Tropical Smoothie Cafe – Kalamazoo Township
4315 W. Main StreetAlright. Here we go. Back to Southwest Michigan stuff. I know it’s been a few weeks and I appreciate everyone humoring me as I basically journaled our vacation for myself.
Once back in town, we had a little shopping to do to get ready for a family photo shoot. One of J’s friends started doing photography, we needed six month pictures of B, and we needed a new family shot of the four of us. We’re not the kind of people that all sorts of matchy-matchy clothes, so J wanted to find something for me and her to wear that look good against outfits we already had for the kids.
We ended up going to Kohls because…well, coupons…and we knew we’d have luck finding something that looked good on us. L had asked for something to drink while we were there and we kind of blew her off until we started heading home. She then said something about being hungry. J said we should pick something up, but we were already back to Drake and KL and there’s not much between that and our house. Remembering that L had said something about being thirsty earlier, I asked about the new smoothie place back in the direction we just came from.
Tropical Smoothie Cafe is on West Main in Kalamazoo Township in the space that used to be Smashburger. I didn’t really know what I was getting in to when I suggested it, but I knew they had sandwiches and I can usually find something on a sandwich menu even if I have to pick off veggies.
The space looks nothing like it did when Smashburger occupied it. Tropical Smoothie did a complete makeover moving the order counter to one of the side walls and putting in new seating to fill the space. You would never guess this space of healthy food used to be a bastion to smashed meat.
J started out by getting both L and herself a smoothie. I wasn’t paying attention to what each of them got, but L drank hers like it was the only thing she’s had to drink in a week (it wasn’t though…seriously, we do feed her). J and L go to Smoothie King a lot during the winter months, so L’s been drinking smoothies for quite some time. It’s a much better option than the Speedy Freeze she wants every time we pass a Speedway.
I figured there would be something on the menu that sounded good to me and I wasn’t wrong. I obviously passed on the smoothie when I had a perfectly good Pepsi in the car, but sandwich wise, I was able to find a couple that I thought sounded delicious.
I chose the Chipotle Chicken Club. This sandwiches is served on a flat bread and filled with grilled chicken, bacon, romaine lettuce, tomatoes, and a chipotle mayo. You know how much I’ve complained about mayo in the past, but I took a chance on the flavored one this time. The chicken was quite a bit smaller than the wrap it was in, but it was plump and juicy and absolutely covered in the mayo. Had this been regular white mayo, it probably would have made me gag, but the chipotle saved this sandwich. It was quite tasty and just a little on the spicy side. I still would have liked there to be much, much less mayo on the sandwich. Just a dab would add great flavor to the wrap, but even how it was served, it was still quite tasty and something I would order again.
Chipotle Chicken Club
J passed on the sandwiches and went for a salad. They only have three options. She chose the Loaded Spinach Salad. This one comes with spinach, bacon, candied pecans, gorgonzola, peaches, and dried cranberries. It’s served with a house made raspberry vinaigrette. As you can see, they aren’t lying when they call this one loaded. The toppings all work well together and are tied together by a fresh vinaigrette. The salad is a little on the small side, but J didn’t seem to mind. The smoothie and the salad made for a nice refreshing lunch.
Loaded Spinach Salad
L kept asking for a grilled cheese, but there isn’t one on the menu. We ordered her a cheese quesadilla instead which is basically the same thing…..right? The quesadilla is pretty simple with just a tortilla and cheese, but L actually ate about half of this…which is pretty good for her lately.
Kid’s Cheese Quesadilla
Our bill for lunch and two smoothies came out to just a hair over $21. Tropical Smoothie Cafe gets my vote over the other smoothie places only because they do food. J and L can get the drinks that they like and I can get something to eat too. It’s much lighter than the typical fast food I eat, but it’s good and a good alternative to something greasy.
SW Michigan Dining 