An exotic refreshment come true

WOODBRIDGE — With reggae music humming softly within, Tropical Smoothie Café offers more than just smoothies.

It offers a fun place to work (90 percent of the young employees — local high school kids, some graduates — have worked there since it opened) and a health-conscious, versatile menu.

The franchise operation offers breakfast wraps, bagels, flatbreads, gourmet salads, bistro sandwiches and soup. This extensive menu includes toasted wraps ($5.99 with your choice of chips and fruit) such as best-seller King Caesar, Chicken Mango Habanero, Popeye's Favorite, Jamaican Jerk Chicken, Totally Turkey and Veggie Veggie. Aloha Island Coffee —100 percent Kona coffee — is free with any pur-chase.

General manager and part owner of the tropical-themed Prince William County venue on Hoadly Road, Josh Carroll, 25, his brother, Joseph Carroll, 31, and friend, Nuatu Tseggai, 28, purchased the location and opened it in October 2007.

Health and fitness is a lifestyle for Carroll. The Radford graduate has a bachelor's degree in exercise sport health education with a concentration in corporate commercial fitness.

When asked what makes the food he sells healthy, he said: "low fat, IQF (instantly-quick-frozen) fruit and sugar-free [options]. ... We have great food — no fryers on premises, fresh quality ingredients and [we're] innovative."

In Stafford County, there are Tropical Smoothie Café locations conveniently located, too. One is located in Stafford Market Place in North Stafford, and three others on Central Park Boulevard, Celebrate Virginia Parkway and Southpoint Parkway in Fredericksburg. An additional located in Prince William is located on Galveston Court in Manassas, in Prince William County.

At Carroll's location, all smoothies can be made to order. Fruit choices include strawberry, blueberry, raspberry, pineapple, orange, banana, peach, kiwi, mango and lime.

Smoothies spiked with decadent Ghirardelli chocolate are not available sugar-free.

"Every now and then you have to treat yourself," Carroll said.

Four different Splendid Smoothies, under 200 calories, are listed on the menu.

When sugar is used, it's turbinado sugar — steam cleaned, raw sugar. This fine-grained specialty sugar is extracted from sugar cane and processed the natural way — completely free from harmful chemi-cals. It is nutritionally rich and retains all vitamin and mineral content.

Nutritional supplements can be added to any fruit smoothie for $1 more. Power smoothies with names like Fat Buster, Health Nut, Lean Machine and Muscle Blaster are uniquely laced with energizer, spirulina, vitamin C, ethinacea, fat metabolizer, creatine, soy protein or whey protein. Daily soup selections vary from market to market. Carroll's location showcases one of the following on any given day: Beef & Bean Chili, Garden Vegetable, Chicken Tortilla and Broccoli Cheese soup ($2.99 for a cup or $3.99 for a bowl).

Bistro sandwiches ($6.49), fairly new to the menu, are served on nine-grain wheat bread or ciabatta rolls stacked with high-quality Dietz-Watson deli meats (low in sodium, no fillers). All sandwiches —including Wasabi Roast Beef, Cranberry Walnut Chicken Salad, Turkey Guacamole and "Kinda Cu-bano" (piled with roast pork, capacolla, Swiss cheese, field greens, banana peppers and tomato) —come with your choice of chips and fruit (apple or banana). The newest additions to the versatile menu include: assorted grilled flat breads and coffee or green tea smoothies. There's even a grilled Peanut Butter Banana Crunch Flatbread ($3.99) — creamy peanut butter, ripe bananas, crunchy granola and honey served on warm toasty bread. Did I mention they open at 10 a.m.?

Antioxidant green tea smoothies blend ingredients like acai berry, kiwi, blueberries, pomegranate and non-fat yogurt to create liberating libations. I was refreshed and invigorated with a Pomegranate & Peach green tea smoothie ordered with no sugar —j ust naturally sweet and perfect for my taste! They've also got coffee smoothies with names like Mocha Madness, Caramel Cream, Coffee Nut and Cinn City ($5.49).

Mary Ann Kauchak lives in Lake Ridge and is a contributer to Media General's News & Messenger. Her third cookbook, "SHORTCUTS, TOO," is now available at Salt & Pepper Books in Occoquan. Stafford County Sun Managing Editor Tracy Bell contributed to this report.