Abby White
Walking into the Tropical Smoothie Cafe in Summit Fair you immediately hear the sound of blenders running and smell the fresh fruit in the air.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe offers not only a variety of twenty seven different smoothies, but has a food menu including wraps, bowls, sandwitches, and several breakfast options.
Located at 910 B NW Blue Parkway in Lee’s Summit this smoothie shop is a colorful and sunny hangout for when you and your friends are in need of a refreshing snack.
The items I ordered were the Sunshine smoothie, which is the current seasonal smoothie option, and a Veggie Hummus Wrap.
While it did take quite a while for my order to be taken, once the order was processed it took only a few minutes for me to have a delicious smoothie in my hand.
The Sunshine smoothie tasted so fresh I would swear I could taste the pith – or the white parts – of the orange. The smoothie was also incredibly smooth having been blended into a perfectly homogeneous mixture. Smoothies do however come in only one size and while it was the perfect size for me, I would have appreciated having a smaller option for perhaps a day that I wasn’t as thirsty.
The wrap I ordered took a bit longer to be served – about ten to fifteen minutes – however, it was worth the wait. The wrap also comes in a fairly large size, but it was no chore to eat the whole wrap.
The tortilla had been cooked to the perfect level of crispiness, complementing the softer insides. The wrap contained hummus, avocado, pepper jack cheese, a mix of leafy greens, rice, black beans, pickled red onions, tomatoes, and ranch. The most prominent flavors in the wrap were the avocado, rice, and red onions which all seemed to over power the hummus which was slightly disappointing as I am a hummus lover.
While the food was over all amazing and a future regular hangout for my friends and I, the service did leave something to be desired.
While those I went with had already ordered, before taking my order the employees had engaged in an impromptu gossip session. After a few minutes, however, my order was taken and I was to believe that it was simply a one time ‘this drama is life changing and cannot wait’ moment. We all have experienced those moments before after all.
However, as I sit eating my food and writing notes, the same treatment was given to a group of friends, and then following that a seemingly middle aged man standing behind them in line.
While I support a friendly staff that gets along, it seemed to be a bit too much gossiping for my tastes. After all if six employees are working and there is a line with no one taking orders, maybe it’s time to get to work.
I am not, however, under the impression that this is the norm. Following my experience that day, I decided I would go again at a different time and a different day and see if the same actions were replicated.
My second time venturing into the Tropical Smoothie Cafe was a different experience. Orders were taken promptly and made just as efficiently. Therefore I am lead to believe that my experience may have been outside the norm.
Of course my second trip to the smoothie cafe was not simply to see my experience with the staff was the same, I also wanted to try another smoothie.
The smoothie I ordered my second time around was the Sunrise Sunset smoothie with strawberries, pineapple, mango, and orange juice. Once again the smoothie tasted almost impossibly fresh, and this time I saw them make it. Sitting at the counter I was able to see every item added to my smoothie, all of which looked to be fresh that day.
Overall I would definitely recommend including Tropical Smoothie Cafe into your summer adventures as a refreshing break from the heat, even if service may every once in a while not be the greatest.
