Liquid Summer

When faced with Delhi summer,one tends to wilt like a week-old cabbage leaf,preferring the air-conditioned somnolence of the great indoors. It is these times,which try the soul and antiperspirants of man,that juice sales shoot up. For real.

In Kailash Colony,attempting our best lilies of the sun-baked field impersonation,we espied a bright neon sign inscribed with the words ‘Juiced Up’,referring,either to a juice bar or a place dispensing lurid literature,a win-win either way. Finding it to be the former,we gratefully sank into bright pink beanbags,glad to be ensconced away from the sun. The outlet is tiny,the size of your average Baskin Robbin’s dispensary,without the calories. The menu,an entirely liquid one (of the non-fermented variety),is divided into three sections: eponymous juices,smoothies,and shakes. Fully aware of our bias,we concentrate on the smoothie and shake sections. After much musing and drumming of fingers (while the patient server smilingly waits) we decide to go with the Spicy Banana and Tutti Frutti smoothies for our main course,and the Cheeseberry shake (of the strawberry cheesecake persuasion) for dessert.

The banana shake consists of blended banana and ginger and is mainly mild with a rather compelling undertone of spice,sort of like the alumnus of an all-girls school (as represented in the literature mentioned earlier). The Tutti Frutti is tangier than its name suggests,a refreshing medley of fresh fruits which turns out to be our favorite participant in this liquid menage a trois. The shake is sadly more healthy than its name suggests and is correspondingly less sweet than anticipated. Luckily if,like us,you believe sweet isn’t sweet unless it has the sugar to stop the heart of five diabetics (yes we are planning to up our insurance ante) the place has bottles of honey and sugar syrup to tweak your drink.

It is only when we reach the bottom of the barrel,er,the transparent plastic glass,of the banana shake we notice a human hair,seductively curved around the bottom rim,like a Bollywood vamp of yore. Extra fiber,anyone?