Power Source Cafe

Power Source! We miss you!
The building where Power Source was located is going to be demolished soon – hence the entire first floor vacating. They haven’t posted any news on their website yet, but I spoke to one of the staff while they were moving out, and they said they are looking for a new location nearby.
Hope to see them back soon. I came to rely on the smoked salmon salad wrap.

Wandered by today for the first time in forever and thought maybe I’d give it another shot, but alack, they are closed. Don’t know if they’ll reopen– read that it’s a building issue, that the building is being torn down, but I wouldn’t be surprised if this biz couldn’t keep going because of, oh, maybe the crappy ordering system, or perhaps the health department finally issued a fine to them for the lady who worked there bringing her BABY in to work (I watched her make my food one day while her baby hung from her body in a sling), or any number of other issues. Um? Unsanitary?
Soooo, I am marginally bummed, but only slightly. I liked having the option to get fresh juice or other organic food, but there is the Plant Café (more expensive and ridiculously packed, but clean and run like a REAL restaurant) several blocks away.
If they reopen some place, I hope they’ll take into account a lot of the Unilocal feedback and clean up their act. People are clamoring for more organic restaurant options, but that doesn’t have to come at the expense of running an efficient business and utilizing standard cleanliness practices. Power Source gave organic dining a bad name– «earthy» should not mean «dirty.»

The operational incapacities I’ve abhorred in Power Source in the past seem to have worked themselves out, if today’s visit was indicative of their new normal. The sad bit is: they’re closing on July 31 (or at least will cease to exist in this location beyond that date). The building they’re currently housed in is slated to be demolished so they need to find a new home, which apparently hasn’t been sorted out yet.
I sincerely hope they find a new spot closer to my office because I really enjoy the food they make. The build a bowl option with quinoa, Asian vegetable medley, tofu, green onions, peanuts and Asian sesame dressing is a winner. And won’t leave you feeling guilt-​ridden and bloated all afternoon.

Still love this place, and go about once a week. I know the line can be crazy long and the post-​it note systems is… different, but I think the juices, smoothies, and food is totally worth it. They have an online ordering system that works well, so I can just bop down there, grab my meal and head to the park.
The menu can be confusing, but there are some easy wins for those who are new: The green Swamp Water smoothie is super green but has enough fruit in it to make it sweet and yummy, and the Kalefornian, with it’s avocado and almond butter is hearty enough to get me to lunchtime without needing a snack!
Bonus: they always play good music in the morning, it always seems to pump me up. This morning I thin it was Childish Gambino followed by Lonely Island :)

You have got to be kidding me. I mean, I’ll start off with the fact that I liked the smoothie i’ve gotten there a few times. Okay that gets you two stars. Cons: it’s $ 7, the juice in it is Kirk Sig. Pros: it’s green and doesn’t taste horrible. It actually is pretty much a whole lunch in itself.
But this business is so inefficiently run it’s laughable. And I’ve working in hella-​hectic cafes for years so I know this can easily be avoided. So recent scene in there, 12:30 on a Thursday– There is easily a 20 person line. one woman taking food orders, ringing people up, and writing drink orders on torn in half sticky notes (?). Other employee occasionally comes by to pick up ripped sticky notes and begin making smoothies. No sense of urgency, small talk with each customer. One employee annouces he’s going on break, and leaves, when there is a million person line. (ugh am i having blue bottle flashbacks?) 4 guys standing around in kitchen area, alternating between making smoothies, taking food to people, and staring at the line (wow that’s such a long line! they must be thinking). Line snakes along slower than slowest line in history of lines.
But wait Power Source! I have a solution for you! How about one of those employees that is standing there staring at the line, start walking down the line and taking orders? He can write peoples complicated ridiculous orders on the little brown boxes, then people can give their little brown box to the cashier. He can write down smoothie orders on the torn in half sticky notes, and hand them to the smoothie maker person. He can answer questions about quinoa and acai and all that shit instead of the customer having to wait to ask the cashier.
Also, maybe just have a simpler ordering system in general. I’ve avoided building the bowls because i’m not a freaking chef and i don’t freaking know if lentils and peanuts and brown rice and citrus sauce will taste good together. it’s a restaurant — a menu is nice to have, rather than a very long complicated system of added surcharges for various ingredients.

I’ll give them 3 stars. For now.
I met Vicky L. for lunch here and while she was entertaining me with her latest Muni story, the line moved slowly. Don’t come here if you are impatient or starving.
I had a «Iron Giants’ wrap. It seemed to be missing half the listed ingredients and was mainly spinach so it wasn’t very filling.
It wasn’t wrapped very tightly so I tried to re-​wrap so it wouldn’t fall apart in my hands. I sort of succeeded.
I like that it’s healthy with many options to choose from including creating your own bowl.
I’ll definitely be back to try a smoothie (and update my review!)

After a disappointing salad review I got the kindest note from Angela, the owner. It seems I might have gotten a side salad by mistake — and to make it up she offered me the full salad — and an extra lunch on the house to make up for it. Nice! Upgraded rating due to disgruntled customer response. Once I get the make up salad… I’ll see how it is and share my review.

Power Source is the opposite of McDonalds. It’s not just the food — which is long on nutritional yeast and kombucha and short on meat and empty caloric flavor — but also the ambience and operational efficiency. Draw your own conclusions, but the upshot for me is that Power Source offers me a banging bowl of healthy food in a somewhat ramshackle environment.
I like it. The world could probably use more Power Source Cafes (but then… it’d just be a McDonalds!).

I give this place 5 stars, even though it’s more of an «awesome place to go if you’re already in the area» and not really a destination eatery (especially due to lack of seating in the small space).
Anyways, I go here nearly every day at work. Great wholesome food (vegan food — and I guess non vegan options too if you want that kind of thing) and amazing soups (always vegan).
They don’t really do much to their tempeh or tufu — evertything tastes very «fresh from the oven» and not fried or marinated, but they instead combine simple ingredients, great flavors, and add SUPER good sauces. Their bowls come with the sauces on the side, so you can pour as much over your food as you want. On a diet? Don’t use ALL the garlic Tahini sauce over your bowl. Their Iron Giants wrap is a favorite of mine… beets, spinach, home make hummus and — I think — almond paste. Big and crazy good… and healthy! That means I can drink more later, right?
The folks who run it are also awesome, and even with lunch hour lines keep things coming out from the kitchen quickly. OK, they’ve messed my order a couple times, but it’s never been a problem and once I even got a free apple out of the deal. It also really warms my heart seeing tattoos and Dead Milkmen and Motorhead shirts on anyone in the damn financial district! Keep up the good work!

Perfect location to remedy a cold (w/​their Cold Crusher Smoothie)… or so I’ve heard.
A good friend of mine swears by Power Source, and frequents this place at least twice a week. It’s conveniently located a few blocks away from our office in the Embarcadero. However, come lunch time and the place is jam packed w/​patrons.
Definitely try their:
*Cold Crusher Smoothie ($ 6.25) — it should remedy the sniffles, without compromising taste.
*Power Source Super Food Salad ($ 8.95) — pretty light, but big enough to share between two people.
*Mother Clucker Sandwich ($ 6.50) — delish and filled me up until dinner time.
Tips:
–Come early, like 11:30/11:45am
–Otherwise, order online at

Having recently moved office buildings I was on the prowl for a good lunch spot and I think I found it in Power Source Café! It looks like I do the smart thing and order online for a pick up later as I noticed the line out the door around noon-​ish one day. I’ve tried two items there so far, the Iron Giant and the My Body’s a tempeh-​le (both as wraps) — i love beets so I’m all about the Iron Giant wrap and its really good and filling and i don’t feel disgusting after I eat it like i normally do when I get a sandwich elsewhere. The Tempeh wrap was just sooo good too and filling. Both will set you back about $ 7 which means I only go there maybe once a week… but I’m sold on this place!
Healthy options. Delicious. CHECK!

I’ve been frequenting Power Source Juice Bar since my Monday excursions to 50 Fremont Farmer’s Market. One thing that I’ve learned since my multiple trips here is that you have to be prepared for your order to be slightly off. I love this place, but I’ve come to accept that they can be slightly disorganized when it comes to ordering.
Their whole system of ordering and build a bowls gets fairly complicated, so even if you order online, which has the potential to lessen your wait, something usually ends up a little mixed up in the final product. I think I’ve only had a perfect build a bowl once.
That being said, their stuff, even if it’s not quite what your ordered is always delicious, made with care, and is very healthy. I also highly recommend their baked goods at the front. The vegan zucchini muffin that I scarfed down was incredible. Moist and you could taste all of the zucchini bits in it.
Trust.

Don’t wanna sound like a snob but I’m kinda happy that it’s pricey as that keeps the lines shorter! Still a good 15 min wait though.
Their bowls are $ 7.95 but for $ 4.95 you can get a «baby bowl» although you have to pay extra for «nutritional yeast» or any toppings which are included in the standard bowl.
I got the #3 quinoa, kale, garlic bowl. It was satisfying but definitely something I could throw together myself if I was given 15 minutes. which ironically was how long I waited in line.
After reading the reviews. I’m going to have to verify this microwaving plastic accusation. I can’t believe they would do that?
I also tried their soup of the day. it was $ 4.95 for a small and pretty watery. Definitely overpriced and not even that tasty.
No seating!

Power Source is my usual lunch spot if I don’t have time to make lunch for work.
Ordering online is easy and highly recommended since the line can get long during lunch time. Place orders online and pay in advance with a credit card so you can just go in and pick it up. Ordering online and saying pay in store only makes you wait in the same line.
Only downside is Power Source uses a 3^rd party (dash order) to do the online ordering and sometimes the orders don’t reach them, making it frustrating for me on my end. It has happened at least 3 times for me.
I used to be vegetarian and they do have a lot of veggie options. They do have some meat options but its mostly chicken or salmon.
I highly recommend the tempeh sandwich or the build your own bowl. The lunch box is also really good. They also have kombucha on tap which is really good, but a little expensive ($ 4.25 for a 12 oz cup)
Highly recommend.

This is actually a decent restaurant.
There is seating for about a dozen patrons, and they have more than vegetarian food. They don’t have sodas, but they do have water and, um …
Oh yeah. Juice. They have juice.
I met a friend here during lunch. There wasn’t a long wait, and they brought my sandwich to the table. I ordered a salmon salad wrap for under $ 8. The salmon was excellent, and the dressing on the salad complemented it perfectly.

It is very hard to find fast and healthy lunches, but you can find them here.
Don’t be fooled by the words «juice bar» in the name; it is all about the rice or quinoa bowl with choice of healthy vegetables, protein, and organic add-​ons/​sauces. So San Francisco and I love it!

They drew me in with the smell of freshly made waffles one morning, and I’ve been a regular ever since. Waffles, you ask? Yes. They’re much more than a juice bar. And you can feel good about everything you eat here because it’s made with fresh organic ingredients, on the spot, made to order. Can’t beat that. And all their eating utensils are green (i.e. biodegradable). So you’re practically saving the world… okay, maybe not. But it’s a step.
I’m not a vegetarian or vegan (as you’ll know from my other reviews, I love meat!) and I don’t go out of my way to buy organic. So I passed this place several times thinking it wasn’t the place for me. In fact, I imagined being driven out with pitchforks once they smelled the meat coming through my pores. But I was wrong. Some of their menu is a little unusual, but so far I’ve stuck to the familiar basics (breakfast foods and smoothies, mostly) and I’ve loved everything I’ve tried so far. My favorites are their waffles (of course) yogurt w/​granola ($ 3.95) and their smoothies ($ 4.95-$ 6.95). My faves are Paradise Blast (Peach, strawberry, banana, pineapple, orange juice, yogurt) and After Party. Though, next on my list is Peanut Butter Cup! (Banana, peanut butter, milk, chocolate yogurt)
Another thing they do that I think is awesome is their online ordering system:
Just pick what you want, select your pickup time, and check out. Easy peezy! It’s especially helpful for mornings and lunchtime when they are extra busy.
I also like spending my breaks here with coworkers because the atmosphere is so laid back, and the staff is equally so. It’s definitely worth a visit.

Power Source. I keep raving about it and every time I keep wanting to slip up and say «power exchange» which, from the stories I’ve heard, is quite a different experience from a health food café…
Anyway, I think I’m addicted to Power Source at this point. This is day two of eating both breakfast and lunch here. Go watching my figure for my performance coming up!
Customer service was much nicer than yesterday. Maybe the organic fair trade coffee was stronger this morning.
Yesterday Lunch:
Highly recommend ordering online to skip that long-​slow-​boring-​lunch time consuming, line!
Brown/​black rice, sauteed kale w/​garlic, asian veggie blend, baked tofu, sriracha and nutritional yeast w/​citrus miso dressing. Tasty dressing that stretches the whole meal if you dip rather than pour it over your food. I’m also a huge fan of how the simple foods paired with nutritional yeast. For you non-​hippies, nutritional yeast has B-​vitamins and is a complete protein that tastes kinda like powdered cheese. I happen to love it.
The tofu in the citrus miso dressing was probably the tastiest combination of flavors I could create in my «bowl» which was really a box. I wish there was more garlic in the kale but it was quite tasty.
Susan’s Power Source Oatmeal Recipe of the Day:
Steel Cut Oatmeal-​just like yesterday, it is is slow-​cooked oatmeal perfection.
Hemp Seed-​adds just a bit of pop to the oatmeal but not an aggressive crunch like most nuts. It also is a complete protein!
Organic Apple-​cut into bite size chunks, there is just the right amount to last through your bowl of oatmeal without having to eat oatmeal with out apple!
Agave Syrup-​better than honey in my opinion, I got this on the side to control sweetness which is important to me. Agave is sort of like honey but more fluid and sweet, comes from a cactus, has a low glycemic value (unlike normal sugar), and has anti-​bacterial properties.
This is probably the most tasty oatmeal creation I have ever had in my life. I highly recommend this combination to all my fellow Unilocalers!

A spider came out of the Fish LOX sandwich I got!
A freaking SPIDER. It was a baby spider, but still!!!
They told me it would be ready in 5 mins and I waited about 10 – 15 mins… fish didn’t taste fresh at all and afater taking a few bites I saw the spider… it crawled out.
The last time I ordered a Scrambler burrito — but it was so poorly put together that it came apart.
Totally not worth it.
The only reason I gave 2 stars is because the customer service was okay — nice people, but horrible at least when it comes to their wraps!
…a freaking spider!!!

So you’re probably thinking… has Ed become a zealous health nut? Is he sporting 20″ arms now with a 17″ waist? Has he left his lovehandle-​ridden corporate life to become a vegan personal trainer who has an alfalfa sprout hanging from his mouth? For surely that’s the only reason I would show up at a place named Power Source, right?
No, I just get worried that if I eat too many sandwiches at Lee’s Deli that I’ll start to look like a chicken salad sandwich… with egg bread naturally. After all, I’m already crusty (…rimshot please). Carbo-​holic that I am, I didn’t even notice that Power Source was on Fremont until a couple of far healthier-​looking colleagues were mentioning the place at a meeting.
Deciding to turn a new leaf, I waddled on over to find the place like a throwback to my Berkeley days. The staff looks like they all majored in Social Welfare with a minor in bad vibes. I tried to read the mini-​print on the whiteboard menu which turned out to be comprehensive instructions on putting together a lunch box, the $ 7.95 Organic Build-​a-​Lunch Bowl as it turns out.
First of all, there is no bowl. It’s a myth. It’s a transportable cardboard box. But the real challenge is deciding what organic elements you want them to put together without receiving the ire of the regulars waiting behind you. First it’s the whole grain — quinoa or brown & black rice… hurry up! Quinoa… I’ll try the quinoa. Now the vegetable… ok. ok… steamed broccoli sounds healthy. Do they put a pat of butter on it? Damn.
Protein? Oh wait, I see surcharges… shades of Joe’s Cable Car Burgers! I’m going for the baked tofu, just a dollar extra. What the hell is a vegan sauce? Coconut curry sounds good. Hey it is. The whole thing is good. Surprise. You end up laying down a ten spot for all of it, but it’s a worthy alternative to the chicken salad sandwich next door even if you hold the mayo. Between your knees.
FOOD — 4 stars… a healthy alternative for the quick lunch between work meetings… impress your colleagues with your quinoa and then sneak a buck into the candy machine later
AMBIANCE — 2.5 stars… looks like a juice bar to me
SERVICE — 3 stars… pretty quick… probably because they’re so skinny
TOTAL — 4 stars… oh yes, this will be my I’m-feeling-a-tad-chubby-today destination