SMOOTHIES

The perfect smoothie lies somewhere between the perfect wave and the perfect mate--as much an experience as an ideal object. It may be out there--a heavenly delight of blended fruit, crushed ice and maybe a dollop of yogurt--but finding it is so often the result of dumb luck, maybe even fate.

But, as with waves and potential mates, Southern California abounds with tasty smoothies. California is, after all, the smoothie capital of the country with more than 300 juice bars set up in malls or tucked along trendy boulevards. You just have to know where to look--and what to look for.

When we set out in search of the perfect smoothie, we knew what we liked, but not much else. Turns out, there’s not much else to know. A good smoothie uses top-quality fresh or flash-frozen fruit and fresh juices. Smaller shops are more likely to use fresh fruit than big chains like Juice Club. Frozen yogurt adds texture, but not sweetness. Additives like protein powder or ginseng can drastically alter the flavor of a smoothie. The fancy blenders used at Jamba Juice can run $1,000 each.

That’s about it. But, as juice bar consultant Dan Titus tells it, there’s more to a successful juice bar than that. “You don’t sell fruit or smoothies at a juice bar,” he says. “You sell health.”

And, this being Southern California, image and attitude. So the best juice bars serve not only naturally sweet fruit shakes, but a little atmosphere as well. Our favorite all-around smoothie and juice spot: the Newsroom in West Hollywood.

A regular restaurant that boasts a big juice menu and a walk-up counter, the Newsroom serves some of the tastiest--and wildest--variety of juices around. Relatively tame offerings like the Hawaii 5-0--pineapple, papaya and banana--share the menu with the more daring Ginger Rogers--carrot, apple and ginger--and the Martian Martini--carrot and beet.

Health nuts with intestines of iron might want to try the carrot and wheat grass combo. Less daring souls should stick with the standard smoothie of apple, banana and strawberry. Whichever you choose, the restaurant offers great weekend ambience with a moderately hip young crowd.

The crowd at nearby Swingers coffee shop is a little more hip--annoyingly so at times. Swingers holds a special place in our hearts because it was here that we tried our first professionally made smoothie a few years ago. It’s still a tasty treat, but the weekend wait can be long so if you’re not after a full breakfast with plenty of eye candy, it’s best to steer clear.

Our favorite quick-hit juice bar: Malibu Juice and Coffee in Chatsworth. Tucked into a mini-mall next to train tracks, this little shop serves some powerful smoothies, particularly those with berries or mangoes. The problem here is that it’s miles from anything close to ambience.

For a nice walking-drinking combination, we prefer Cafe Jumby in Studio City. Located just off Ventura Boulevard, Cafe Jumby offers a strong menu of routine, but flavorful, smoothies as well as some pretty tasty sandwiches. On cool weekends, it’s a great launching point for window shopping at the antique and furniture stores that line that stretch of Ventura.

And although it hardly fits most people’s idea of the modern juice and smoothie shop, Paul’s Juice in Farmers’ Market mixes up all sorts of wildly sweet combinations such as coconut and carrot. The prices are a little steep and the servings are small, but few of these tastes can be found elsewhere.

In the end, though, our favorite smoothies remain those we make at home. Toss some orange juice, a few bananas, fresh strawberries and whatever else we find at the bottom of the crisper into the blender with some ice and grind away.