Juice and smoothie bars seem to be be all the rage these days, they’re popping up on every corner. We decided to check out Energize Juice Bar in Brighton, located just across the street from the local YMCA.

The space is light and inviting with fresh fruit everywhere!

Most of the people who were coming in were grabbing juices to go, but they have a great seating area if you want to enjoy your juice or light bite at the shop.

How cute are the succulents on the tables?

The smoothies come in 2 sizes, 16oz and 24oz, and run anywhere from $5.85 to $14. I had the “longevity” which was homemade cashew milk, raspberries, blueberries, strawberries, banana, goji berry powder, bee pollen and  raw agave. Super delicious! In addition to smoothies they make juice to order, have customized salads and have tasty looking acai bowls.

Here’s their smoothie list:

Healthy Heaven – $8.50/$10.25

Hemp Milk, Banana, Apple, Dates, Ginger, Maca, Honey, Almond Butter, Maca,

Longevity – $7.50/$9.25

Homemade Cashew Milk, Raspberries, Blueberries, Strawberries, Banana, Goji Berry Powder, Bee Pollen, Raw Agave

Superfood Bomb – $9.25/$10.50

Avocado, Pear, Kale, Cayenne Pepper, Goji Berry Powder, Acai, Maca, Camu, Maple Syrup

Coffee Lover – $6.25/$8.00

Coconut Milk, Coffee, Almond Butter, Banana, LivWell Protein, Cacao, Honey

Fuel – $6.50/$8.25

Homemade Almond Milk, Kiwi, Banana, Almond Butter, Mint, Agave

Super Nutrition – $14.00 (24oz) 

Fresh Squeezed: Kale, Celery Cucumber and Lime.

Blended with: Banana, Date, Chia Seeds, Coconut Oil, Bee Pollen, Hemp Powder and Vegan Protein

The Green Monster – $7.25/$9.00

Hemp Milk, Avocado, Spinach, Spirulina,  Raw Agave, Turmeric, Cayenne Peppper

Comfort Food – $6.25 (bottled)

Homemade Cashew Milk, Maple Syrup, Cinnamon, Raw Agave, Vanilla

Caribbean Sea – $7.25/$9.50

Homemade Almond Milk, Pineapple, Mango, Cinnamon, Coconut Oil

Happiness – $5.85/$7.25

Homemade Almond Milk, Banana, Strawberries, Maple Syrup

Friendship – $5.85/$7.25

Homemade Almond Milk, Blueberries, Banana, Lemon, Raw Agave

Chocolate Joy – $6.50/$8.50

Homemade Almond Milk, Chia Seeds, Banana, Almond Butter, Cacao, Maca and Agave

Their juices come in 12oz and 16oz sizes. Here is what they offer:

Vitality – $6.50/$8.00

Red Apple, Carrot, Lemon and Cayenne Pepper

Green Clean – $6.85/$8.50

Cucumber, Pear, Lime, Mint

The Green Mile – $7.25/$9.00

Kiwi, Celery, Cucumber, Green Apple, Lime

Florida – $5.95/$7.25

Orange, Pineapple, Lemon

Wellness – $6.25/$7.75

Beets, Carrots,Lemon, Ginger, Turmeric

Kale, Celery, Cucumber, Green Apple

Hydrate – $6.50/$8.00

Cucumber, Pear, Lemon, Aloe Vera, Coconut water

Mass Health – $6.50/$7.75

Carrots, Beets, Pineapple, Orange, Lemon

Energize Juice Bar

618 Washington Street, Brighton, MA

http://energizeboston.com

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I’ve been unconsciously on a Mediterranean kick lately. Met a friend at Dates and Olives in Brighton for lunch one day. We were the only other people there except for the photo shoot that was going on that day. The space is cute inside, with a few tables (but no high chairs for those of you who may have young kids) and a great window in front to let all the natural light in. Pictured above is the muhamara ($5.50), which is a roasted red pepper dip with walnuts, pomegranates, herbs and lemon (it comes with a side of pita). It was so rich in flavor, we gobbled it up!

You order at the counter, picking appetizers and salads from their menu, or building your own custom meal: a rice bowl, a salad bowl or a pita. I chose a rice bowl with chicken ($8.25) that was grilled with Moroccan spices. It came with a choice of 4 toppings and sauces, of which I chose the carrot raisin salad, the eggplant dip, the lettuce and the feta cheese. Really delicious and there was plenty of food to take home with me for my lunch the next day! The chicken was so tender and flavorful and carrot raisin salad is my weakness.

Here’s a list of other toppings they offer:

Hummus•Eggplant Dip•Lettuce•Olives•Feta Cheese•Carrot Rasin Salad•Red Cabbage Slaw•Millet Tabbouleh•Pickled Turnips•Yogurt Mint Sauce•Hot Zhoug Sauce•Tahini Sauce

Dates and Olives

160 Chestnut Hill Ave, Brighton, MA

Closed on Mondays

www.datesandolives.com

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Who uses a formal dining room anymore, right? Well this was the room I was MOST excited about! I knew I wanted a large table for family get togethers and for dinners with good friends. I had looked around at a lot of places for a table – nothing was quite right. I came close to buying one from Pottery Barn, but I didn’t feel like the quality was good enough for the money I was paying. So then I thought I would look for a custom table because the room was so large. I ended up coming across Saltwoods on Instagram and instantly fell in love with their reclaimed wood tables. I headed over to their workshop in Watertown and met with Dan, the owner to discuss my options. There were so many choices: what style leg did I want, what finish did I want on the table, what color should the legs be? Dan couldn’t have been nicer (and the rest of his team is equally great) and was there every step of the way. He is one of those stories you love to hear, left his corporate job of 12 years to do pursue his passion.

Here is the after – the table is AMAZING! It measures 99″ x 50″ and can comfortably seat 10 (six on each side and two at each end), but you could certainly do 12. It’s solid oak, with breadboard ends and has tapered legs in chestnut brown. I posted this photo on my instagram page and I can’t tell you how many people reached out and told me how much they loved the table and asked where they could get one! Saltwoods exceeded my expectations and we couldn’t be happier.

Here’s one of the coolest parts about the table. Each one comes with this disc that gives you the coordinates of where your reclaimed wood came from. Ours came from a barn in Kentucky!

Stay tuned for more before and after photos of our new space! In the meantime, if you’re looking for a table, give Saltwoods a look. You can follow them on Instagram at @saltwoods_boston.

Saltwoods

19D Calvin Road, Watertown, MA

http://www.saltwoods.com

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I had mentioned to a friend that I was going to Watertown to look at dining room tables. When I told her where it was, she asked me if I was going to the Danish Pastry House. I had seen the Danish Pastry House selling their sweet treats at local farmers markets, but didn’t know that they had a brick and mortar shop (they have 2!). So, it’s down a small industrial alley and you might not know where to look – you might even miss it, but keep looking, it’s worth it! Here’s just a sampling of what they have at the shop – top right are my favorite, their version of  7 layer bars. How cute are the kaj frogs (pictured lower left)? They’re made with marzipan. That piece in the bottom right hand corner, just under the chocolate shell is the lightest, fluffiest marshmallow you’ve ever sunk your teeth into…I’m salivating now just thinking about it.

They everything from traditional Danish pastries such as kringle, to freshly baked breads to custom designed cakes. So stop in and treat yourself!

Danish Pastry House

205 Arlington Street, Watertown, MA

www.danishpastryhouse.com

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We went during the week for lunch and while we were there right when they opened, don’t let the empty seats in the photos fool you, by noon time there wasn’t a free seat! I love the decor inside, the lighting fixtures, the tall ceilings and the wine taps.

Branch Line offers Green Circle chickens (if you haven’t heard about them, read the NYT article here). I’m pretty sure that these chickens eat better than I do – four star restaurant veggie scraps – and they roam free. If you can’t make it in, you can get take out, half birds are $19 and whole birds are $36. It seems like a high price when you hear the number, but once you taste the chicken, you’ll think it’s totally worth it.

Everything on the menu sounds delicious, so we have to contain ourselves….we order a half chicken to split and some tasty small plates just so we can try a little of everything.

We started off with the fried cheese ($6) which looks to not be on the menu anymore. Tasty bites to get our appetites in gear.

Snap peas ($11) mushrooms ($8) half chicken ($19). You MUST have the snap pea salad, not only is it pretty to look at, but there is just something really special about the flavors here, and I can’t quite put my finger on it.  It comes with a marcona almond vinaigrette, mint and ricotta cheese. YUM! The grilled mushrooms are served in CHICKEN DRIPPINGS….let the salivating begin. So super tasty. The chicken itself is served in “house sauce” and is so tender and flavorful.

Branch Line

321 Arsenal Street, Watertown, MA

http://www.branchlinearsenal.com/

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I had been hearing lots of good things about Strip T’s. Tim Maslow has been getting a lot of buzz. He landed a job at cult favorite restaurant Momofuku in New York and came back to Boston to transform his father’s sandwich shop into the hot spot it now is. From the outside, it looks like nothing special. It’s a few blocks from the Arsenal Mall in Watertown, and has seating for about 30 in addition to the bar seating in front.

The inside is quite charming. Light fills the place from the large windows in front. There are wonderful photographs on the wall (which you can purchase) along with a big mirror in the back to make the place feel a little bigger than it really is.

We are lucky to get a seat right away, but maybe that’s because we are having lunch at 2:30. The waitstaff is in t-shirts and jeans and they give us menus that are clipped to a piece of cardboard.

We start with the NYC’s Pho Real sandwich ($9) with grilled chicken, thai basil, avocado, bean sprouts. There were a lot of things going on in the sandwich, but it was delicious, a really nice melding of flavors.

We get a side of sweet potato wedge fries ($6).

We also order the fried cauliflower sandwich ($9) it comes with provolone, but we had them hold the broccoli rabe. Really nice flavor in this sandwich, made me feel like I was being healthy!

They have a lot of locally sourced food, during the day it is more of a diner and during the evening they have a more upscale menu. The service was ok, our waitress brought us our check when she dropped off the sandwiches, and even though she said, “no rush”, we still thought that it was bad form. The meal was excellent, we went home and took a nap afterwards, which is a true compliment to the chef!

Strip T’s

Phone: (617) 923-4330 Fax: (617) 923-8062
93 School St Watertown, MA 02472

Reservations are encouraged, but not required.

Hours of Operation:
Mon-Fri 11am-4pm & 5pm-10:00pm
(Fri open until 10:30pm)
Sat 11:30am-4pm & 5pm-10:30pm
closed sunday

http://www.stripts.com/index.html

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