PHOTO by ROSHEILA ROBLES

The urge for a smoothie doesn’t happen often, but when it does, it hits harder than an elephant stepping on an ant. Normally I concoct my own berry blend because I’m a vegan, which is the equivalent of shooting myself in the knee each time I enter any establishment that serves food and/or drinks. My homemade smoothies consist of whatever fruit I have at home; I’ve made some pretty sour tasting drinks because of this. A few months ago, I was looking to kill an hour in the East Village. My bike was being fixed at the Long Beach Bike Shop, so I ventured across the street to what I thought was Garden of Pan, a vegan-friendly coffee shop. Turned out the Garden was gone and in its place was the Good Vibes Café. They looked about the same to my naked eye and I was delighted to discover the name change didn’t mean the veggie stuff had to go. Good Vibes offers a few smoothies with yogurt, but those can be made without for the non-dairy set. The best, though, is the Berry Kaleidoscope, a tasty blend of apple juice, boysenberry, blueberry, raspberry and strawberry. I’m an adventurous guy when it comes to new food, but there are certain fruits that don’t mix well for me. That’s why the Berry Kaleidoscope is a no-brainer: You can’t miss (or mess) with these fruits. There’s not much thrill in these tried-and-true fruits, but I’m not looking to smoothies for kicks; I just want a damn drink.

GOOD VIBES CAFÉ 510 E BROADWAY | LONG BEACH 90802 | MYSPACE.COM/GOODVIBESCAFE

Tags: berry kaleidoscope, Drink of the Week, good vibes cafe