187. Greenspace Café – August 31, 2016 – Ferndale, MI

Hello, all! It’s official: summer is OVER!

Ok, according to the calendar, it’s not, but everyone knows that Labor Day signals the end of summer here in Michigan. Long-stretching daylight, flavorful tomatoes, and searing heat, I will miss thee!

I am one of those rare few who relishes an 85-degrees temperature and full-bore sunshine, so this week I will enjoy what are probably the last few days of that until, what, nine months from now? Yikes.

The good news? We’ve got fall on the docket. And autumn here in the Metro-D is pretty damn delightful. I am not ready to let go of summer, but jewel-toned leaves, fresh cider-house donuts, and the recent reemergence of my beloved oversized fleece sweatpants (best purchase EVER) will make its exit a little more bearable. I do love fall!

When I met a friend for drinks at Greenspace Café in Ferndale around 8 p.m. last Wednesday, there was already a chilly autumn-esque nip in the air on an otherwise gorgeous night. But sipping the deliciously nuanced rosebud, vanilla bean, and blood orange-infused American Beauty martini made the prospect of grabbing hold of summer and hanging on tightly a sweet possibility.

I’ve incredibly impressed with Greenspace’s attention to detail in providing a clean-eating dining experience. According to its website, owner and cardiologist Dr. Joel Kahn’s mission is to aid in preventing heart attacks by promoting a vegan, preservative- and GMO-free diet via his restaurant’s offerings. He and his family have done an impeccable job in curating the menus. Here’s what Greenspace’s website had to say about its cocktail menu: “Even all alco­hol is researched to assure no dyes, no added sul­fites, and no ani­mal prod­ucts are used in the fin­ing process.”

How many restaurants can actually say they’ve done that?

Even the water used to wash your hands in the restroom has been thoroughly cleaned by  a UV sterilizer and filtration system. I have no idea what a UV sterilizer is or what it does, but I most certainly appreciate the dedication to keeping icky crap out of my body!

Additionally, local organic raw juice purveyor DROUGHT has a counter inside the restaurant where it offers its wares (though its hours of operation appear to vary at least somewhat from the restaurant’s; the counter was closed when I was there). Some of its concoctions are ingredients in several Greenspace cocktails – making spirit-imbibing a healthier activity (yay)!

It’s safe to say that I will be back at Greenspace to sample its cuisine. I’m intrigued by the prospect of its vegan (cashew) cheese board.

215 W Nine Mile Rd.

Fer­n­dale, MI 48220

(Open Tuesday through Saturday)

www.greenspacecafe.com

144. Urge Juice – September 27, 2015 – Northville, MI

Photo of Urge Juice’s offerings from its website, http://www.urgejuice.com. Honestly, my juice was so delicious that I gulped it down before I even remembered to take a photo of it!

I’m massively behind on this blog, to a shameful proportion. Confession: I used to do much of this writing during the downtime at my previous two office jobs, which had a lot of lulls to take advantage of. This July, I got a new job, working for a company I respect and with a huge workload attached to my role – but not much time for slacking aka gloriously writing of my exploits around the Tri-County area. So until my other blog, A Cookable Feast, takes off – or possibly this one? – and my dreams of being a food blogger-entrepreneur are realized (still a far-off pursuit, but someday!), my creative pursuits need to be smushed into my life wherever they can. I just need to get better at the smushing. Anywho, I’m going to stuff my sorries in a sack (Seinfeld reference!) and carry on with the task at hand: writing about the gloriously delicious offerings of Urge Juice. The company has a location in downtown Northville, which I visited on a gorgeously warm Sunday earlier this fall. There is also a Berkley location, and, I found out from visiting their website, they also sell their juices at both the Royal Oak and Birmingham farmers’ markets.

The juice is $10, so at first you’re kind of like, “Whatttttt? Ten dollars for juice? DubTF? But then you learn, it’s cold-pressed raw organic juice chock-full of amazing vitamins, and it’s in this huge glass bottle, and it’s tasty as all get-out. The one I tried, Let the Beet Drop, was incredible, and it was simply a mixture of juice from beets, carrots, apples, and lemons. Who knew that beet juice could be so tantalizing?

137 E. Main St.

Northville, MI 48167

(also a Berkley location)

www.urgejuice.com