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A new juice bar in Costa Mesa will certainly give Orange County health nuts something to Tweet about.
Birdie Bowl and Juicery, which opened in Costa Mesa’s The OC Mix February 28, is the perfect place to buy cold-pressed juice or dairy-free nut mylks (no, it’s not a typo) for that much-needed nutritional boost.
“Hopefully this will become a place where Orange County residents and people visiting the area can experience and come out thinking Orange County has something really great to offer,” says 32-year-old owner Jee Shin of her new business, which emits an industrial, yet warm and inviting atmosphere.
What makes the juicery a one-of-a-kind sensation, separating the Birdie from the chick, is its method of juicing.
Traditional juicing requires a lot of grinding, creating friction, according to Shin. The heat from the friction speeds up the oxidation process, and as a result, the nutritional value of the fruits and vegetables only lasts for a couple of hours, she says. This means drinks traditionally juiced should be consumed immediately for best results.
Birdie Bowl, on the other hand, uses a cold-press method where the fruits and vegetables are pulverized by 1,000 pounds of pressure in a cheesecloth-type material. The nutrients are absorbed and, because of the lack of heat from friction, maintained for about three days before they start losing their value.
Juices at Birdie Bowl range from a familiar V-Eight (tomato, Fuji apple, celery, cucumber, green onion, apple cider vinegar, parsley, and ginger) to a daring Master Cleanse (lemon, orange, ginger, maple syrup, and cayenne).
Shin says cold-press juiceries are out there, but don’t seem to be as prevalent in Orange County. So she hopes factoring in their prime location will make Birdie Bowl a favorite for people swept up by the juice fasting craze. And on a side note, Shin prefers the term “juice cleansing.”
“Fasting insinuates an imbalance in your life, which is completely the opposite of what you’re trying to do with the cleanses,” she says.
Shin’s first business was Milk + Honey, a coffee shop that also gained popularity for its organic teas and frozen yogurt, located at The CAMP in Costa Mesa. She recently sold it to better focus herself in what she believes is a much more healthy, positive way.
“Not that coffee is not a positive thing,” she is quick to reassure. “But as far as influencing my lifestyle, really what you surround yourself with is kind of what you end up consuming and absorbing.”
For those who may be skeptical of the unique recipes, Birdie Bowl and Juicery also offers tasty and lactose-intolerant-friendly nut mylks sweetened by almond, coconut and dates.
