DR Juice – vegetarian via Quisqueya
by Adam Garrett-Clark In a world of chicharron, mofongo and chimichuris one restaurant stands apart. A budding stalk of healthy cuisine in the heart of rice-and-bean country on St. Nicholas Avenue it’s the neighborhood’s last surviving vegetarian restaurant. Quietly DR Juice on St. Nicholas Avenue near W. 187th Street has amassed a loyal following made up mostly of clients who live in the immediate area. For the rest of Northern Manhattan it remains an undiscovered green diamond in the rough. The slim white tiled restaurant with an 18-foot ceiling serves primarily organic vegetarian options along with a few seafood dishes. Four to five ready-made dishes which change daily are served from warmers, including a popular soy steak with onions and bell peppers, and chicken breast made of soy. The restaurant has an extensive salad bar, a variety of soups and a selection of variously spiced rices. Salmon and or tilapia or bass are also usually available each day. In some instances, it’s a vegetarian spin on a traditional Dominican dish. There’s pastelon – a lasagna type dish that is layered with mozzarella cheese, plantains and ground tofu meat. In other instances the food available spans the globe including a spinach lasagna and a whole wheat salad owner Jose Valdez calls “Tipile” and claims is found in Arabic cuisine. According to Valdez, the restaurant is a response to the nature of our neighborhood’s health and eating habits, “Lo que esta matando nuestro communidad (what’s killing our community),” he said. More than one-fifth of adults in Washington Heights and Inwood are obese, 21-percent. That’s a third higher than Manhattan overall at 15-percent, according to a community health profile published in 2006 by the New York City Department of Health and Mental Hygiene. DR Juice, opening almost a year ago in July 2008, has joined the ranks of restaurants like Little Apple on W. 207th Street, La Sala 78 and Noemi Juice and Salad Bar on Dyckman Street along with a growing number of seafood restaurants surfacing recently, aimed at providing a lighter, healthier take on food uptown – a concept picking up steam nationwide. Pioneer restaurant Little Apple has been driving the message of healthy eating home for the longest, using a sandwich board out front with a chalk outline drawing of a torso with a big belly to illustrate its point. For Valdez, it was something he felt the community needed, originally planning to open a juice and sandwich bar in the space (hence the name) but realizing the area needed vegetarian food more. In the next few months Valdez plans to fully realize his dream for the restaurant which started 15 years ago. With a background in chemical engineering, Valdez has developed a fascination with natural remedies, particularly medicinal juices. For instance he explains that a juice made of lettuce and tamarind happens to be great for people who have trouble getting to sleep at night. There are juices specifically designed to lower cholesterol, flush out the system, alleviate arthritis, help lose weight or counteract high blood pressure he said. He plans to roll out 10 different formulas for juices this summer. With new plans to construct a bar on the second floor of his small, tall restaurant Valdez is finalizing a beer and wine license in the hopes of serving organic wine and beer in the future. CUTLINE: DR Juice owner Jose Valdez has convinced a loyal following that his oddly-shaped restaurant and menu is the right fit for Northern Manhattan. The items on DR Juice’s menu are vegetarian and healthy, and influenced by traditional Dominican cooking. The Manhattan Times is the bilingual newspaper of Washington Heights and Inwood.
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