The Dish: Green Juice at Crate & Press Juice Bar
PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- In this edition of The Dish, we are making green juice for a complete health infusion, an immunity boost to keep us nice and healthy.
We head to Crate & Press Juice Bar in University City for the pro tips.
It's the brainchild of John Preston and Joe Sparacio, childhood friends from Glenside.
"We've known each other since grade school," Preston says. "We live not too far from each other, just around the corner. That was back when kids would go outside and play."
In 2018, they opened Crate & Press, a juice bar and now cafe, in their hometown.
It was inspired by two things.
The first is their personal health journeys.
"We both stopped eating meat," Preston says. "We were constantly trying to find healthier ways to eat."
The friends were also in awe of the popularity of juice bars in hot spots like Los Angeles and Miami.
"I said, 'You know what? There's nothing out our way. Let's do it,'" Preston recalls.
Two years ago, they opened a second location in University City, near a few college campuses.
They came at this from two totally different backgrounds.
Sparacio comes from a pizza family from Sicily. Preston is an electrician.
They quickly learned that juicing is an art.
"We were scientists," Sparacio says. "It was a lot of trial and error, breaking everything down, seeing what tastes good to us."
There's an important step you must complete before you juice: giving your fruits and veggies a 3-step cleanse.
First, make a bath of baking soda and white vinegar.
Second, give them a good spray, to rinse off all of the dirt.
Finally, a dip in cold water.
Now, you can juice. There's choreography to how it all goes in the blender.
"There is a method to the madness," Sparacio laughs. "Greens don't juice that well, so the spinach and kale go in first."
Quickly follow the greens with something juicy like cucumbers and lemons.
Then, add the real stars of the show: turmeric and ginger.
"Turmeric is said to be a natural antibiotic and ginger is anti-inflammatory," Preston says.
Next in is celery, which they say is good for your gut.
Finally, add some sweet and detoxifying pineapple.
And add the WHOLE thing.
"We're actually going to juice this with the skin on it," Sparacio says. "You get a lot of natural nutrients and vitamins out of the skin."
The friends can personally vouch for the benefits.
"I had gained a lot of weight," Sparacio says. "I was like 280 pounds. This has changed my life. I was always feeling sick, I had headaches. I don't think I've been sick in years!"
The thing about juicing, they say, is that it's as close to nature's goodness as it gets.
"This is fresh, very fresh," Preston says. "It's fresh from the press. There are no preservatives, no syrups, no sugars."
Their Crate & Press juice bars are also cafes, offering healthy food options.
"We're doing breakfast sandwiches now," Preston says. "We do wraps, flatbreads, paninis, salads, avocado toast and acai bowls."
They also help customize juicing programs for customers.
"They will bring us their own bottles, and we'll just do their recipes for them," Preston says. "That's a special order."
Because the friends are completely juiced for the Super Bowl, Crate & Press is giving away free, full-sized cold cold-pressed green juice bottles between February 3 and February 7.
One per person.
No purchase necessary.
You can visit either location for this promotion.
All you have to do is shout "Go Birds!" when ordering.
Click here for details.
