Booster Juice

It was fine. I got the green juice thingie, don’t remember the name.
I felt very healthy and it actually tasted good, too.
There isn’t any convenient place to wait.
One is always in the way.
But the juice was fine.

I have consumed many booster juices at different locations in Edmonton and other cities where Booster Juice is located.
Yesterday, I stopped by the City Centre Mall location to purchase one of my current faces, the Citrus Swirl.
The experience was nothing more than a comedy of errors.
First off, after paying for my drink, I waited and waited and waited while one of the service staff took her sweet time at the sink — she completely ignored her duty to MAKE the customer’s paid for product. one of the other staff member’s finally told her that she needed to make a Citrus Swirl.
While I endured the wait, an employee of BJ came strolling by me with a huge and filthy garbage can atop of a dolly. This garbage can toting drone with a BJ apron on brushed me with the garbage can and she could not bother to apologize for swiping my tres Cher Lanvin Bag.
Now, back to the process of making the drink: the BJ employee totally screwed up the formula! She forgot to put yogurt into the mix and started to blend it. I told her that she was missing the ingredient and she looked at me dumb-​founded…
Another employee took over this excruciating task and our exchange was nothing more than a joke.
I finally received the drink after the original mess was added to — rather than discarding the screwed up concoction and starting anew, the takeover BJ girl insisted on using the original crap formulation.
I told her to start fresh and she refused and what I received in turn was a drink where I consumed about one quarter of the drink and the remains were tossed in the garbage.
Aaarrrrrr…another business completely lacking in quality service.
There must be a dire employee shortage in Edmonton because there is no way I would hire staff like these BJ girls: unless you are in the business of lose!

The staff are wonderful, friendly, and they remember you. I don’t think I’ve ever managed to see them without a smile on their face (and as anyone who has ever worked food can attest, that is no small feat), and the ones I encountered have been knowledgeable not only about the menu, but also have approached me with recommendations on specials to save me money. For example, since I go most every day, during the December season they recommended I get a gift card, as this would get me an extra, full-​size drink free. Now, you and I both know that they wanted me to buy the cards because it’s free advertising for them, but it did save me one drink a week in cost. They went so far as to give me a free drink on my birthday, and while we both knew I buy enough to cover that, the thought is always appreciated.
The menu is varied enough — there’s a range of drinks broken into several distinct roles (with protein options for those looking to put on muscle), and they offer shots as well. I’d like to see a few more exotic fruits on the menu, and a wider range in taste — as noted by Robin, most drinks are on the sweet side. In terms of cost, Booster Juice runs roughly $ 6 for a full size drink. However, Jugo Juice and Orange Julius are very close in price ($ 5.50 at OJ, and about 6 $ at Jugo Juice), so I don’t think it’s a rip-​off by any means. If you get full-​size, you do get great volume for your money.
But, what about cleanliness? What about calories? Well, on a side-​table they have a list of all their drinks, and the health information for them, as well as a break-​down for your layman about what benefits common materials like wheatgrass and acai provide. For cleanliness, I’ve never seen the place anything less then in great shape. No dried spills, no slopped ingredients — they run a really tight shop.
Generally, they are open to substitution — just let them know your allergies when ordering. For example, I informed them I could not eat banana, so they substituted blueberry at no charge.
The menu could use a bit more variety, but quality and finding a drink for the 30^th time don’t suffer much for this — especially if you love the Raspberry Rapture like I. With a whack of customer incentives, interesting specials, and a warm, friendly staff, Booster Juice at City Center is one of my favorite stops.

I remember trying Booster Juice 8 years ago. I was a big fan back then, but after a while the hype died down for me. I still enjoy a good Booster Juice every once and a while, but not as often. I like how I can get away with substituting a meal with a Booster Juice, as I am still getting a lot of nutrients. Their cup sizes are enough to satisfy myself too.
Personally, Strawberry Sunshine and Very Berry have been my favorites. I have tried some of the ‘Power’ Smoothies which have a lot of protein, but I will warn you that it does not taste good with fruit… imagine eating strawberries and steak at the same time.
The staff were friendly at this location and I have never had to wait a long time whenever I am in line at this location. They were very quick in preparing my smoothie, and I enjoy picking out my own ‘booster’.

I love going to Booster Juice in the summer because it’s good for cooling down. Plus the sizes are huge, so one regular size is pretty much lunch for me. I used to come to this one all the time after a workout at the YMCA across the street. It’s healthy so it doesn’t make me feel heavy, and the load of nutrients in it gets my energy level back up after working out. My favourite combination is the strawberry sunshine smoothie with an energy booster. It’s like a strawberry and banana milkshake, but healthier and less calories. Booster Juice isn’t cheap, but keep in mind you’re paying for a healthier option too. And if you go often, pick up their stamp card. Buy enough and you can get one free!

Fresh juice is an amazing thing: it’s refreshing, it’s healthy, and to me, it feels like a total naughty indulgence, like eating a bag of chips but you’re actually getting nutrients.
So while I was walking by the Edmonton Centre location the other afternoon, Booster Juice called my name and I decided to answer. Not so much in the mood for a sweet treat — most of their smoothies are berry this or banana that — I looked to the juice menu and found a few potential options on the list, but ordered the Green Hornet, the one most like a liquid salad with spinach, parsley, carrots and celery. The girl at the till said not a word, just sort of sprinted over to the juicing counter, rummaged through the cupboards, repeated the exercise over by the blenders, and disappeared into the back for a bit before returning to the cash register: «We don’t have any carrots.»
I considered my backup options: Ginger Hammer, with apples, ginger and carrots… that’s out. Red Sunrise, with apples, beets and carr– Damn, that one too. Ah well, maybe next time.
Booster Juice is great, but how can a juice bar allow itself to run out of carrots?!