What $100 price of LA smoothies in NYC appears to be like like.
Picture: Tammie Teclemariam
Since I first appeared on the State of the Smoothie in New York in 2024, I’ve seen ever-more Erewhon dupes getting into this metropolis’s ecosystem. They’re simply recognized by the contrasting streaks of vegan cream and fruit lining the cups at East Village Natural, Oases, and many extra. However then this fall, phrase arrived that eventually Erewhon itself would open in New York — or not less than an Erewhon bar inside Kith Ivy, a brand new far West Village sports activities membership with a $36,000 membership charge. However Coconut Clouds are Coconut Clouds regardless of the place they get made. You don’t should be a member to get considered one of these smoothies delivered (through Uber Eats and Postmates), however you do should be throughout the supply zone, which, on the primary day, is inside one mile of the Kith membership.
Neither my dwelling nor my workplace is anyplace near that zone, so I did the one cheap factor: I posted up on the Arlo lodge in Hudson Sq. and ordered considered one of every smoothie to be delivered to the entrance desk. The order I positioned at 11:32 a.m. was in my fingers 36 minutes later. I paid $2.99 for “precedence” supply.
Earlier than we get to the standard of the smoothies, we must always talk about the value additional. The smoothies are famously $20, however they’re extra like $25 on the East Coast: The invoice for a quartet of Malibu Mango, Coconut Cloud, Vanilla Matcha, and Strawberry Glaze Pores and skin smoothies got here out to simply about $130 after all of the taxes and costs had been added — Uber and Kith want their cuts too. So even when these smoothies are usually not actually gatekept, they’re costly. After I spoke with a former Erewhon worker final yr, they emphasised that regardless of all the silliness of the model, clients might be assured that high quality stays excessive in all places. After spending dinner cash on 4 smoothies, I anticipated them to be pretty much as good as they’re in Calabasas.
I unloaded my caddy of its crimson, blue, yellow, and inexperienced drinks on the off-hours lodge bar, already adorned in full Christmas regalia. I went first for the Strawberry Glaze Pores and skin smoothie, f.ok.a. the Hailey Bieber smoothie. My first sip consisted totally of the “strawberry glaze” layered on the underside, which is principally syrup, so I raised the straw to style from the guts of the cup. As I adjusted to the continued sweetness, what at first appeared like a nice strawberry slush turned bitter. I might instantly style pretend sugar throughout the recent fruit. After I checked the components, I discovered the offender was proper there: vanilla stevia. The backwards and forwards of precise sugar and fruit in opposition to the chemical aftertaste of weight-reduction plan sugar was compelling as a metaphor for Hollywood however not as a drink.
It’s attainable I appreciated the Malibu Mango smoothie probably the most just because it has lots of fruit, nevertheless it’s extra that this drink makes the case for the existence for luxurious smoothies within the first place. Mango, pineapple, and coconut actually shine in one another’s firm with none bizarre interference, and whereas the components record stevia on this one, too, I couldn’t style it. This smoothie additionally held its texture the longest and is without doubt one of the better-looking smoothies with its topping of coconut chip, mango purée, and coconut cream. If I needed to deem considered one of these probably the most worthwhile, and I’ll as a result of I trudged to Hudson Sq. within the rain simply to do that, it will be this one.
Tasting the Coconut Cloud after the others didn’t do it any favors as a result of the fruit drinks are a lot sweeter. This, by comparability, is the mildest of all of them, a mellow banana frappé given dimension and its distinctive Klein Blue hue from a dose of spirulina. Regardless of the thrilling colour, the smoothie is disadvantaged of any acid or tang from the included pineapple, which I struggled to style in opposition to the banana, avocado, and almond butter in addition to the creamy coconut clouds drifting all through. It’s wealthy however bland, nice for breakfast, and on this case I feel among the copycats round city have it beat.
I used to be significantly wanting ahead to the Vanilla Matcha smoothie, which was the most costly of the bunch at $26.50. It contains sea moss, lion’s mane, and tocos, a vitamin E complement that arrives within the type of uncooked rice bran. I didn’t take offense to any of those dietary supplements, principally as a result of I couldn’t style something over the oatmilk and “grass-fed vanilla collagen,” which tasted like a protein bar. Missing any fruit to present it construction, this one was already fairly melty by the point I acquired it, whereas the others felt extra like precise smoothies. I couldn’t detect any matcha to talk of, solely chlorella mud caught to the within of the cup, which was additionally darkish inexperienced and tasted like nothing. Is that this how the opposite coast actually lives?
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