Energize

Simply put, my favorite take-out spot in all of greater Boston. I've been coming here 4-5 times a week basically since they've opened. My go-to order is the Super Nutrition (I add Camu Camu) but the salads, smoothie bowls and toasts are all awesome, too. Great location across from the Y so I can stop in post-workout!

I love this place. I always get salads. Their salads are big bowls of fresh vegetables, fruits, beans, and seeds. So delicious. Compare this to most other lunch places, where most of the food is just cheap stuff like dough or rice or potatoes. Energize is so much higher quality -- sooooo much better than your average lunch. I'd eat there every day if I could. Brighton and Newton are extremely lucky to have this place.

Friendly service. Healthy smoothies and bowls. Takes some time if ordering in store. Ordering: People are greeted with a friendly smile as they enter, as long as the staff isn't occupied with making an order. Most orders appear to be to go. If you're looking to dine in, there are 6 window seats, 5 bench tables, and 2 tables in the middle. It does take some time to make a smoothie bowl even when there is no one else there, a little over 5 minutes, so don't expect to be in and out unless you order ahead. Food: The acai bowl is good. The acai smoothie is sweet and slightly tart. The bananas and strawberries on top were fresh and ripe, although you only get about a single strawberry sliced up. Their granola is very crunchy. It has something crisped mixed in it that isn't in the description. I've also tried the goji berry bowl, which was good too. The toppings are a nice variety and plentiful. Dislike: The super acai bowl was not a great experience for me. I personally recommend avoiding anything with whole goji berries, ones that aren't blended. The goji berries are unbelievably tough because they use dried goji berries that aren't presoaked. Goji berries are normally dried because they aren't easily available fresh. Less than half was crispy and a little hard, but the majority were really hard to comfortably bite into. If you do manage to bite into them, they then stick to your teeth when you bite into them. Restroom: There is a clean restroom to wash up in. Parking: There is free 2 hour parking all around on Washington St and other streets. This area doesn't have parking meters.

I genuinely wonder why there isn't MORE of these kind of smoothie/fresh/healthy food places in Boston? regardless, I'm incredibly lucky to have Energize so close to the gym I go to. My only gripe is that the food is slightly over priced... and then I remember that's literally EVERYTHING these days. Regardless, I'm happy to support a great place like Energize.