Rush Bowls have moved into the Farmington Valley into the space previously occupied by Fosters Ice…read moreCream on Hopmeadow Street. In fact, the space doesn't look much different at all from the way it was laid out under Fosters. Rush Bowls sells two categories of food -$8 Smoothies and $10 Rush Bowls in dozens of variations and permutations. Let's start with their Smoothies. There are seventeen smoothies broken down into four basic categories of Acai, Signature, Rejuvenate, and Juice (Apple or OJ). They have different combinations of fruit (mango, blueberry, peach, banana, pineapple, strawberries, raspberries, dragon fruit, coconut, liquids (milks, juices),and an assortment of extras (granola, honey, kale, spinach, granola, acai, peanut butter, whey, frozen yogurt, chocolate sauce, avocado, espresso, and even lemonade). Their twenty juice based Bowls are similar, and you eat them with a spoon instead of a straw. My wife ordered the PB Crunch Smoothie with Banana, Peanut Butter, Granola, Milk and Froyo. I had a sip and loved its distinctive peanut flavor. I went with a Dragon Bowl of Dragon fruit, Banana, Strawberry, Blueberry, Coconut Milk, Apple Juice, chocolate sauce, and three toppers - Granola, Honey and Almonds. I liked it a lot, it had great flavor and plenty of crunch from the granola and almonds. We chatted with the two young ladies who were preparing our order and learned the store had only been open for a few weeks. Apparently, they are busiest lunch time when the locals come in for a quick to go order. My Bowl was pretty filling, so I definitely saw how it is becoming popular as a lunch option.

I was pleasantly surprised to see this place on our drive, as I am from Colorado and we have them…read moreat home but I didn't know they were a chain! We got the jungle and power bowl and both really enjoyed them!

This morning I drove to Liquid Nirvana of Avon. When I arrived I realized this is where one of my…read morevery first Yelp events was, around four years ago. It was 100 degrees out today, what's better then a refreshing açaí bowl? The menu at Liquid Nirvana is extensive, and everywhere you turn there are additional menu items. In addition to açaí bowls, there are juices, smoothies, salads and wraps available. I got the Tropical Paradise Açaí Bowl. The base is made of açaí, almond milk, pineapple, mango, banana and blueberries. It was topped with granola, pineapple, banana, coconut and honey. This was so fresh! I could hear the blender running as the girl, blended everything for me. There's no freezer burn here. It was cold, fresh, and so delicious! I also think $11.00 is a great value. I once paid $17 for an açaí bowl on my travels somewhere, the portion was tiny and it was far from fresh. Liquid Nirvana offers delicious, fresh, high quality products from a large assortment of organic fruits and vegetables.

First time going and won't be the last! Walking in the place was very clean and welcoming. Staff…read morewas friendly and greeted me. The menu was overwhelming (in a good way), there were so many options, I wanted to try them all! I had the Coconut Nirvana and a grilled cheese. Staff said everything is made from scratch and you can tell. The smoothie was so fresh and tasty. Grilled cheese was good! Overall great experience! :)

It's a herbalife shop, that puts in that extra effort to be better than the others…read more I belong to a bariatric group, and this place was touted to be a very good place to get a protein shake. Since there's a couple good breakfast spots in the area, I decided I would go to this location and give them a try. Place was decked out with decor and inspirations sayings. I take a quick look at the displays, and I see the herbalife products. To the unintiated, herbalife shops are pretty much these MLM shops. Kinda like lularoe. they use social media to attempt to appear trendy while trying to encourage repeat business while harvesting as much info as they can from you. I don't really care too much about that, I care about the end product and how things taste. After being to a few of these shops, I can say that I'm not really a fan of their proteins. I feel that they use a little too much thickener and are a little gritty. the flavors are muted and they always try to justify the price of the shake by giving you a detox + energy tea to go with it. Their shakes pretty much taste like what I would expect a protein shake to taste like, if I didn't know how to make one myself. The biggest difference between these shops is how they are operated. This place is operated pretty well. The owner was very kind and inquisitive, though they could be a little pushy. This specific location actually has lots of extra items like protein balls and cookies. They also got very decorative with their shakes, layering shake and mix-ins and topping with pictures of shakes to help you make your decisions. I got a shake, a tea for the girlfriend, some protein balls, and because it was customer appreciation day I got a balloon, a valentine protein ball, and a gift certificate. I did enjoy the protein balls, they had a strong peanut butter flavor and a good texture. The protein shake was okay, was this apple pie shake with layers of granola, apple, caramel, and a little apple pie piece on top. The tea had a little bit too much of their fruit punch flavoring, but it was drunk. The difference between this herbalife shop and others is the staff and the hustle, and this place is trying very hard to be just that little bit better than it's competition. I respect this place for trying as hard as they do, but it is not the greatest of shakes. If you want a herbalife protein shake, give this place a try.

A small shop in a plaza that'll have you questioning why you're out there…read more All the products are Herbalife brand from the protein to the additional boosters that can be added. Get a shake which comes with a tea. They have all kinds of different flavors too choose and the teas are refreshing. Takes a little bit of time to make it all, but not too long. I'm personally not a big fan of Herbalife and their company. The shakes all had a hint of peanut butter that more masked the intended taste. The tea is good but I think our's might have been mislabeled. Overall, it is good if you're close by and have $30 to spend on two shakes and a tea. The best part is the owner who has a great story on how she went through a weight loss journey and is fun to speak to. I might be back but not sure on that since you can get similar shakes at many other places or at your gym. The highlight was the owner, she was worth the trip not the shakes.

Smoothville is a hidden gem in Hazardville CT, on 310 Hazard Avenue, at the intersection of North…read moreand South Maple Street. It is one of the best places I've ever been to for a smoothie, and I've been to quite a few places, especially when I travel. I've had smoothies in places like Miami Beach, Santa Monica CA, New York City, Birmingham AL, Atlanta GA, including many other cities -and Smoothville is as good or better than any of the top smoothie and acai bowl establishments I've experienced. They use fresh ingredients, their customer service is fantastic, and they are consistent in delivering a high quality product.

Yum yum yum. My…read morefriend recently got me hooked on this place. It's not a MLM smoothie shop using herbal life garbage it's legit smoothies. Their peppermint mudslide holiday special is literally a dream come true. Grandmas 7 layer bar holiday special also very good (very walnut forward). I look forward to ordering much more often here. Big bonus - you can order online ahead!

My husband loves Smoothie King and he always orders the same thing, Island Impact. He loves…read moreSmoothie King because he likes that it's blended well, smooth with no fruit or icy chunks. He is a tough critic when we go to other smoothie places. I don't usually opt into getting a smoothie myself because of my strawberry allergy. Most of their smoothies have strawberry in them. This location in Newington, went above and beyond. The staff were able to swap out the strawberries for another fruit! They were so kind and helpful. I got the Pineapple Surf, replacing the strawberries for raspberries! I don't know if all Smoothie King locations would make this accommodation and if you are highly allergic to something, take precaution for chances or cross contamination. It was just nice to enjoy a smoothie! We return to this location often because we are always in the area. Last time, I learned they had a special menu that the shop put together. The smoothies were dessert themed and I got Blueberry Cobbler--which didn't have any strawberry. This Smoothie King's service is always fast, never too busy even in summer, the shop is cool, and very clean. Without a doubt, we will be back soon since we are always in the area. It's been a must this summer.

It is disappointing to have to write this review, but I believe it is important to share my…read moreexperience. I visited the Smoothie King location on the Berlin Turnpike three times in a row and observed a concerning pattern with one female employee who consistently appeared to prioritize white customers over me. On my first visit, an older man was already waiting. I was the only Black man standing there. I am a polite, professional individual with a good-paying job, and I try to be considerate of others. Although I was waiting patiently, two Caucasian women entered after me, and the employee bypassed me to take their orders. The women apologized, and I reassured them that it was not their fault. I gave the benefit of the doubt, assuming there may have been some confusion. On my second visit, after I placed my order, the employee repeatedly set my order aside to prepare smoothies for Caucasian customers who arrived and ordered after me at the register (they were not picking up online orders). The third visit occurred today, June 29th, around 1:00 p.m. I even paid for the order of a white customer who arrived after me as a courtesy. Despite this, the employee prepared his smoothie first. She then took the order of a man and his two sons who arrived after me, apologized to me, and served my smoothie last. There was nothing complex about my order that would explain the extended wait. After these repeated experiences, I am concerned that this employee may be treating Black customers (or minorities in general) differently by serving white customers first. This is unfair and unacceptable. I respectfully request that management look into this matter to ensure all customers receive equal and professional service.

I love Playa Bowls but this location was not to our expectations. Not only was the staff less than…read morefriendly, they admitted messing up our order but then was irritated that we wanted it done correctly. I prefer the one in Storrs where you get an amazing manager who takes the time to help her customers.

Out of all the Playa Bowls locations in Connecticut, the Manchester spot is officially the best!…read moreMckenzie and the rest of the ladies provided incredible customer service today. They made me feel so welcome, and my order was ready in under a minute. Outstanding experience!

On occasion I might be in a mood for a crisp and refreshing bubble tea. We stopped by Wukong Tea…read moresince we were in the area. Wukong Tea is located in the same plaza as Stop & Shop in South Windsor. The inside is cute but looked like a daycare classroom. The walls were covered in kid's doodles and drawings, there's a table with Legos, a shelf with stuffies, a bit overkill if you ask me. They offer a large assortment of teas, slushies, smoothies and more. I got the Peach Lemonade with tapioca. We also got a few of the macarons. For a place that specializes in bubble tea, this wasn't good. I got the Peach Lemonade, there was nothing peach about this tea, as far as the lemonade it had just a splash of flavor and a lot of color. The tapioca were pleasantly chewy. The macarons were like eating cardboard, very artificial. I've had better ones from Aldi and Trader Joe's. This was a very disappointing experience at Wukong Tea.

Okay tea, trying but odd…read more Came here cause they just opened up. The space is sparse but functional. Lots of stuff for the kiddos but not much else. They had a few spaces for kids to play, and a bunch of plushies on the wall for people to buy.it's definitely aimed for the young ones in terms of decor and layout. When we first came in, we got an overwhelming scent of tapioca balls. A cooked rice and sugar smell which was very predominate and distracting. If you didn't know the smell, you would call it astringent and funky. Not a good sign. Lots of sweets on the menu and the drinks lean towards sweet. They offer lots of "poppers" in a lot of different flavor options, with some inventive selections such as cheese, red bean, and water chestnut. Drinks are about 5.50 for a medium, with poppers coming in as a .50 cent add on. I opted for the red bean milk tea with red bean poppers. Cause I just wanted to try a red bean popper. Drinks came out quick and we took our pics and sips. The tea was non-existent, was a blended red bean drink with lots of red bean flavor but none of the sweetness that push it closer to a dessert item. The red bean poppers delivered on the red bean texture. Flavor was lacking compared to the drink, and was very firm. Almost like a jelly encased bean. The missus got a matcha green tea which was better executed. Lighter on the tea but sweet and creamy. It's not a space for the older folk, and I don't know how I feel about it as a hip or trendy drink spot. It's not bad, but it's not a great drink spot either. Some spaces are not to peoples preferences though, and I get that. As a traveler of sorts, I don't think there's enough to have me try them again.

love coming to fresh monkey, especially after a nice hike…read more this time we got a puppy shake and the almond coco loco. it was very good milk, vanilla protein, nutella, coconut-oil, almonds, coconut shreds, sugar-free chocolate drizzle topped with unsweetened coconut shreds

Awesome healthy shakes here! They Taste So fresh. Any shake here is delicious! Oh and you Can't…read moreforget to grab money balls if you stop in. They are the perfect chocolate treat. Staff was friendly and helpful. Prices are fair.