If you follow me on Facebook, you know that last week I took a short trip to Miami — I put up a bunch of pictures of the juice that I drank and the food that I ate down there.

What you didn’t see was food from a visit to Choices Cafe, an organic vegan restaurant in downtown Miami, right off of Brickell.

Given that several of my friends in the industry had told me about Choices Cafe and the restaurant has been listed in my Pressed Organic Juice Directory for quite some time, I was eager to go check it out. Read more »

As we head into 2014, there are several stories that I’ll be keeping a close eye on, all of which could have a monumental impact on the organic food industry.

While there easily could have been a lot more, here are My Top 5 Organic Food News Stories for 2014.

SINGLE INGREDIENT LABELING OF GMOs

Over the last few months, the rumors about single ingredient labeling of GMOs have really been heating up.

First off, what is “single ingredient labeling of GMOs”?

Single ingredient labeling of GMOs means that any food where there is only one ingredient – apples, corn, papayas, etc. It is just that one piece of food, nothing else. Read more »

If you live in Greenwich Village in NYC, as I do, it is time to come clean. We are completely and utterly spoiled. Why?

Among other reasons, this neighborhood must have the greatest concentration of organic restaurants, supermarkets, and pressed juice bars of anywhere in the world. And with the recent opening of organic restaurant Feel Food, we may now have the most innovative restaurant of them all. Read more »

I know that food trucks are the rage these days but to be perfectly honest, they’ve never really excited me too much.

Maybe that’s because so few of them are organic, and the majority of the ones that line the streets in New York City don’t look appetizing at all.

So, when I heard about a new vegan organic food truck here called The Green Radish, I was a little hesitant.

Yet, what spurred me to go check it out was that owner/operator James Rafferty has some serious credentials. Not only is he a Culinary Institute of America graduate, but he was formerly the sous chef at Bouley, one of the top restaurants in NYC, and has also logged time at other Michelin star restaurants.

Needless to say, I was blown away by the quality of the food at The Green Radish and here are a few dishes that I tried. Read more »

When you come to New York City and ask someone where to get pressed organic juice, there is an excellent chance that Juice Press will be mentioned. And for good reason.

What started out as a small, one-store operation in the East Village in 2010 has quickly exploded to 13 locations throughout NYC and the Hamptons. With many more stores to be opened over the next few years and $7M from investors such as Home Depot’s Ken Langone and billionaire hedge fund manager Stanley Druckenmiller, Founder Marcus Antebi has proven that he has what it takes to build a serious brand in the organic world.

One of the things that you’ll notice when you enter a Juice Press location is the enormous selection of both juices and food, which made choosing my five favorite picks all that more difficult. And believe me, there were plenty of items that I consume on a regular basis that did not make this list.

AVOCADO TOAST SANDWICH

Quite simply, an avocado sandwich is not supposed to taste this good. Period. I have no idea what is in the secret sauce, but this sandwich blows me away every time I eat it. Read more »

Several months ago, a new restaurant opened in New York City called Ellary’s Greens. When I read the website, which promoted itself as “natural and organic”, and made a phone call to see how much of the menu was indeed organic, the response I received was “we get as much organic as we can.”

I hear this answer a lot, which doesn’t really tell me much. And to be honest, it doesn’t make much of an impression either. So, I avoided going to Ellary’s Greens.

And what a huge mistake that was.

After finally visiting the restaurant in-person and speaking to the warm, vivacious, and incredibly passionate owner, Leith Hill, I learned that Ellary’s Greens is extremely committed to organic – anywhere from 95% to 100% of the menu is organic. If something is conventional, it is only because the supplier does not have it in stock and the restaurant will inform you if this is the case.

Having been allayed of this concern, I saw first-hand what I was missing out on – a fantastic menu and a beautifully designed restaurant in a great location in the West Village. Read more »

If you know me or have read my bio, you might be aware that I have had some addiction issues in the past.

Fortunately, those problems are behind me, and I have stayed on a positive path for many years now. One of the things that I attribute to my being to able avoid negative influences in my life has been my will power. Read more »