SAN ANTONIO -- Not so sure a cup a day will keep the doctor away? Urth Juice Bar may be just what the doctor ordered in a city enveloped with deep cultural comfort food.
"Our mission is to bring health nutrition - an easy vehicle - via juices, cleanses and smoothies," said Urth Juice's Jake Forshpan.
There are three Urth Juice Bars in San Antonio: Two under Forshpan, the other under the company's founder. They, however, operate independently. This is where we click the "It's complicated" button to describe their relationship.
Urth Juice has been juicing since 2009. The company's organic cuisine even caught the attention of USA Today. According to Forshpan, he came on board about two years ago. The physics graduate brought with him a west coast meets Boulder, Colorado fitness attitude. He also came in with the idea to cold press for the locations.
"We made an agreement that we'd be cold pressing for us all and departed after disagreements over integrity of the product," he said. "We purchased the brand."
He operates the 812 S. Presa St. location and a second location in the Stone Oak area. Expect a third of his at Babcock and DeZavala in the near future. The McCullough location is not his, but their selection is practically identical.
"What it does is retain all of the enzymes, nutrients and stuff," he said. "It actually allows the juices to stay alive after it's juiced."
Don't worry about being a juicing novice because Urth is filled with experts who can help you navigate toward your goal. Weight loss? Cleansing? It's all possible.
"We really try to hit on a multitude of people, circumstances, goals and needs," Forshpan said. "That's kind of what we pride ourselves on."
Customers are encouraged to sample their way to a successful program. Forshpan said Urth Juice Bar finds an enjoyable way to do it.
"You don't have to feel like you're changing the way you deal with everything and your taste buds," he said.
The menu features cleanses, juice, smoothies and more. Grab a drink with an interesting name and get nutrimental benefits: "Purple Rain," "Rambo Rio" or a "Goddess."
Neighborhood Eats had a ginger shot, which we heard we hilariously drank the wrong way. There's an after-ginger burn. We'd drink it again!
Kale, spinach, celery, pineapple, cucumber, parsley and ginger make up the very popular Hot Lei. Delish!
The vanilla cashew milk is good stuff! Que rico!
The Beetox is a cleanse. Neighborhood Eats likes lots of veggies. So, for us, this juice with celery, beets, kale, lemon, cucumber and ginger was satisfying.
Urth Juice Bar's acai bowls are wonderful! Picture a layered fruit crown and a fresh light smoothie with granola! Que rico!
That's this week's edition of Neighborhood Eats. If you have a suggestion for Marvin, send him an email to mhurst@kens5.com, tweet @mhurstkens5 or post it on the KENS 5 Facebook page. Don't forget to hashtag it #KENS5Eats