topped with crisp green cucumber and magenta radish slices, then sprinkled with fronds of fresh dill. The toast is creamy and garlicky, and needs only a dusting of sea salt that is available at the counter.

Saadia’s Juicebox

402 1/2 N. Second St., 804-299-0125

In the heart of Jackson Ward’s restaurant row — next to Lucy’s and down the block from Big Herm’s and J Kogi — sits Saadia’s Juicebox. The bright space offers plenty of seating, and at the back of the café you’ll find a yoga classroom. Behind the counter, the whir of blenders and juicers over hushed chatter is calming. I am greeted warmly and order from Saadia Yasmin herself, who opened her shop in early 2017. I enjoy the quiet as I take a sip of my Turmeric Sunrise juice, served to me at room temperature because it was made not in their cold-press juicer that crushes and then presses without heat, but in a traditional centrifugal juicer, which creates a bit of heat because it uses a metal blade. A vibrant orange and made with apple, carrot, celery, lemon, turmeric and ginger, the juice’s balance of flavors brings out the celery, which keeps it from being too sweet. Feeling right healthy, I dig into the Green Goddess smoothie bowl. Thick with spinach, banana, almond butter and soy milk, it's topped with a generous garnish of chia seeds, chopped almonds and orange slices. This brilliantly colored combo is a meal in itself. Later, I enjoy a grab-and-go item I picked up at the counter — a chickpea salad made with cilantro, lime juice, vinegar and mustard. With this snack, the lowly chickpea is elegantly elevated via fresh herbs and a tangy dressing.

The Pit and the Peel

1102 W. Main St., 804-367-5885; 3321 W. Cary St., 804-359-0200

The Main Street Pit and The Peel is bathed in wood and light, with ample seating and a picture window. A community table sits open for patrons, and an impressive collection of board games encourages customers to stay a while. The VCU location has been open since 2015,

with another Pit and The Peel popping up in Carytown in 2017. Owners Craig Brosius and Andrew Urbanowski recently announced two new locations coming soon to downtown and Short Pump. Offerings include juices, smoothie bowls and avocado toast, in addition to quinoa bowls, quesadillas, sandwiches and other savory options. The quinoa bowl combinations intrigue me. The buffalo chicken quinoa bowl is tossed with organic chicken, buffalo sauce, blue cheese dressing, and chopped celery and carrot. This combination of a health bowl with pub grub is genius. The pungent blue cheese dressing and the red-hot heat of the buffalo sauce distract you from all the fiber so that you almost feel like you’re bellied up to a bar somewhere digging into wings. The avocado toast on the other hand, is maddening. The flimsy bread at the Pit and the Peel was overflowing with avocado spread and caving under the weight. Like Saadia’s, The Pit and the Peel excels at making intriguing juice combinations. The slightly cool After Glow, containing apple, lemon, orange, sweet potato, carrot and ginger, is silky and brightly energizing.

North End Juice Co.

718 N. Cleveland St., 804-729-7340; 9101 Midlothian Turnpike No. 600, 804-562-0952

North End in the Museum District is owned by Channing Miller, an entrepreneur who grew up learning to cook from his mother, a baker. This walk-up, fresh-pressed juice bar has a tropical vibe with wood paneling and a pineapple motif. A man near me drinks water from a fresh coconut, and I half expect him to be barefoot. Since the juice selection is pretty standard (apple, carrot, kale hybrids), I opt for activated charcoal lemonade made with fresh-squeezed lemon, filtered water and agave. Purported to help flush toxins from your body (and apparently great for hangovers), the activated charcoal is just kind of cool to see. While I can’t say that I feel toxins leaving my body, the drink is refreshingly sweet and definitely perks me up as the afternoon lulls. My feelings about their yellow fin tuna avocado toast are mixed. Topped with a bounty of red, chopped, raw tuna and a generous draping of seaweed salad, this toast has great potential. The tuna is spicy, fresh and tender. If it weren’t for an uncomplimentary layer of hummus spread underneath, I would have loved this dish. In the future, I will opt for their tuna poke bowl, which is served over sticky rice and comes with pickled cucumbers, avocado and mango.