Boston Hot Spots

This week I got the chance to coast around to a few new places in town. I was not at all expecting this to be a blogging opportunity, but man oh man, did I find some cool stuff for cool kids. Read on, health junkies.

SNAP TOP MARKET

This is a great little grocery that opened up about 3 months ago in Back Bay. They stock a pretty good amount of fresh produce, meats and cheeses, and gourmet packaged foods, many of which I had never seen before. I got a chance to chat with the owner a little bit, and he is hopeful that they will soon be expanding to a larger refrigerated section. Personally, I loved the cozy feel it had. As long as the refrigerated section has room for those pre-made containers of vegan soup, I'm a happy camper :)

Lots of unique packaged items like roasted nuts, veggie chips, coconut date rolls, and fresh granola made in nearby Vermont. They even carried kombucha made right here in Massachusetts! (not pictured).

RAW PEPITAS! These are tough to find anywhere. Perfect Fuel bars and pumpkin spice caramels?! Sounds amazing - goods you can't find just anywhere.

Feels like shopping in a farmers' market :)

Check out some of the sweet stuff I found!

Top and bottom shelf: organic quinoa, wild rice, couscous, green lentils, split peas, and small packages of grains. Middle shelf: assortment of French spices. For a store this size, I was happily surprised at the amount of cool international foods.  

A super fancy brand of muesli I'd never seen before - it looked so delicious and was packed with whole food ingredients, but at $8.99/box, I just couldn't swing it.

Check out these Rosemary Raisin Pecan, Salty Date & Almond, and Cranberry & Hazelnut crackers - so unique!

It was so hard to decide what to buy. I found out about this place through a Groupon for $25, so I planned to stick to that $25...that didn't quite happen. I just couldn't contain myself!

The most interesting things from my grocery haul:

Veggie chips (actual WHOLE veggies - even green beans!), dark chocolate covered cranberries, rosemary raisin pecan Raincoast Crisps (I picked the one that sounded most unique to me), sizzling black bean chili mix, coconut date rolls, and sun dried tomatoes. 

I definitely recommend stopping into this place. Some things were pricey, but not everything. The shopping experience is to die for if you like scoping out new products, and the owner, Steve, was just about as cool a character as you'll ever meet.

Snap Top Market
303 Columbus Avenue
Boston, MA 02118

*See the website for how to follow Snap Top on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.

JUICE

This place was new to me - I'm not sure how long it's been there - and was definitely one of the coolest restaurants I've ever been to. Yes, I'm going to call it a restaurant, or at least a cafe, because you could definitely go there for a meal. In addition to all the fresh juices you could ever want with an infinite number of add-in options, they also carry tons of healthy, local, organic snacks and a great assortment of fruit, salad, and yogurt. Maybe even a few sandwiches. This is the perfect place for lunch and, coincidentally, right around the corner from Snap Top. Check 'em out!

The entrance is a little hard to find, but for good reason: a little farmers' market right outside selling fresh fruits and veggies!

I was prompted to pop in here during my 3-day juice cleanse, so I was sort of forced to get the beet ginger lemon juice to stick with my cleanse plan. Had I been more free, I probably would have tried something a little tastier sounding. Nonetheless, the beet juice was pretty good. The texture was clean and the juices are served at room temperature (not my favorite for the taste, but great for your health!). You can ask for ice if you want.

Check out this menu:

12 oz. for $4.95, 16 oz. for $5.95, or 24 oz. for $7.95. They even have smoothie bowls! Kasey @ Powercakes would just love this :) Then of course there are the traditional "straight up" juices, but they even offered pear, watermelon, and pineapple juice! Those are MUST-TRYs. They also offered shots, including wheatgrass (Crazy Sexy Diet!), and an infinite number of combined flavor fruit juices. 

Check out the amazing snack selection (almost all products I had never seen before):

They also had lime & chili roasted chick peas, breakfast bars, trail mixes, and HUGE fresh muffins available.

My juice:

Sporting my new workout top from PV Body with the thumbholes!

Juice
145 Dartmouth Street
Boston, MA 02116

Thank goodness for capitalism and the ever expanding market of health foods with increased demand.

Cheers,
Avocado Athlete