Joe & The Juice

I don't know when it happened.  Sometime in the past couple years, when I wasn't looking.  My neighborhood became overrun with Joe & The Juice locations. 

"Taking juice to the next level."

Yeah, yeah, another trendy juice shop?  Not quite.

Joe & The Juice stands out from all the other juice shops (e.g. Pressed Juicery, Juice Shop, etc), as rather than focused on cleanses and juicing lifestyles, it seems to be marketed for much greater appeal (but not in a general Jamba Juice way).  In addition to juice they have some (healthy) food, a full coffee bar, and plentiful lounge space, and, well, my neighborhood seems to have fully embraced the brand.  There are 3 (!) within a half mile radius!

The success however is certainly not limited to my neighborhood - Joe & The Juice is a worldwide chain, and actually started in Denmark (in 2002).  I first saw it in Sydney years before it made its way to San Francisco.

Anyway.  I'm not a juicing type, not really one to seek out healthy foods, but, I finally visited, drawn in by the popularity, and, um, the lure of free things, courtesy of AllSet, an ordering platform they are offered on.

Side note: Stuck doing a lot of takeout and delivery these days? Want to try some free food and new pickup or delivery services?  Here are some codes for free money!

• Allset ($5 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Door Dash ($15 off, $5 each of your first 3 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Caviar ($20 off, $10 off your first 2 orders) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Ritual ($6 off) [ Pickup only ]
• Delivery.com ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Grub Hub ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Seamless ($10 off) [ Delivery or pickup ]
• Nextdish: ($10 off your first order) [ Delivery only ]
• Uber Eats ($20 off - use code eats-lejw5 at checkout) [ Pickup or delivery ]

My orders were always through AllSet, and were quickly acknowledged and filled.  I never waited for my items, and they were always waiting for me in the pickup area.  I think AllSet likely integrates with the same POS as their own app, which is how most people seem to order, so I never had issues.

Treats

Yes, Joe & The Juice is a health focused place, and yet ... of course I went straight for the "Treats" section of the menu.  You know me and my baked goods!

The treats lineup isn't exactly decadent, but offers up two kinds of muffin (blueberry, chocolate), both reasonably sized (as in, smaller than most places), and little mini loaves of banana bread, carrot cake, and a brownie ... all of which were the same shape (yes, the brownie and banana bread look the same).  They also had a cookie on the menu, but it seems to have been discontinued.

The items I tried were all ok, but certainly tasted on the healthy side.

Cookie Box.

The first item I ordered at Joe & The Juice was a cookie.  Yes, me, the girl who says she doesn't really care for cookies generally.  I ordered through the app, and it just said "cookie", without description of what kind.  I wasn't sure what to expect. Classic chocolate chip?  Sugar cookie?  Oatmeal raisin? I had no idea.

When I went to pick up my treat, I was at first quite pleased with the packaging.  What a cute box!  I expected a cookie just in a little sleeve ...

Smooshed Cookie.

But when I opened the box, I was less thrilled.  The cookie had a larger diameter than the box, and thus, it was smooshed in, broken when I got it.

It looked to be chocolate chip, which turns out to be the only kind they carried.

Chocolate Chip Cookie. $2.99.

Yup, for $2.99, I got a broken cookie.

The cookie was ... fine.  Very crumbly.  Somewhat strange texture, almost like a gluten-free cookie, but it was not gluten-free.  I'd say perhaps it was a strange texture due to something they do to make it healthier (but, it still clocks in 267 calories).

Anyway.  A thin cookie, crisp, crumbly, with very, very, very few chocolate chips, and the ones that were there were quite small.  Nothing particularly good about this cookie.

**+ and certainly not worth $2.99.

Another Broken Cookie.  $2.99.

So, yes, I didn't give the previous one a rave review, but, during the COVID days, I went through a cookie obsession, plus, AllSet kept giving me $3 credits to spend, so, why not take a "risk" and get another?  I'm glad I did.

It came mushed into a box just as before, no napkin this time, and it wasn't even trying to not be all broken up.  Completely mangled.  Seriously, minus a point for this!

And this time, I knew to expect the kinda strange crumbly texture, and healthier taste, and liked it considerably more.  It went well dunked in milk.

***.

Carrot Cake. $3.49.

My next order was a more exciting sounding dessert: carrot cake

Since I ordered on AllSet, I did not see the carrot cake in person before I ordered it.  If I had, I likely would not have picked it.  I expected, well, a slice of cake.  Lots of cream cheese frosting, ideally on top and between layers.  Instead, it was more like a tea cake.  At least it had *some* frosting ...

I tried not to judge the cake by the cover, but, it was highly, highly mediocre.

It was more like a carrot muffin.  It seemed like it was trying to taste fairly healthy?  I guess that would be on brand.  It had no flourishes, no nuts for crunch, no pineapple for moisture.  Just a lightly spiced, kinda dry, mediocre cake.

The frosting was more sour than cream cheese-y.  Eh.  

This did not satisfying my dessert sweet tooth. **+.

Update: I had another, and found it was much better warm with ice cream.  It grew on me a little. *** ... maybe.

Drinks

As you can likely guess from the name of the business, drinks, specifically juices, are their focal point.  Joe & The Juice offers up a slew of juice blends, with fun names like "Go Away Doc" (features carrots), or "Prince of Green" (cucumber).  They also make healthy shakes (sweetened with dates, full of things like spirulina or beetroot powder, etc), and have a full espresso bar, along with T2 tea.

I haven't actually tried the juices (not my thing), but tried a shot (random, I know), and some coffee drinks.  All were ... "fine".

Ginger Shot.  $3.60.

"Apple, Ice, Ginger."

I was feeling a little under the weather, and really wanted something refreshing and to pick me up.  For some reason, the ginger shot called out.

I've only had ginger shots a few times in my life, but the gym at my office used to have a ginger shot of the day, and I'd grab it from time to time.  Those are really my only comparison point, and I always loved the major ZING to them.

This ginger shot was far more muted, clearly cut with a lot of apple juice.  The flavors were balanced, but, I wanted something with a bit more bite.

At $3.60 for a tiny little apple juice with a touch of ginger, it wasn't worth it to me.  But the cup was adorable.

**+.

[ No Photo ]

Cold Brew. $5.00.

I had no reason to really think Joe & The Juice would have good coffee, but, when my coffee maker was broken, I decided to try their cold brew.  It was ... fine.  Not particularly complex, but not too bitter.  Kinda watered down.  It did the trick but I certainly wouldn't get it again.

**+.

[ No Photo ]

Espresso Shot. $2.80.

The espresso turned out much better than the cold brew.  Nice aroma, fairly complex flavor, smooth finish.  I have since gotten it several time (when AllSet has given me free $3 credits to spend!).  Not something to rave about, or go out of my way for, but, a solid espresso.

***+.