Tierra Madre keeps things simple, healthy

SANDPOINT — Eating better and supporting the “localvore” movement have gotten a boost thanks to the culinary evolution at Tierra Madre Café & Juicery.

The eatery — and drinkery — opened last summer on the ground floor of the renovated Belwood’s Building at the corner of Cedar & Third in downtown Sandpoint. The initial reaction to having a dedicated juice bar in a town this size cut in two, distinct directions. The responses, according to owner Peter Mico, were either  “great!” or “really?”

The “reallies” have been won over by the food menu and the attention to detail that go into every juice and smoothie recipe. Before opening the business, Mico traveled through several western states to see what other juice bars were doing. He realized instantly that he didn’t want to take the national chain approach of churning out drinks packed with refined sugar but often bereft of nutritional value.

Back home, Mico brought manager Tess Howell on board to develop recipes for the drink menu. Her top three criteria for juices and smoothies were flavor, texture and color, according to the manager.

“All of them are unique,” Howell said. “They’re complex and they have a lot of ingredients.”

Witness the made-to-order juices such as the Lotus, which features apple, kale, lemon and ginger, or the Thunderbolt, with its blend of tomatoes, carrots, beets, jalapenos, celery, parsley, spinach, lime, cilantro and garlic. Like the lady said: Complex with a lot of ingredients.

A favorite on the handcrafted smoothie side has been the Happy Orchard — a tasty concoction of cherries, pomegranate juice, banana, protein powder, yogurt and almond milk. Other smoothie choices include the Cobra, with pineapple, mango, banana, goji berries, yogurt and coconut water, and the Heart Beet, made from beets, berries, banana and apple juice.

Throughout the year, Tierra Madre sources as many items as possible from organic farms in the immediate region. In season, access to that local bounty is, for Mico, one of the joys of running a business in Sandpoint.

“The Farmers market is right here,” he said, pointing out the window toward Triangle Park, just a half block away. “On Wednesdays and Saturdays, Tess goes down to buy what we need. It’s wonderful — like being in southern France.”

Beginning last fall, the café and juicery started to expand the food menu, with the help of chef Michele Ridley. From a surprisingly small kitchen space, Ridley now turns out surprisingly big flavor. Among the top sellers has been the Curry Burger, which, like all of the menu items, is a made fresh, vegetarian meal.

“I wanted to make something that’s satisfying, but without using beans or grains,” said Ridley. “They’re very simple and very healthy – you can list the ingredients in half a second.”

Or nearly so, since the burgers are made from only almonds and sun-dried tomatoes, served with a Greek yogurt sauce. And, like many of the other food menu choices, the burger is gluten-free.

“People who don’t eat gluten feel like we give them a lot of options,” Howell said.

Those with even stricter dietary requirements are catered to, as well, right down to a dessert menu that writes the book on what a guilt-free dessert can be.

“I love the fact that someone can come in and get a gluten-free, dairy free, refined sugar-free dessert,” said Ridley, adding that she sweetens the treats with real maple syrup and local honey.

The cooler behind the juice bar advertises the restaurant’s basic posture on the food and drink it serves. The colorful, hand-written script simply says: “Eat better, feel better.”

“We had a discussion a couple of weeks ago about, ‘What is healthy?’” Mico said.

“It’s not one specific thing,” Ridley offered. “Everyone has their own views and their own diets. What we’re really trying to do is keep things simple and healthy.”

Tierra Madre has built up its counterculture cache — along with a strong following among mainstream customers — because of its dedication to running a sustainable business. Much of that comes from Mico’s decades of owning restaurants and realizing how much food and waste went out the door in most establishments. In one case, he watched daily as a national chain next door carried bag after bag of paper waste to the dumpster and started to envision a different path for his juice bar concept.

“We have no trash here,” the owner said, revising the comment slightly by cupping his hands together to about the size of a softball. “Maybe this much at the end of the day.

“We buy from local farmers and then send our compost back to the source,” he added. “So we’re buying our produce from farmers where our own compost has been delivered. It’s as sustainable as we can make it.”

You won’t find garbage cans full of used paper cups at Tierra Madre — there are no such cups. All drinks are served in Mason jars and those who want their drinks to go pay a small jar deposit that is refunded upon its return. For many younger customers — those for whom a Mason jar is more of an oddity than a generational icon — the vessel has become a statement in itself.

“High schoolers will come in, drink their juice here and then pay the $1 deposit so they can take the jar with them,” Ridley said. “It’s turned into kind of a ‘look where I was’ thing.”

Mico and company have been pleased with the number of people who continue to buy juices and smoothies in the colder months, as well as the reaction to new menu items such as the recent addition of a breakfast choice made from local, organic duck eggs, kale, salsa and vegan sausage.

Howell also pointed to the success of the 1-, 2- or 3-day juice detox programs that have gained a following.

“We provide you with your juice for that entire day and a pamphlet with instructions,” she said. “It has been a local success, so now we want to add more juices and expand it.”

Expansion is also on Mico’s mind, but not in the traditional business sense. He wants to see Tierra Madre establish itself as a clearinghouse for knowledge about sustainable living — a space where workshops and educational panels spread the word to an ever-wider audience.

“The whole thing becomes information,” the owner said. “Information about nutrition, sourcing, composting. It’s all so important and we’re a community forum for this kind of living.”

Winter hours for Tierra Madre Café & Juicery are Monday-Saturday from 9-4. For information call (208) 255-1508 or visit them online at: www.facebook.com/tierramadrecafe