Walking into SoBol, a local acai bowl and smoothie shop in Beverly, you are welcomed by a multitude of middle and high schoolers milling about in their oversized sweatshirts and vans impatiently waiting to snap a pic of their artsy acai for their Instagram story. Despite the focused age group, and the lack of a typical trendy fruit cafe aesthetic, the atmosphere felt rather comfortable.
After studying the limited three options for smoothie bowls–Acai, Greens and Pitaya)–I settled on the classic acai bowl with blended acai, strawberry, banana, soymilk topped with two layers of homemade granola, strawberry, banana, blueberries, coconut, and honey. Each bowl has three sizes: kids, classic, or super. I ordered the classic sixteen ounces, but was disappointed by the portion, especially considering the $10.40 I paid for it. Sixteen ounces sounds like a lot, but the bowl was 30% smoothie and 70% granola which my hangry self found frustrating. I wanted enough smoothie to eat with my granola, but rather I found myself doing a lot more crunching than I would’ve liked. I have enough experience with acai bowls to know this just wasn’t it for me. In addition, the 30% of smoothie I did have was icy and thin instead of thick and flavorful.
However, a surprising fun twist to this smoothie café is their waffles! I know what you’re thinking, acai bowls and waffles? How is that a good combination? But if you are anything like me, and love waffles, or just end up hungrier after having a smoothie, than you should try their waffles. Fruit bowl or not, if you have a waffle in hand, you won’t leave SoBol disappointed. They small Belgian waffles pack a punch of gooey sweetness, and are the perfect amount of dense; your teeth sink right into them. Plus, they have a nice brown sugar glaze to them. I’ll let your mouth water now.
Overall, if you want a decent smoothie or a quick fix for your acai bowl craving, SoBol will get the job done, but if you want to satisfy your authentic Belgian waffle craving, SoBol is definitely the spot. But maybe don’t go on a Saturday at 11am, because you might be swarmed by sweatshirt-swallowed teens.
Leave a Reply