Eat/Drink is NEXT’s weekly look at the local food scene.
It’s not the fruit that counts, it’s how you juice it
There’s more than one way to juice a carrot, but Ankit Goyal insists that not all those ways are created equal. He’s firmly in the cold-press camp.
Centrifugal juicers, the kind that sport quick-spinning blades against mesh filters to separate a fruit or vegetable’s flesh from its juice, produce heat friction, which can destroy a lot of the good stuff you’re trying to extract.
“Cold press is the exact opposite,” Goyal says. “There’s no centrifugal force. It’s a very slow grinding process. Cold-pressed juicing doesn’t strip out any of the vitamins, and it allows for higher yields as well. We make more using less, and we use all organic and as much locally sourced produce as we can find.”
Raw, organic and cold-pressed: that’s the ethos behind Goyal’s Fresh From the Farm Juices—a company he started two years ago after he and his wife moved from New York City to western Pennsylvania—which caters to both wholesale clients and individual customers’ juice needs. Goyal initially set up shop in Ligonier, then moved his operation to the South Side. He left that space area for a larger one in Wexford in April. Goyal is planning a grand opening party for July 1.
“I noticed that Pittsburgh was sort of new to the whole organic juicing thing. We got our product out there a little bit more and noticed a lot of interest in it,” he says. “I realized that it would be a good idea to find a space in the city.”
After just two years in the region, Fresh From the Farm Juices has picked up a substantial following, and not just among local juice enthusiasts. In addition to being stocked at a number of local coffee shops including Espresso A Mano, Coffee Tree Roasters and 21st Street Coffee to name a few, Pittsburgh’s burgeoning film industry has been great for business.
“The movie people seem to have a genuine interest in it,” Goyal says, adding that he’s filled some large orders for a Jake Gyllenhaal/Forest Whitaker film called Southpaw, which is shooting in the area over the next several weeks. “I don’t even know how they heard about my juices. For some people it’s a fad, and for some people it’s a lifestyle, but it seems like many of them have really adopted it as a lifestyle.”
Downtown grocer getting closer
Developer Ralph Falbo, who is partnering with the owners of Vallozzi’s and David Priselac, Jr. to bring a food and wine market in the space at 435 Market Street in Downtown, says that construction on the space could begin as soon as this week.
“We’re expecting the Pittsburgh History & Landmarks Foundation to get the building permit this week, which would allow for construction to start,” Falbo says, adding that PHLF will renovate a major portion of the building and its façade while Falbo and partners will handle the first floor and basement.
Falbo says the partners are hoping to open the store, which will specialize in Italian products and wines from Sicily and California, by November 1.
Simple Ingredients opens Downtown
Walk past the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust building on Penn Avenue and you’ll notice five curious words: “simple ingredients (some assembly required).” Simple Ingredients, a new Downtown juice bar and eatery, features salads, wraps, soups and smoothies. Simple Ingredients is open Monday through Friday from 11-6 and on Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m.
Brooklyn Brewery Mash returns
After a popular debut last year, the Brooklyn Brewery Mash, a week-long festival of beer, food, art and music will return to Pittsburgh from June 21 to 28.
Pittsburgh will be the sixth stop on a 12-city tour which will take the Mash to 10 different American cities, plus Stockholm and London.
Scheduled events include a farm dinner with Cure’s Justin Severino, a spice-and-beer pairing event at Marty’s Market, a home-brewing education session at Copper Kettle Brewing Company in Greenfield and a pop-up slow supper with e2’s Kate Romane and Brooklyn Brewery Chef Andrew Gerson.
Some events are free with RSVP while others require tickets. To purchase tickets or see the full slate of happenings, check out the Mash’s Pittsburgh event site.
A new bakery in the Strip
Dulcinea Bakeshop opened in the space at 2627 Penn Avenue over the weekend. The first venture from Tabrina Avery offers cakes to order, weekly breakfast-style specials and a host of other pastries. We’re told the bacon cinnamon buns practically flew out of the case on Sunday.
Dulcinea is open Tuesday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 3 p.m., and Saturday and Sunday from 9 a.m. to 3 p.m.