food column: uptown juice bar

any of my dear friends who have already read my blog (all 3 of them) already know that i am an

avowed.

omnivore.

w/a special dedication to meat eating. almost nothing is too gory for the teeth: the rawest/strangest/most odd textures of fish/meat in either sushi or sashimi/kitfo/sweetbreads/squid - any form!!! can come to mama. i got you. get in me belly. for always & forever. not one to suffer from whatever plagues that remote, noble East Indian tribe of 'airitarians' who refuse to disturb the life force of - anything - in order to eat. nope! not one of those. as i have explored @ length in my blog (post link) the circle is painfully poignant: we eat everyone, those of us @ the top of the food chain. & in the end, everything eats us. simple & tear inducingly cyclical. the way life goes. as much of a carnivore as i am, i am also a dyed in the wool hedonist. if it's good, well then it's all grits & gravy. the feeling of a vegan meal in the mouth, all karmically clean is a soul nourishing one, but sorry friends, only if it's actually a taste bud slayer. a hedonist cannot fake delight. which is how i found myself led, all 'Walking Dead'-like to Uptown Juice Bar, a bastion of Ital Vegan in Harlem.

The loss of Raw Soul near the top of Sugar Hill was a crushing blow to my uptown sistren. & they came & tragically went while i was patriotically availing myself of all the thiebou djen that Brooklyn Senegalese had to offer. when i recently relocated uptown, my prayer was that Uptown Juice bar was still in existence. it was, by the skin of its Harlem Commercial Rent, just a few doors down from the last place it moved. now btwn Mad & park as opposed to mad & 5th. a small deterrent to foot traffic, but thankfully, there has been a line there every time i have been back. this Ital titan, open since 1995, has possibly inspired (& definitely predated) all of them: Veggie Castle in Bed Stuy, the aforementioned Raw Soul & the much newer Seasoned Vegan further south in Harlem. but that grand influence has not kept itself within the 5 boros. Uptown Juice bar has captured the hearts & minds of vegan chefs all the way into Nyack, the last time i checked (welp last weekend, if you insist): Main Essentials in Nyack w/its soffrito flecked vegan ropa viejo & arroz con gandules & fine peanut punch is a Jamaican/Latino influenced vegan spot whose chef/owner speaks lovingly of Uptown Juice Bar.

& how are they now? i wondered. still as fabulous as i remember?

who knew that they could be even better???

ahhh sookie.

the atmosphere is smaller, yet cozier than when they expanded - @ a whole other location - in 2010. interesting that their cultlike following manages to keep abreast of whatever their location is. no matter what. & while the outside sidewalk entrance no longer bears the beloved Ghanaian Adinkra symbolizing the omnipotence of God, the reverence for the art of plant based foods remains alive within.

i made a pure ass of myself on no less than 3 occasions:

the curry potatoes are sublime. subtle fully flavored well seasoned w/neither too much nor too little cooked curry.

the stewed eggplant: everything you want it to be... unctuous, toothsome, w/a rich roasted flavor that beckoned my taste buds on the regular, this one became a staple

the stir fried shrimp's texture is eerily close to the real crustacean, & it is my humble opinion that these interesting morsels would do better fried. they would then be indistinguishable from fresh shrimp.

any of the veg of the day are brightly colored & fresh tasting, be they steamed or roast broccoli, carrots, corn on the cob & some sauteed spinach that instigated a single tear of joy. #sogood!

& the stuff that wakes me up @ night?

the truly bizarrely chicken like mock chicken legs on skewers for chrissakes - SO cute, omg. the 'skin' is tofu skin. & something about that detail - the desire to come so close to the foods that most vegans (& really non vegans) love, is so sweet that i swear the good intent can be tasted. & not to let the collective kuumbaya of a well fed stomach confuse matters. these MFs are skilled. which brings us to another of EVERYONE'S favorites: the veggie stir fry... which makes me wax poetic: it is everything a vegan stirfry should be - savory/salty w/a hint of sweetness. perfectly stir fried veg, & w/their rice & peas it ain't nothin nice.

let's have a baked goods moment. in the US/Europe, baked goods should be light/airy. in the caribbean, the should be dense/toothsome. roti should be glutinously buff enough to withstand wrapping/sauces. cornbread should stick to the ribs as should poolourie (dumpling fritters) & so should banana bread, coconut corn bread or any of their specials.

i would be punishingly remiss not to mention the juice bar itself, w/it's winning combos (sold a la carte & made while you wait) - & SUPERLATIVE peanut punch, ginger beer, soursop & sorrel - all impressively made/packaged on site.

i guess it could be said that i kinda like this place, lol.

stop by, & that sentiment will be a humorous understatement for you as well.

enjoy all the best, in the best of health my friends!

uptown Juice bar

52 East 125th NY NY 10035

open daily 8AM - 10 PM

(212) 987-2660