Giving the moribund fruit bowl a much-needed revamp, açaí bowls seem to rule the culinary universe.
Bird Bowl, from 3 Natives, 1200 Yamato Road, Suite C5, Boca Raton, 561/717-8121
“It’s the sweet and savory, it’s the cold,” says Mike Christie, the owner of the Boca Raton and Jupiter 3 Natives lunch spots. “Everything is pretty much as fresh as it gets.”
In June, his Boca Raton store celebrates two years of catering to families, time-crunched businesspeople and the college crowd. The Bird Bowl leads the pack as the clear favorite among customers. Made with an açaí base, the bowl is layered with French vanilla granola, peanut butter, chopped bananas, kiwis, pineapples and strawberries, and then garnished with honey and coconut shavings.
For Christie, freshness is the key to his store’s success. Every morning, he receives a shipment of fresh fruit from Peddler Produce in Juno Beach, which staff washes and chops up to be dished out. The honey is local as well, and the all-natural peanut butter is shipped from New York.
Finally, it comes down to the açaí. The “super fruit” grown in the Amazon River basin, with each berry packed with antioxidants, has captured the awe of health nuts. Sambazon, a California-based company that first brought the fruits into the country, supplies the açaí to 3 Natives.
“The Bird Bowl is the No. 1 [seller], but people customize bowls all the time,” Christie says. “They’re all so good. Really, it comes down to personal preference.”
Whatever the preference, we hope the refreshing bowls are here to stay.
Recipe
- 7 ounces açaí
- ½ cup granola
- Half a banana
- 1.5 ounces strawberries
- 1.5 ounces kiwis
- 1.5 ounces pineapple
- Honey
- Coconut flakes
- Start your bowl with a layer of frozen açaí
- Scoop in granola
- Place a layer of your favorite peanut butter
- Top with bananas, strawberries, kiwis, and pineapple. Feel free to get creative and add new fruits to the mix!
- Garnish your bowl with coconut flakes and drizzle with honey.
This story comes from our June/July/August 2018 issue of Boca magazine. For more content like this, subscribe to the magazine.
