• juicy ladies: more than just juice!

    26
    April 4th, 2011quarrygirljuicy ladies, LA restaurants

    over the weekend we visited one of the few vegan restaurants in los angeles we hadn’t been to yet, juicy ladies. it’s actually more of a juice bar or take out place than a proper restaurant, with a counter to order at and seating inside for maybe 5 or 6 people. we arrived at around 11am and were lucky enough to snag one of the few tables.

    juicy ladies may be small in size, but the menu is mighty with a great selection of breakfast items, salads, bowls and sandwiches. there’s also a full on juice and smoothie menu as well as a fridge full of grab and go meals for people in a hurry.

    juicy special burger: black bean and brown rice patty, lettuce, pickles, tomato, thousand island dressing, grilled onions and tapioca cheese on a whole wheat bun. served with mixed greens. $10.25

    my husband ordered the juicy special burger and had no complaints…

    the patty was made from black beans and brown rice; it was hearty and also held together quite well. it came slathered in a rich vegan thousand island dressing and topped with creamy tapioca cheese. the thought of “tapioca cheese” sounds pretty weird to me, but i gotta admit, this stuff was really good. it wasn’t all heavy and greasy like many vegan cheeses, but it had a really great tangy flavor. it was served with a mixed greens salad and chopped vegetables, all very nice.

    rice bowl: brown rice, lettuce, pinto beans, salsa, guacamole, and vegan sour cream. $10.45

    i opted for the simple rice bowl, a mix of brown rice, pinto beans, lettuce, salsa, guacamole and vegan sour cream. i asked for the sour cream and guac on the side, and i’m glad i did, because i wasn’t a huge fan of either one. the cream was too flavorless, and the guacamole was too lemony…but that’s just my opinion! the rest of the bowl was stellar—really high quality ingredients and delicious salsa, plus the serving was huge. i don’t know how i ate all.

    although the food at juicy ladies is awesome, our dining experience left a lot to be desired. the restaurant was pretty cramped, the ordering process was slow, and the food took forever to arrive. maybe they were just short staffed that day, but if i’m going to have to wait a while to receive my meal, i at least wanna do it in a comfortable environment.

    oh well, i know i will be back to give them another shot, because there’s so many more menu items i want to try. another customer ordered the breakfast burrito when we were there, and it looked all kinds of tasty.

    check this place out and let me know what you think.

    juicy ladies
    22423 Ventura Blvd (at Shoup)
    Woodland Hills California 91364
    818-716-0800

    PS: wtf is up with the name “juicy ladies”?! i mean, really?

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26 responses to “juicy ladies: more than just juice!” RSS icon

  • Yes, I certainly wouldn’t want to try to eat at a place that had such limited seating! And I notice that their prices are higher than Native Food’s and Veggie Grill’s. They do deliver, though, so that is a plus (for people living near them in the Valley).

  • That burger looks great, I love thousand island dressing.

  • Gauri Radha गौरी राधा

    Cool, had not heard of them before, will try and stop in next time I’m going through that part of town.

  • Isn’t Daiya cheese tapioca flour based? Are they just using that now? When they first opened they were using FYH cheese.

    I gave Juicy Ladies a chance several times since I live seven minutes away, but I have consistently been underwhelmed. Stay away from any of their desserts, they have all been dry and tasteless. The juices they offer are good though.

  • I loved Juicy Ladies when I was living in the valley I went there all the time. I think it’s great for takeaway food. I love their kale salad- only available in the to go case, their juices, thick raw vegan shakes, beet burger & that they sell Henry’s raw vegan ice cream. I miss them but now I’m back in Portland where everything is close & yummy all the time!

  • Daiya is considered “tapioca” cheese.

  • i only had a bite of the burger, and i’m not sure if it was daiya. if it WAS daiya, that would explain why i liked it! dude, they should just call it daiya then…tapioca sounds weird. but the name juicy ladies also sounds pretty weird to me, so who knows!

  • it seemed runnier than daiya to me. hmm. i dunno.

  • That cheese doesn’t look like daiya IMO

  • I’ve gone to Juicy Ladies a few times. The first time I got David’s Special Spicy Sprout Sandwich. It’s basically an avocado, cucumber, sprout sandwich for $10.25. It was simple and basic but good; however, I thought the price was a bit steep for what it was.

    The last time I went I got their Pad Thai salad for $8.99, and I was disappointed that they just pulled one of the packaged ones from their cold case. Since I told them I was eating it there, I would have preferred one that was made fresh and didn’t come with unnecessary plastic packaging to throw away.

    When it comes down to it, the prices are very similar to Sunpower (SunCafe), but I think the quality of the food at Sunpower is much higher, more interesting, and crave-able.

  • I’ve gone been to Juicy Ladies a few times and like their juices and “tuna” salads. Never tried the burger. The green dressing that comes with the salad is delish, but it may be too lemony for some. It does get crowded and the wait can be long in the in mornings when everyone is ordering smoothies. Their “Rise and “Shine” green apple-celery-lemon juice is the best and almost worth the wait.

  • I work close to Juicy Ladies, but stopped before I went in due to a “B” grade on the door. I see they do have an “A”, but they had the “B” for awhile.

    I might give them a try…

  • I recently boycotted Juicy Ladies after being a regular for over a year. Although, most of their food is pretty good, their customer service is horrible! After a year of dealing with it I had enough. They have no problem ignoring you and making you wait over 30 minutes for your food even when you call ahead. I continually gave them chances because they are a local business serving the valley with organic, vegan food. Not to mention, they are constantly raising their prices. I think they have the right idea but just have to improve their business overall.

  • they ignored me when i was there too!! i stood there for like 5 minutes before the lady looked up to see what i wanted. so annoying.

  • Some good ideas and what appears to be good intentions don’t make for a good restaurant experience. The real problem with this place is it is void of any real management/operations experience. I would have thought that after being in business for more than a year they would have acquired some real know-how and expertise in customer service. Someone must be losing a lot of money (one reason their prices are high) in this poorly conceived and executed enterprise. I for one am truly amazed they are still in business.

  • Amen, know’ it all! We should open up competition nearby!

  • clever_trevor

    You said it. Serious issues – from branding (I mean, “Juicy Ladies” – what a horrible name, has connotations of things I would NEVER hint at on a family blog such as this) and clear operational challenges (I bussed my own table there once while somebody was behind the counter doodling on post-it notes, ignoring me).

    Who owns it? Who is bankrolling this almost there business that could be so much better with a little attention and proper management.

  • Yes, Daiya is tapioca cheese. Its main ingredient is cassava flour (tapioca is made of cassava).

  • I love the place. If I’m ever going by their exit on the 101 I pull over and juice up 🙂 They are always nice and kind to me. It does take a while for everything, fresh food is labor intensive.

  • The burger looks delicious and so does the bowl o’ beans. I tried SunPower in Studio City this weekend and it was delicious. They have amazing salads. And an amazing vegan cupcake with mint icing, changed my life!

    And yes, what is with the name Juicy Ladies??

  • Besides having delivery service, another PLUS for this restaurant is that it keeps Woodland Hills out of the Pitiful Pseudo-City category, IMO. Any ‘city’ that does NOT have at least one vegetarian restaurant, and/or does not have public transit, falls into this category in my estimation. (I assume that MTA buses still traverse Woodland Hills.)

  • Gauri Radha गौरी राधा

    By the way QG, I agree with you about the name sounding pretty weird, I wonder why they chose it.

  • BA HA HA HA!!!!!! “family blog” someone missed the Pure Food and Wine review.

    http://archives.quarrygirl.com/2010/01/09/pure-food-and-wine-eight-fuck-yous-and-one-fuck-off/

  • My experience with Juicy Ladies has been hit or miss. I love the quinoa burger and their veggie burger. And I used to be a regular customer, but no longer am.

    I agree that their customer service needs improvement. More often than not, my order has been screwed up. And I hate dining inside — it gets so loud with their blenders in such a small cramped dining area that you can barely hear the person sitting across from you.

    My last peeve about Juicy Ladies — why not just bring out the food when it is ready, rather than calling out a name on a PA system for us to come to the counter to pick up? The place isn’t that big! It was a little annoying the one day my friend and I were eating lunch outside, didn’t hear our name called out while our lunch sat getting cold on the counter inside for probably ten minutes.

  • I’ve only been there a few times but I like it OK. We are spoiled with such good raw food in L.A. that most of their menu doesn’t exactly stand out.

    However that spicy sprout sandwich Cadry mentioned is REALLY good if you are single and like stinky breath foods garlic, mustard, sauerkraut, and pepperoncinis. Or hell, even if you’re married, since your spouse basically has to kiss you regardless.

    They’ve always been pleasant to me, given me samples of smoothies and juices they’re making. The only thing that really annoys me is all the suburban moms driving SUVs who come in wearing their yoga clothes with fur boots who think they’re saving the planet by getting an organic smoothie.

  • LOL, I LOVE that last sentence! : )


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