Earthmatters

After wandering around the area for FNO, I decided to pop into Earthmatters since I had never noticed it before. Unfortunately, it seems that they’re either closing or moving because nearly everything was 40% off. Regardless, I poked around anyway since I *gasp* love health food and love finding new ingredients to play around with. I found a few nifty things here and there. I also noticed they had a decent vitamin selection and a salad bar with what looked to be some yummy treats.
There is ample seating upstairs, as well as a few tables scattered around the front downstairs. There were also a few tables outside when I arrived. The staff seemed friendly and left you alone to do your own thing while exploring the aisles. I really hope they’re just moving and not closing down because this seems like a great place to explore some more.

Decent selection, nice atmosphere, and tasty fresh organic food.
Typical seeming health food selection with a few more raw vegan options than normal. Prices are a bit on the high side for the fresh food but you can navigate the menu to find some deals. For breakfast try a Tofu Scramble Sandwich ($ 3.95+tax). It’s all organic and fresh and not expensive!
They have a good amount of tables for you to sit and enjoy the fresh food.
It’s a good place. I’m not running back but usually stop in if in the area.
NOTE: Credit card min is $ 10

Wannabe-​Portlandites flock from near and far to Earthmatters. Not sure about the spelling of the restaurant’s name, but this spot delivers to the health conscious hippie dippies.
Yes, the prices are high. Yes, the staff is constantly stoned. Yes, the smell of patchouli wafts up to the eating area. But when you’re inhaling a $ 10 bowl of kale and curried seitan, do you really care?

Great natural food/​juice/​coffee bar on the LES. Free wi-​fi and decent study areas if you need to get to work.
I did a juice cleanse — my second, after trying Organic Ave. WAY cheaper, but a little more do-​it-​yourself. Went in and tried to talk to someone, but they are just starting up the program, so it was hard to get the info. If I were a juice virgin I may have given up.
Was able to easily pick up my juices each morning, but without Alex I would have had no idea which to get. So I would try to get him on the phone or in person if you’re doing one.
Juices were tasty, although would have liked a little more variety. Otherwise a great experience for a really fair price.
If you’re stumped for a healthy dinner, try the bowls — awesome chickpeas and kale, other stuff looks great too. It’s a better deal if you eat in, you can mound the bowl ;)

Before you get deceived by my 4 stars let me preface by YUM but $$$$$. The grocery part is whatever. It has stuff, and you buy it.
The food/​restaurant part is GOOD. I’ve had a few sides (kale salads, chickpea pesto thing etc.) and everything has ranged from GOOD to REALLY GOOD. :) I likeey and would totes come all the time (since it’s close to my apt) IF it wasn’t so expensive. They do pack it in and give you as much as they can in your little container but gee whiz, it’s pricey!

Soooo cute. This review is only for the ambience and the coffee. It’s a lovely Spot with graffiti livening up the place, brick walls, hanging pot plants, soft unobtrusive music and cozy seating both indoors and out doors.
Come here with a book, a laptop or just for some alone time. And of course enjoy the healthy food options and mini market.

I stopped by here on my way from the LES to Chinatown to get out of the cold. It was on the sub 20 degree day and I was determined to only go 1 block at a time. Aside from coffee and delicious smoothies this place also has great hot cider. There are two seating choices for the cold, by the window (if you don’t want to take your coat off) and upstairs for warmth.
As a health food store, this place is pretty great, but small. It insures though that you don’t need to schlep all the way to whole foods if you live in this area. There is fairly decent selection of organic fruits and vegetables. They have a reasonably large section of homeopathic and natural beauty and household products. It did not appear that they over priced aggressively. Things are the typical slightly higher price you’d expect for products that don’t involve slave wages in order to be made. I don’t think they are any additional mark-​ups that are purposely attempting to fleece someone too cold to walk or cab over to whole foods.
The people here are really nice. There is a bathroom and wi-​fi for those looking for a quiet place to work or meet up. Hence, it’s going on my non-​alcoholic meet up places.

This is my go-​to hangover cure: Tunalicious sandwich (no sprouts), kale, olives, beets, a green power detox and 1.5 liters of San Pellegrino.
My friend ate the tunalicious sandwich for 7 straight days. It’s that good. The egg sandwich is also great.
If you order over the phone the delivery minimum is only $ 15. It’s $ 30 on seamless.
I’ve never had a bad item, though I’m not a huge fan of the guacamole/​tomato combo. The kale, bean salad, mixed olives, beets and curry tofu are all very good.
Really friendly people working here.

I love, LOVE this place! I’m a recent resident of NY from California and I am so happy I found such a great place! I come here on a weekly basis — sometimes more. I’m a big fan of their drinks — juices and smoothies. They’re all freshly made when you order them and it’s really fun to just watch them making these concoctions. When I get their juice, I will sometimes get the pre-​made, bottled ones because they’re made using the incomparable Norwalk juicer, while the ones they make in front of you is not. Norwalk juicers are the epitome of juicers — gets MORE of the vitamins and minerals out of the produce, so it’s more bang for the buck. They make the bottled drinks daily, so don’t worry about it being «old.» I’ve never tried their food, but everything looks delicious.
This place is also a health food store — tons of organic, gluten-​free, and local products are sold here. They also have a lot of food in the bulk section as well. So happy they have Bragg’s apple cider vinegar here — I get a bottle here on a weekly basis.
If you need a place to study, this is also the place! The second and third floor are open for people who need a quiet place to study. Lots of seats, so I’ve never had a problem finding a spot to anchor myself for a few hours. They also have seating downstairs, but it’s more for talking, eating, hanging out. They don’t allow use of computers on the first floor.
They also have a juice cleanse program here too. I don’t know too much about it yet, but I’m going to ask about it. I’m planning to do a cleanse next week!
Everyone here is very nice, helpful, and respectful. I’m going to really miss this place when the time for me to leave NY comes up.

Computers are no longer allowed on the first floor, so the free wifi is limited. There is also a sign warning that cell phones and skype are also no longer allowed downstairs – likely a decision by the new manager-​type, although this rule doesn’t pertain to her, as she sits at the downstairs tables and talks on her cell phone.
A good portion of the items are not priced – an employee actually told me that ‘when you buy something the first time, then you know the price.’ Gee, thanks!
The prices are like superman – up, up and away!

I got to use my livingsocial voucher this afternoon. I bought two of the baby bok choy and seaweed salad to gos since my body has been craving iodine lately.
As I’m grazing on my lunch, I’m sitting in the café area with a high ceiling. Open windows and folk music fill the air as others are also noshing on this happy Sunday afternoon.
There is both a hot and cold food bar but not self serve. You can choose from a small bowl to a combo plate all you can fit from $ 9.75 to $ 15.95. Slightly pricey, but all organic or locally sourced.
They also have a juice cleanse program too with all organic juices! $ 8.00/bottle a la carte or $ 45/​day per 6 bottles. Not bad, beats BPC!
I’ll be back to try the juices and other raw stuff. They make their own Kale chips and raw bread too but looks awfully heavy.
Upstairs you can park your laptop and enjoy the wifi. Coolness. What a good place for a weekend brunch or an after work need to find food and unwind. Obviously I’m not the only person who thinks so since it was very busy.
And it’s a small supermarket too with all organic produce, at a premium compared to Whole Foods, but it’s good to support local businesses whenever plausible!

Once or twice a week, usually when I’m all sweaty from the gym (apologies to the employees and customers who have to witness that), I’ll pop in to get a bowl of kale salad with other add-​ins or the Tunalicious sandwich.
The kale is perfect every time. I like to get it with the chickpea salad, beets, and/​or avocado salad. Chock full of fiber, so it’s filling AND nutritious, win. Their to-​go bowls come in small and large, and I like that they always pack it to the brim for me. The Tunalicious sandwich is also really tasty and sizeable; I’m impressed.
The smoothie prices make my eyes bulge out of my head — $ 8 seems a bit steep, and although I’m sure they use cream of the crop ingredients, my conscience will never allow me to fork over that amount for a beverage.
As for the atmosphere, you have a good mix of health-​conscious yoga instructors and students and your average Joes (like me), although I live close enough that I don’t need to dine in.
Glad to have this place around whenever I’m in the mood for something healthy.

Obviously a lot of people like this place and the food is decent, but I had one of the WORST customer service experiences in my life with these guys.
I ordered for delivery and an hour went by which I thought was curious, as I live like 3 blocks away. I called to ask what the status was and they said they had given my food to someone else and that someone signed for it in my building. Obviously, I asked for a new order. Instead, they insisted that they go back to my building, find the person that they mistakenly delivered my food to, and give me the original food.
Couple problems with that 1) it was cold by then and 2) that person easily could have taken a bite out of my food. I asked the Manager at Earth Matters if he could send me another fresh order. He said no. I told him that was ridiculous as I had paid for food that I had not yet received, and that if he wasn’t going to deliver a fresh order to me I would go on Unilocal.He basically raised his voice, cursed at me, and told me to go do whatever the F I wished.
So yeah, terrible Management/​Delivery/​Customer Service. Decent food I guess.

I’m so glad that LivingSocial introduced EarthMatters to me!
They’re homemade food is TOP NOTCH!
GREAT QUALITY!
I WILL DEFINITELY RETURN for dinner/​lunch again!
They have a COLD BAR and HOT BAR with 4 plate/​bowl options, piled high — «whatever will fit.»
I got the Small Plate option (~$ 11) which was piled high enough for dinner and tomorrow’s lunch.
BEETS were refreshing,
ROASTED POTATOES were crisp and delicious,
all BEAN dishes were great,
mixed sauteed GREENS (collard, kale, chard) … everything was great! I’m very impressed.
They also have groceries, but the 5 stars are for the
CAFE’s Cold & Hot bar, service and comfortable relaxed environment.
Around the corner from Katz Deli, easy to get to.

I’ve been here a few times, and I feel disgusted with myself. How can they charge so much! I once went there in the morning, thinking «hey, this will be fun, I’ll grab a yogurt», I get this 2 inch by 2 inch yogurt, and it comes out to 7 DOLLARS! There is a few grounds nuts and some berry yogurt, it was decent, but 7 dollars?! So I went again, I wanted to study with the internet, I by some green elixir shit… 7 DOLLARS! I swear… they took grass, goat shit and green food coloring and put it into a TINY bottle.
I think people get too caught up in the organic phase, did you know organic foods have toxins of there own, many of the «natural» poisons in the world are natural! This is only from a biochemistry and toxicology class I took, no big deal: P
The food itself is decent, so I have to give them 3 stars, as hard as this is for me, because the concept of this place makes me utterly sick.
And things I must mention *sigh*, they do have a pretty good stop to study upstairs, they have free wifi and even computers you can use. The bathrooms are… there, though not very clean looking.

I happened in here the other day; this store is crammed full of stuff. I had to ask why they don’t have hazelnuts, though; the manager or whoever said she could special-​order them for me, but I can’t really use a whole big-​ass bag of nuts at once, and I don’t have freezer space for them.
It is great that you can eat in as well as buy your groceries here; they have house-​made raw and vegan entrées, which is a big plus. I recall they were open on Christmas day a few years back, which is good to keep in mind.
They’re not that far from me, but they’re usually an afterthought because I’ve got a few «health markets» (as opposed to what? death markets?) in my neighborhood.

Love love love Earth Matters.
They are old school like — we want you to hangout and enjoy the place — kind of old school. They are about community.
Yes of course there are tons of vegan treats, and a really good hot/​cold salad bar, it’s true. There’s also an upstairs café area. But what you really notice is the vibe is welcoming.
I like stopping in here if going out for the night, but am a little bit early. It’s a good place to hangout or meet friends.

For food: there are a number of cold salads offered at the counter. I don’t go much for pre-​prepared food-​bar kind of stuff because of sanitation issues so I haven’t tried them. Some look really good, others just ok. But I have gotten their turkey sandwich a number of times and I do love it. It has some olive tapenade on it and it is just really tasty. It is also huge. At less than $ 8, it really could feed two people with reasonable appetites. I have only been able to put away the whole sandwich once, and that is when I had skipped breakfast! The «two eggs on a plate» recently proved to be a disappointment– we ordered just egg whites and they came out yellow from the oily way they were prepped — gross– which you would not expect from a café called «earthmatters.» I mean, how ’bout some fat free Pam people!
The counter serves all kinds of made-​to-​order smoothies and also draft beer.
The seating area upstairs is quite a nice nook, and often not that busy. It provides a much quieter respite than the seating by the counter out front.
The dry goods, and groceries, are primarily spur-​of-​the-​moment purchases. Incense, peppermint soap, organic beer, small selection of organic fruits and veggies, tortilla chips and the like. These items can be a bit pricey sometimes. They recently had a sale on the peppermint soap, which I love, so I stocked up, recession style. Here comes Mr. Starlight mint!
This is, pure and simple, a pleasant enough neighborhood spot for that will save you a trip to Whole Foods up Houston if you live close by and find yourself in a pinch. By the same token, it’s a nice place to relax and recharge if you are shopping and exploring the fun boutiques to roam on and around Ludlow Street. You just do not necessarily need to go out of your way to get here.

With summer approaching, Earthmatters is the essential GET YOUR ASS IN GEAR go-​to for lunches and dinners with their undeniably amazing juice and salad bar. Cold, crisp vegan kale salads. raw pesto chickpeas… soy cheese layered veggie lasagna. roasted swiss chard (a potpourri of deep purples and greens, served warm). a lovely roasted salmon option. and the BEST mayo-​free tuna salad. The tuna salad is quite incredible. screaming with fresh lemon juice and herbs.
So with no longer a need for wintry Echinacea Yogi tea and flu remedies, I now come by to seat myself in this open-​windowed health paradise. with dreams of beaches, upstate camping trips and a new Carmen Marc Valvo haltered swimsuit.
Shout Out to the healthiest man I know, Eric– who showed me the light by introducing me to this little café and market.

The first time I came in, I sat upstairs for hours on one of their comfy red couches, plugged my laptop into the power strip next to me, Unilocaled on their free wi-​fi, listened to a pleasant playlist* of classic rock, and drank a $.99 bottle of Poland Spring.
When I got hungry, I ordered the Turkey Delight, which was pretty decently priced at $ 6.50. As he was handing it to me, the guy nodded knowingly and said, «It’s a good one.»
I’m not sure if he meant ordering the turkey sandwich was a good choice, or if he had made this particular sandwich really well… but in any case, it was solid. It tasted fresh, and even healthy. I love the olive spread as an alternative to mayo or mustard.
I came back the next day (which says a lot) and did pretty much the same thing.
Except this time I went for the huge Poland Spring ($ 1.99), and I ordered the burger, which was a little disappointing. It was overcooked and completely dwarfed by the «big, fat brioche» it was served on. However, it was still pretty tasty, as the meat was seasoned well (almost like meatloaf) and the chipotle mayo gave it a kick.
Either way, I really like this place. I plan to hang out here a lot.
And in case you’re wondering, the smoothies are around $ 6.50+, which seems kind of steep. But I don’t drink smoothies, so what do I know/​care? I’m just here for you. I hope you appreciate me. Tell me you appreciate me.
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*I’ve spent 6+ hours here, and I don’t think I’ve heard a single song I don’t know. And I mean that in a good way.