Life can be sweet… especially when you’re eating the right acai bowls. So, here’s week two of the quest for the best acai bowl here in Boston, MA. Last week we tried Energize, which was quite delicious, but their consistency was in question. The answer for that, being that I ordered again from them earlier this week, is that their consistency is unreliable, but they never fail to taste quite appetizing. This week I visited JUGOS, a juice bar located in Back Bay on Dartmouth Street (right across from the Prudential Center).
JUGOS is Spanish for “juice”… which also happens to be their specialty. They have all natural and fresh juices infused with healthy and brain-boosting ingredients such as kale, cucumber, apple, ginger, celery, cayenne, turmeric, beet, etc. Additionally, they have a wide array of juice shots, smoothies, sandwiches and of course, acai bowls. The acai bowl I ordered was called “Los Verdes,” which is a bowl consisting of blended acai, kale, spinach, mango, banana, and cashew milk, topped with granola, banana, and goji berries.
First of all, let me start by saying I was impressed by the speed at which this store functions. When I first came this to this peanut-sized shop, I was worried that, with a line that extended outside the store, I’d have to wait a decently long time. However, this was miraculously not the case and I got my bowl in around, give or take twenty minutes.
The aesthetic of the shop is quite nice. They have fresh fruits in wooden-woven baskets all along the exterior of the shop. Though I think it’s because nothing really fits inside the shop — I barely fit. I was shoulder to shoulder with all the other customers and every other 5 seconds you’d hear someone saying “excuse me.”.
Although to be honest, I forgot all about the crammy, uncomfortable store when I began to eat my first JUGOS acai bowl. I was blown away. The acai bowl full of vegetables was actually delicious. It reminded me of those vegetable brownies my elementary school fed us. They tasted delicious — we had no idea they packed the chocolate delights with sweet potato and spinach. Same went for this acai bowl — the taste was delicious and not overwhelmingly vegetable-like.
All bowls are $9.95 and $1.50 extra for toppings. The toppings include bee pollen, whey, raw cacao, goji berries, hemp, maca, soy, spirulina, vitamin c, honey, chia seeds, oats, and almond butter. Honey and oats are the only add-ons that are $1.00 instead of $1.50. Their favorite bowl is the Sao Paolo bowl. This bowl consists of blended acai, cashew, raw cacao, banana, and cashew milk, and topped with granola, banana, cacao nibs, and coconut. Yelp reviewers rave about this bowl like it’s their job. So perhaps we will try this bowl for fun to confirm its yelp-fame. If you thought it didn’t get any better than chocolate acai bowls, you are wrong my friend…
They’ve got punch cards. This is great for people who want to spend the extra money on healthy foods but also get rewarded for it. Plus, doesn’t love free stuff? Ask for a punch card if you ever go because once you go once, you’ll want to go again. With the purchase of 10 items, you get a free 16-ounce smoothie/drink. To clear that up, that’s items, not purchases! So, let’s say you go in one Sunday morning and buy a juice and an acai bowl, that’s 2 punches on your card.