Acaí: The New Superhero in Town
It has been clear that acai bowls have been considered the new “trendy” food item that many teens and college students have come to appreciate and love. Pictures of these bowls are often shared across social media and seem to be extremely popular, yet none of us had much experience with the acai bowl. We didn’t know what an acai bowl really was and where the hype came from. Enter Purple Bowl. This modern and cozy restaurant that opened up in July was looking to bring the acai bowl to Chapel Hill, so we used the experience to try and gather as much information about the acai culture.
The basic anatomy of an acai bowl is a blended acai base with the fruit itself and granola filled with a variety of fruits, seeds, honey, and other ingredients on top. First and foremost, acai bowls are crafted with health in mind. The main component, acai, is an Amazon-based berry, known to be a super fruit because of the antioxidants, omega-6 and omega-9 essential fatty acids, amino acids, and vitamins that it contains. Inspired by an upbringing of the acai bowl on the West coast, owner Paula Gilland and her family looked to bring their own version of the superfood.
One of the general running themes that acai culture seems to present was the value of health. An acai bowl is certainly healthier than a burger or another fried option. A lot of different ingredients are different, but included because of its nutritional value. Bee pollen for example contains lots of different nutrients that are essential for humans such as amino acids and vitamins. Many athletes enjoy grabbing an acai bowl after their workouts because of its ability to help an athlete recover energy and nutrients. In our trip to The Purple Bowl, our members ordered many different items to explore how all the ingredients worked together.
BYO BOWL
A neat concept that Purple Bowl employs is the ability to mix and choose what you want in the bowl. In this case, we added acai vanilla protein, almond, kiwi, strawberries and bee pollen, shaved coconut and Nutella. What was nice about this bowl was the fact that the acai base, with the vanilla protein, almond and bee pollen kept the bowl mild. The sweetness came from the natural sugars of the refreshing fruits and Nutella (Haokun, Muziah). Even though Nutella isn’t necessarily the healthiest item, the sweetness it brings gives the mild bowl a boost and can work with many different combinations. The combination we picked ended up being refreshing and worked well! (Haokun, Muziah)
Appalachian Trail Bowl
The Appalachian Trail Bowl was a prefixed bowl created by Purple Bowl that topped the acai with bananas, raspberries, hemp hearts, cacao nibs, flax seeds, lavender, cinnamon, and honey. The idea with this bowl was to capture the texture of a rugged trail with the different grains and the natural landscape with the lavender and various fruits. The neat thing about this kind of bowl is how there is dual experience, a sweet experience with the berries and spices and a savory experience with the grains that blends nicely together (Alan, Haokun). This bowl is also a good example of how the acai bowl can be aesthetically pleasing with the placement of the ingredients (Muziah). The lavender is a unique ingredient incorporatedwithin the bowl as it carries many health benefits and gives the bowl a distinct flavor and odor. This is actually what’s tough about healthy food, these are the types of ingredients we aren’t used to, and so the flavor came off as being too strong (Alan, Haokun, Muziah). With the intention of health, the lavender does seem like a nice compliment.
Ugly Green Bowl
This is definitely a bowl that looked to target health with the variety of vitamin heavy ingredients. The base of this bowl deviates from the standard acai bowl with acai, avocado, kale, spinach, mango, bananas, ginger and orange juice with toppings of bananas, kiwi, raspberries, chia seeds and honey. Although the base does contain different vegetables, it doesn’t overpower the flavor. The orange juice is actually one of the more prominent flavors, the tartness definitely comes through. The bowl overall is rich and delectable that has a crunchy and smooth texture (Alan). A surprising element is the ginger. It has a bold flavor that adds other layers to the bowl (Haokun).
The Toasts
Purple Bowl offers different options other than acai bowls, and these two variations of toast are some of those options. The bread comes from a purveyor that bakes their bread fresh everyday while topping it with most local ingredients, making it worth the price you pay. The bread itself is toasted well so it has a nice bite to it. With the avocado toast, the avocadoes are fresh and the chili flakes gave it a slight kick that made the entirety enticing (Muziah). The soft texture of the banana is mixed with rich peanut butter and it creates that nice classic combination (Haokun).
The biggest criticism of this place is the price, and even though the price is higher than other places, fresh and healthy food comes at a price. I think another aspect of The Purple Bowl that makes it special is its usage of local product. Many of their ingredients come from nearby Carrboro including their furniture. They look to support local business, and I think along with the healthy food, this is another reason why you should try this place out!
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