In Sunset Junction’s an eco-juice oasis: Naturemill — A juice bar plus bulk health food store, where you can sip on your your acai vegan ice cream smoothie while shopping for locally-grown dried fruits and grains.

Self-described as an “ecological, fair trade, organic bulk & wellness bar,” Naturemill supports local, organic farms and serves as a haven for raw foodie types. Step in, and you’ll be greeted with the strong smell of wheatgrass — and a huge menu of fruit juices and smoothies you can get pretty much any way you want. 16 oz. juice drinks range from $5 – $7; coffee and yerba mate drinks are available too. And in addition to the bulk grains and fruits, lots of healthy grab & go snacks and bars — many of them raw — can be had too.

The endless variety of concoctions customers are allowed to dream up, however, makes for very slow service. If you’re lucky, you’ll get there when the store is empty — but when I walked in, 3 people were already waiting. The first person’ order had been started when I got there, but I had to wait a full 12 minutes before I could spend $7 on my very tasty acai smoothie with vegan ice cream.

The wait makes for interesting social observations — the main one being that despite the westside’s snooty rep, my part of town has nothing on the eastside when it comes to painstakingly individualized food and drink orders. “What’s the soy ice cream MADE” of? “Can you make mine with almond milk, not rice milk?” “What was that strawberry thing you made last week?” Those were just some of the questions the girl behind the counter had to field — all very sweetly and informatively. I admire her patience –

Naturewell. 3824 W. Sunset Blvd., Los Angeles. 323.570.0185.

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