Street Food: Green Pirate Juice Truck

[Photos: Madison Priest]

The Green Pirate Juice Truck is a garish affair. Sky blues, cantaloupe oranges, and sunflower yellows fill in the vaguely tribal shapes that populate the bottom of the truck's façade. On top, the painted-on leaves of coconut trees stir in a light breeze. When I wandered over during the Saturday morning Grand Army Plaza farmers' market, Fela Kuti greeted me from loudspeakers inside the truck. It was, to be honest, a bit much.

Not to say that I was surprised. Having examined the website beforehand, I was ready to be offered a vision of health and green living—not just a few juices. According to them, "Green Pirate... aims to stimulate a hip and sexy culture of conscious healthy living in our community." Founder Deborah Smith, a young brunette who proudly boasts of her degree from the Institute for Integrative Nutrition, is the driving force. I sadly could not get a picture—she begged off on the basis of Saturday morning scruffiness (totally fair)—but take a gander here if you want a more flattering look at the woman behind the juices. And the juices themselves?

Well, the juices are pretty darn good. And what's better, many have particularly punny names. I decided on "The Green Pirate" ($6), "Cantaloupe Creamsicle" ($6), and "The McCarrot Park" ($4).

The dominant flavor in the Green Pirate is celery. You expect it to be only a nominal addition—for the green apple, ginger, lemon, even cucumber to take over—but there it is, at every sip: celery. I admit that my personal love of the vegetable doesn't run deep enough to make the Green Pirate my absolute favorite, but I nonetheless enjoyed having that healthy, hearty taste at the fore. The apple softened it a little and added some sweetness; the lemon contributed some much-needed acidity; and the ginger weighed in with its customary bite. All around, this was a remarkably well-balanced juice.

Cantaloupe Creamsicle, the sweetest on offer (as the name suggests), is still not all fruit and sunshine. Instead, carrot features heavily alongside the cantaloupe, orange, and coconut milk. When I was deciding what to order, another customer told me this drink was one of her favorites, remarking that "There is something magical about the coconut milk." It seemed like hyperbole at the time, but about six minutes later I was right on board. This drink is not the best of her offerings—I wished for more orange to freshen up the cantaloupe—but the coconut milk complemented the other ingredients perfectly and lent credence to the drink's name.

Finally, the McCarrot Park, a simple combination of carrot, apple, and ginger, was wonderful. "You should definitely try the McCarrot Park. That's where we hang out; it's what we do." Indeed. Carrot and apple are lovely together, and the ginger livens up the combination perfectly.

In a word, these juices were satisfying—tasting healthy and delicious at once. It was also gratifying to be able to relate the flavors tasted to the actual ingredients of which the drink purported to be made. After so many Jamba Juices and the like, I appreciated a juice description that read more like an ingredient list than anything else.

Green Pirate Juice Truck

Check the twitter feed or website for location. Typically in Brooklyn. Grand Army Plaza Farmer's Market on Saturdays. (map).

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