Smoothies are the key to a cool escape from the sweltering Columbia heat, but the question of where the best place to get a smoothie is still remains. Luckily for everyone melting in this weather, MOVE decided to investigate Blenders, Red Mango and Main Squeeze to find the answer. After trying a similar smoothie at each location and looking at taste, consistency, nutritional value and cost, here is what we found:
**Blenders** is the clear winner by a landslide in every category. By taste alone, the dairy-free Bombora, made with orange, mango, strawberry and banana, comes out on top. It also has a very thick consistency that can fight the heat.
The only potential downside of the Blenders smoothie was that there were some chunks of unblended fruit — if you can’t stand that, ensure they blend your smoothie well. Although the nutritional value is not listed, the website states that all Blenders smoothies are made completely from scratch without purees, powdered mixes, syrups or ice. A 16-ounce smoothie costs $3.95, making it the cheapest of the three, perfect for broke college students or anyone trying to save a buck. Blenders is doing it all right, and with a large and diverse menu, they have a smoothie for just about everyone.
The runner up is **Red Mango**, a franchise that may be known first for its frozen yogurt but still serves up a sweet smoothie. The Strawberry Sonata, made with strawberry, banana and an apple-orange juice blend, tastes as good as its name sounds. It melted quickly in the hot weather because of its thinner consistency, but this 16-ounce smoothie is kosher, gluten free and only 160 calories. A 16-ounce smoothie at Red Mango also only costs around $4.20, giving it the second-lowest price out of the three.
**Main Squeeze** comes in last place in multiple categories, primarily in taste. The Strawberry Manilow, made with orange, strawberry and banana, lacked the sweetness that makes smoothies irresistible, but did have a great consistency that was thick but still fully blended. The nutritional value is not listed on their website, but their smoothies are organic and made with 100 percent fruit. Unfortunately, the smoothie, while healthy, does not have an impressive or delectable taste and is the most expensive at $5.50 for a 16-ounce smoothie.
These smoothies are ranked in order by taste, nutritional value and cost — but each brings something special to the table. Next time you are walking around campus in this smoldering weather, check out the place that sounds right for you and grab a smoothie to cool down.
