We Checked Out The New Tropical Smoothie Cafe In Toms River
It seems like all of Toms River, New Jersey has been waiting to check out the first Tropical Smoothie Cafe’ to come to the area. The new breakfast lunch and smoothie place was first announced late last year. Well, with the new year comes the much-anticipated opening of the Commons At Hooper, 1358 Hooper Avenue in Toms River.
I’m a smoothie guy in theory only. I’ll drink one if there is extra. My daughter, a big smoothie gal, always overdoes it in the Multi Mixer. Meanwhile, my wife of little culinary skill, would much rather buy one than make it. Furthermore my 16 year old son will eat anything with the right amount of chocolate or caffeine, so he’s always a candidate for some smoothie/shake mashup.
This weekend we ventured out to the new Tropical Smoothie Cafe’, and I have to say, I enjoyed it. The menu is relatively easy to read and navigate, given the large amount of items and categories. Of course, you have your entire smoothie lineup. However, they do full-on All Day Breakfast, as well as lunch!
Here’s What We Ate.
We opted for the lunch items since it was pushing 2 pm by the time we got there. The place was pretty busy for that time of day. I ordered the Southwest Chicken Quesadilla, with a “premium side”, as in one you pay a little extra for instead of standard fruit or chips. I went with the maple sweet potato chunks. The quesadilla was very good. What made it was the salsa on the side. I would buy a bottle of that stuff. Almost orange in color, it had a sweet heat, reminiscent of a mango habanero sauce. I would have gotten sour cream or guac with it on the side as well if offered. The sweet potatoes were fine. Nothing special, but filling.
I also grabbed the lowest-calorie smoothie they offer, the Detox Island Green. Kale, ginger, and a whole bunch of other antioxidants are perfect for helping out with dry January! It was DELICIOUS!
They Have Something For Everyone On Their Menu.
Meanwhile, my wife and daughter split an acai bowl and one of Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s signature flatbreads. They got the chicken pesto. It looked really cheesy, with a lot of pesto dripping out. they seemed to enjoy both. They opted for bottled water instead of smoothies. However, we did order for my teenage son who was at home with the dogs. He looked over the online menu, and went with the Mocha Madness. The perfect blend of chocolate and caffeine, like I said. He told me last night how much he loved it and can’t wait to have another. That may have been the most he said to me all weekend, so I was happy to hear it!
Overall I liked the quality of the food, and the prices were reasonable – under 40 bucks for everything mentioned. I will be back. ‘Cause, in the middle of Winter, it’s nice to have the Tropics close by!
