Luci’s Healthy Marketplace is the spot to go for a conscious meal — the kind with transparent origins and packaging stamped with seals that confirm it the food choice of world-conscious people. It’s the kind of place that manages to work kale, wheat germ and healthy foodstuffs into sandwiches and breakfast burritos in all sorts of delicious ways that get past even the pickiest of lunch dates. It’s the kind of place to meet friends before a hike or invite a gluten-free, vegan bestie to dine without worry. So, the point is that, yes, while it has a liquor license and sells alcohol in its marketplace, Luci’s wouldn’t have made the cut on many lists for places to “drink.” It’s a place to be healthy, enjoy natural light and potentially get hopped up on caffeine.
On Wednesday, May 28, that all changed.
Thanks to a little frozen treat called a wine smoothie ($5.99), Luci’s is giving Phoenix a cool, refreshing way to lush its way through the summer months!
It’s almost exactly what it sounds like. The wine smoothies are made with a vinoleche called Wineheart. Though Wineheart bottles a range of decadent flavors, the two Luci’s has available (for now) are orange creme and chocolate strawberry creme.
The 28 proof (14 percent alcohol) beverage, Wineheart, is a blend of wine and cream, so when served as a smoothie it tastes more like a milkshake than a glass of blended ice-wine. Depending on personal threshold and judgment, it’s important to know the alcoholic content is more of a fact-of-life than a flavor.
When it comes down to the two available flavors, it’s a personal preference, but the orange creme was a unanimous winner among Scottsdale Living staff. Sadly, the strawberry chocolate didn’t hit the tastebuds right.
For a smoothie a little on the runny side, ask for light ice. For a little heft and a milkshake consistency, ask for an extra scoop of ice! Either way, it’s a delicious and refreshing reason to escape the heat!
Luci’s serves these all day long — from 6:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.
Bottoms up: 1590 E. Bethany Home Rd., Phoenix
You can buy your own bottle of Wineheart vinoleche for $16 at Luci’s, which, according to Luci’s distributor, is the only establishment in the market selling the vino.
