By Sophia Caputo (’24) and Tara Thorne (’24)
After seeing a million advertisements and reviews, we finally decided to try the long-awaited new smoothie bowls at Smoothie King – and we were greatly disappointed. With six bowls on the menu and two different bases, pitaya and acai, we decided to get one of each. We wanted to get bowls with different toppings from each other to ensure a thorough review and two differing first impressions. The two bowls we chose were the “Go-Go Goji Berry” Acai bowl and the “PB Delight” Pitaya bowl.
Go-Go Goji Berry:
Presentation-wise, she’s beautiful. However at the first taste, the texture of the acai was not even remotely smooth and had more of a slushie-like texture. Though overall, the base had a pleasant flavor and wasn’t overly sweet. The flavors of the toppings meshed eloquently together with the acai base, but the toppings were less than desirable. The goji berries had a sweet impression on the tongue, but were too hard and got stuck in your teeth. They really ruined the textural experience of what was otherwise a delectable mix of flavors. The granola had a nutty and bitter flavor profile, but the pieces were just too large and it overpowered the other flavors. It was topped with a honey drizzle – but could’ve done without. The honey over-sweetened what was already a perfect balance of sweetness. Another downside of the honey was that its flavor doesn’t mix well with the others in the mixture. The fresh strawberries and blueberries were arguably the best part of the bowl, being perfectly ripened and the ideal size to rest on your spoon. Be prepared if you buy this though, it will be pure liquid if you don’t scarf it down within five minutes. “Slow-eaters beware,” says Tara.
Final rating: Sophia: 7.5 | Tara: 6
PB Delight:
The presentation on this one was lacking. The peanut butter drizzle looked effortless – in a bad way (see photo below). Not to be passive-aggressive, but it’s not hard to make an appealing drizzle. The colors otherwise paired nicely together. This base had the ideal texture for a smoothie bowl, it was impeccably thick and smooth. The pitaya had a very subtle but admirable flavor – so much that we wish we could’ve tasted more of it! As for the toppings, they clashed and overpowered each other. As far as the goji berries go, our opinion stays the same – they need to go-go. Peanut butter and banana are two commonly paired toppings; but here, it seemed like they were trying to overpower each other. To quote Sophia, “a better name for this would be the peanut butter banana bowl.” That being said, it could honestly do without the other toppings. On the contrary, the granola did add a nice texture. Again, the fruit was a nice touch, but the blueberries were highly unneeded and felt out of place. This bowl however, is the perfect option for the slow-eater community, as it did not melt as quickly as its acai counterpart.
Final rating: Sophia: 4.5| Tara: 3.5
Overall we enjoyed the flavor profile of the “Go-Go Goji Berry” acai bowl over the “PB Delight” pitaya bowl, but both had issues that need to be rectified before we would consider returning. We suggest a build-your-own smoothie bowl option, but I doubt the CEO of Smoothie King will be reading this. If you are though, you’re welcome. Additionally, the bowls had a pretty steep price point for the size in comparison to other smoothie bowls we’ve purchased. Paying almost $13 felt criminal.
