Move aside, Smoothie King; there’s a new healthy beverage in town. Meet Abdallah and Omar Alaroudh, the brains behind Crazy Juice, a new juice bar tucked away in a quaint strip mall 15630 Manchester Road in Ellisville.
The Alaroudh brothers began their Crazy Juice journey in Jordan, and after achieving success overseas, decided to bring their talents to America’s shores; in September, the two brothers opened a second location in Ellisville.
The concept is simple: fresh juice and smoothies, made right in front of your eyes. No artificial flavors, sweeteners, preservatives or unnecessary chemicals are used, Abdallah Alaroudh explains. Place an order at the counter, and Alaroudh picks a fresh fruit from the buckets arranged at the front of the store. It is then taken behind the counter, where the fruit is diced and passed through a juice press. Within minutes, freshly squeezed juice is ready to go.
The menu is expansive; choose from a wide selection of fruit juices, smoothies, slushies, milkshakes and desserts. During the winter months, grab a slushie from one of the six options offered: dragon fruit, watermelon, lemon, mango, strawberry and passion fruit. Once the weather warms up, there will be a wider selection of slushies offered, Alaroudh explains.
The telltale sign of a fresh fruit slushie is the crunch of the fruit seeds, Alaroudh said, pointing to the striations of seeds clinging to the sides of the slushie machine. “It’s just fruit and ice, nothing else,” Alaroudh said.
“We are the only store [that has] healthy slushies for kids. My kids love slushies, but it’s kind of hard to find them a healthy slushie. So we made this for all [our] neighbors to try our healthy slushies,” Alaroudh said.
But the wildest delicacy Alaroudh offers is what he calls the Special Crazy Mix, and it is truly a sight, and taste, to behold. This elaborate concoction starts with a layer of chopped blueberries, blackberries, apple and mango, and is topped with a blended smoothie mixture of the same fruits.
Sprinkled with chopped cashews and almonds, drizzled with pistachio paste and honey, the crowning glory is two pieces of bananas, a strawberry and a Pirouline rolled wafer that is balanced on top of the blended smoothie mixture. The Special Crazy Mix comes with a 26-ounce glass mug that can be taken home, Alaroudh said.
They also offer fruit ice cream. Similar to Thailand’s stir-fried or rolled ice cream, the brothers Alaroudh mix cream, sugar and fresh fruits while stirring constantly to incorporate air into the dish. The result is a delicious and healthy way to beat the heat.
In addition to its namesake offerings, the cafe also features a selection of coffees and teas like Adeni chai, Karak chai and more.
Open all seven days of the week, hours are from noon to midnight on Mondays to Saturdays, and are open from noon to 10 p.m. on Sundays.
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