SOUTH EAST LAKEVIEW — Over the past year, City Harvest Cafe has quietly carved out a niche for itself, nestled in the small-business haven of North Broadway.
The organic health bar, 2931 N. Broadway, just celebrated its first anniversary, and co-owner Angela Maicki said the neighborhood has really warmed up to the cafe's cold-pressed juices.
City Harvest Cafe, 2931 N. Broadway, celebrated its first anniversary on May 13. [DNAinfo Chicago/Ariel Cheung]
"We have a lot of enthusiastic juicing fanatics here in Lakeview, but us being here has also allowed us to educate the community on the different benefits of an organic lifestyle and organic juices. We've had a great response," said Maicki, who opened the restaurant with her husband, Anthony Maicki.
Since opening in May 2014, City Harvest has expanded to include more healthy products like healing elixirs, superfood blends and market items. The City Harvest juices are also sold at Olivia's Market in Bucktown and the Dill Pickle co-op in Logan Square.
Angela and Anthony Maicki opened City Harvest Cafe one year ago after discovering the benefits of juicing. [DNAinfo Chicago/Ariel Cheung]
For those who might be new to the world of juicing, here are some tips from Maicki:
• There's more to juice than meets the eye: You won't find grocery-store orange juice at City Harvest Cafe. In fact, most of the City Harvest juices — even the bottled ones — will only last a couple of days because they're not pasteurized. Maicki said the best way to consume juices is through the cold-press method, which avoids heating the juice in order to preserve the nutrients.
• Judge a juice by its cover: Or, more importantly, its label. "Not all juice is created equally, and you want to make sure it's vegetable forward," Maicki said. That means the juice should have a base of a leafy green like kale or spinach, in addition to small amounts of fruit. Avoid juices with added sugar or chemicals.
• Apples and lemons and pears, oh my!: Apples are great for digestive health and regulating blood sugar, while pears and citrus products are great additions to any juice. Maicki's current City Harvest favorite is the apple gimlet, which has apple, lime, ginger, romaine, collards and celery.
• Healthy ≠ Boring: "We love to play with bold flavors, fragile flavors — anything to create juices and blends that excite the palates of our customers," Maicki said. Unique options include the French 77 (cucumber, celery, pear, cayenne) and the Mother Nature blend (coconut, kale, banana, maca and pear).
• Cubs love juice: Maicki said over the past year, a number of Chicago Cubs players have stopped by City Harvest. Granted, she couldn't name which players, but it just goes to show that juicing can be for everyone.
In addition to fresh-pressed juice, City Harvest Cafe offers bottled juices as well. [DNAinfo Chicago/Ariel Cheung]
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