Method Juice Cafe

RestaurantsSpokane

About a year ago I went on a juice diet after watching Fat, Sick & Nearly Dead. It's no wonder Method Juice Cafe links to the movie, as I can think of no better way of pimping juice as a healthy alternative to... pretty much anything. Watch the movie if you haven't; it's an interesting one.

Now, granted, I've put the juice days behind me -- you can only be juicing for that long -- but I do like a juice or smoothie now and again. Making simply a good juice doesn't really take that much, but making a truly excellent one is hard. Method, in my mind, succeeds in flirting with excellence, and that's not bad for a place that has barely been open for a month.

We tried the Integral during a recent visit, a rice milk based smoothie, sweetened with agave, and filled with strawberries, raspberries, and blueberries. It's a simple but good combination, and the smoothie was not overly sweet -- no Jamba Juice in other words. With berries this flavorful there really isn't much need to throw all kinds stash into the smoothie, and the drink came out very flavorful, reasonably priced at $6 for a 16 oz.

As a wiser man than us said, though, it'd be nice to have some options as far as sizes go. A 16 oz smoothie is a meal in itself.

Regardless of that digression: The Fresh juice was also good, a simple combination of pineapple, lime, carrot, and orange. It's hard to argue with the name of the drink -- this one would make for a good wake-me-upper.

Both drinks were tasty then, and really, there is no reason why you wouldn't want to try one from Method if you enjoy a good juice. They're organic and vegan too, so you can feel all good about yourself while drinking them.

As for the salad we tried -- with a citrus based dressing -- it was fine and, again, fresh, though not too exciting. That's not really an overly bad thing, and I'm sure any salad from Method could make for a good, quick, healthy lunch alternative for many who work downtown.

Interior wise we really like Method's space, and it's pretty cool you can compost pretty much all and anything you take from your meal.

The current opening hours -- 7:30 am to 4 pm -- leave a bit to be desired for those of us who actually work that schedule outside of downtown. Opening earlier and/or staying open a bit longer would be helpful to some of us. Being open on Saturdays would bring us in more often too.

With that said, let's keep the emphasis on the positives. Method joins a number of recently opened spots that actually get things right. It's an interesting phenomenon, seeing how mediocrity is becoming less of a norm in this town. Who are we to complain? Good one, Method -- it's nice to see this kind of thing opening downtown.