Green Smoothies in San Francisco

Today, we decided to explore the various smoothie bars in San Francisco.

First, we stopped by at Sidewalk Juice on 21st Street. The place looked like a hole in the wall, but there was a long line to order juices and smoothies. I ordered a Green Energy Juice containing spinach, parsley, kale, celery, cucumber, apple, lemon, and ginger. It tasted fine, but nothing special. The shop is pretty dirty, and I noticed that no one washed their hands between making juice, taking money, etc. It did not look very sanitary.

Most juices or smoothies are sized at 12 oz. or 16 oz. Sidewalk Juice has a pretty extensive menu, but the Top 10 Drinks are listed below:

Top 10 Drinks
1. Green Energy Juice spinach, parsley, kale, celery, cucumber, apple, lemon, ginger 6.00 / 7.00
2. Berries Valencia Smoothie blueberries, strawberries, banana, orange juice, marion berry sorbet and ice 4.95
3. Apple Beet Kombucha Juice one whole beet , one apple , kombucha 5.25 / 6.25
4. Mango Berry Smoothie apple juice, strawberries, blueberries, mangos, mango tangerine sorbet, ice 4.95
5. Mission Elixir Juice carrots, celery, apples, beet, ginger, parsley 5.00 / 6.00​6. Green Kombucha Juice bundles of spinach, kale, parsley, celery, ginger, kombucha 6.00 / 7.00
7. Kale Colada Smoothie fresh organic kale, coconut juice, pineapple, coconut shreds, pineapple sorbet, ice 4.95
8. JJ's Tropics Juice: apple, pear, pineapple, carrots 4.25 / 5.25
9. Almond Delight Smoothie almond butter, almond milk, banana, and ice 4.95
10. Apple Lemon Ginger Kombucha: 2 apples, half a lemon, 2 inches of ginger, kombucha 5.25 / 6.25

Inna ordered a Kale Colada Smoothie (fresh organic kale, coconut juice, pineapple, coconut shreds, pineapple sorbet, and ice). She liked it.

From across the Street, Sidewalk Juice looks alright.

Afterward, we decided to check out another Smoothie Bar - Frapez on 18th Street. Frapez looks like a professionally developed smoothie bar. It was clean, well-designed, upscale, and bright, happy colors. 

However, it did not have the same number of customers (as Sidewalk Juice) and was half-empty most of the time. The prices at Frapez were higher, which may have turned off some customers. Also, the sizes at Frapez were more significant (16oz / 20oz) and more expensive.

We ordered a couple of drinks. First, we tried the "D-Stress" (lotus seeds, pineapple, Panax ginseng, spirulina, spinach, honey, soy milk, coconut milk). Then we ordered a "Venus" Smoothie (strawberry, blueberry, goji berry, kelp, cashews, sucanat, orange juice, almond milk). They were both good but nothing extraordinary (or better than the ones we make at home). I really didn't care for the almond milk in my smoothie.

After being full of smoothies, we decided to explore the neighborhood. She spotted a Philz Coffee and wanted to show me this coffee shop. We tried the Tesora and Ambrosia coffees and really liked them!

Afterward, we stopped by Tartine Bakery, which was highly rated on Yelp, and wanted to see what the fuss was about. Inna ordered the Croque Monsieur (open-faced sandwich with béchamel, gruyere, thyme, and pepper, and topped with either smoked Niman Ranch ham or seasonal vegetables), which she enjoyed. Tartine Bakery does make delicious bread, but the other pastries and baked goods did not look as presentable as the ones in Fleur de Cocoa bakery in Los Gatos.

Bi-Rite Creamery had a massive line for ice cream. Later on, we stopped by to try their ice cream. It was pleasing - about the same quality at Lappert's in Hawaii - but not as delicious as in Florence, Italy. There is not much competition for quality ice cream in San Francisco.

Samovar Tea Lounge looked exciting, and we should stop by to sample their teas sometime. They had lots of tea varieties.