Emerald City Smoothie

My younger brother and I walked around Belltown in Seattle on Thursday, August 7.  Belltown is the neighborhood between Downtown Seattle and Seattle Center where the Space Needle is located.  When I lived in Seattle many years ago I worked in Belltown.  We walked around the blocks that were my old route to work.  Belltown has become much more upscale since I worked there.  They’ve constructed all these condos and luxury apartments above many of the storefronts.  There are also many high end restaurants, bars, and coffee shops that weren’t there before.

We wanted to have lunch and spent a long time looking for a place to eat.  We first went to Westlake Center that’s just south of Belltown and connected to Seattle Center via the Monorail.  Unfortunately, the monorail was closed for repairs.  I wanted to eat somewhere that was unique to Seattle but the Westlake food court had mostly chain eateries that we could find anywhere.  There was a smoothie place that looked promising, though.  I thought we’d find an Ivar’s around there someplace.  Ivar’s is a Seattle-based fast seafood eatery.  We left Westlake and looked for the Pacific Place mall.  On the way we passed a Daily Grill and walked through the Rainier Square shopping center.  We went to the food court next to the Borders but we didn’t feel like having anything there.

We finally decided to return to Westlake Center and once there we went to that smoothie place called Emerald City Smoothie that turned out to be unique to Seattle.  Above and behind the counter was a large menu with the names of over 40 different smoothies.  They were listed under different categories:  Treat My Body, Low Sugar, Bulk Me Up, Help Me Lose Weight, No Fat, MRP’s (I don’t know what this stands for but it includes the smoothies Lean Body, Lean-Out, and Mini Mass), Unique Blends, and Boost My Immune System.  Customers can also choose flavors and add boosters such as fiber, fat burner, vitamin C, and soy protein.  Each smoothie costs between $4-$6.The smoothie that caught my eye was the PB&J under Treat My Body because I always eat peanut butter and jelly sandwiches.  The smoothie version had peanut butter, strawberry, marionberry, blueberry, raspberry, and protein.  Marionberries grow in the Pacific Northwest.  I had never before seen or heard of a PB&J smoothie and I realized it was a great idea.  I was also looking at the Apple Andie smoothie under No Fat that combined apple, banana, nonfat milk, and protein since I’d also never heard of an apple smoothie.

I decided to have the PB&J and I asked that it be made non-dairy to which they complied.  My brother ordered the Pineapple Bliss smoothie under No Fat.  They made our orders quickly and served them in 24 ounce cups.  Unfortunately, they had run out of spoons.  I tried my smoothie and it was excellent tasting very similar to the sandwich version.  I could taste the peanut butter throughout and the berries had a sweet flavor.  It was also very thick and filling and had 630 calories, as a high as some of the smoothies in the Bulk Me Up section.  My brother wasn’t as impressed with his Pineapple Bliss.

After finished our smoothies we walked to the nearby Men’s Wearhouse to pick up my tuxedo for my older brother’s wedding.  My younger brother bought us a hot dog from a nearby stand to supplement our smoothies for lunch.  It was hardly necessary for me but perhaps moreso for him since his smoothie only had 210 calories.  We then caught the 72 bus in the Westlake bus tunnel to return to our townhouse on Lake City Way.  It was awkward carrying the tux on the bus, a bit like transporting a body.  We made it back in time to get ready for the wedding rehearsal.  I’m glad we eventually found place that was unique to Seattle.