Feel Great with Feel Food NYC

There is a sense of well being that washes over you the moment
you step inside Feel Food. Everything in the popular West Village café and
juice bar – from the white washed walls to bustling counter serving out teas,
wraps, and salads to the product packed cases and shelves – seems to
vibrate. The energy comes in no small
part from chef and co-owner Fernando Aciar.
While Feel Food offers the usual slate of healthy juices and
cleanses, Aciar is first and foremost a chef who wants everything to taste as
wonderful as it is meant to make you feel.

Originally from Argentina, Aciar owned and operated a café in
Rio’s Corocovado neighborhood for seven years before moving to
New York. Responding to the lack of
Brazilian coffee culture in the city, Aciar opened O Cafe in 2011. It was soon after that he started developing
the idea of a juice bar that would feature well selected products largely from
Latin America. Partnering with his
friend Gaeleen Quinn, who had previously founded the Bogotá Wine
& Food Festival, they opened Feel Food last fall.

Staples like heirloom grains and legumes are stacked next to the
organic cocoa powder and nibs from Bahia that line the shelves. Packaged yuca puffs and hibiscus crackers can
be quickly added to one of their freshly made salads or wraps. Beyond the usual nut milks like almond and
matcha cardamon, there is black sesame rose and cashew turmeric ginger
milk. Batidos like the Very Rojo
(pitaya, strawberries, blueberries, orange juice) and Quinoa Manjar
(sprouted quinoa and amaranth, raisins, honey, coconut flakes, and almonds) are
made to order while cold-pressed juices and alkaline waters stand at the
ready. There is dessert too and their arroz
con leche is made with brown rice, orange peel, clove, vanilla, and coconut
sugar.

While they source locally if possible, they also work with
organic farms and food purveyors wherever they happen to find them. “We
bring [ingredients] from people that we know,” says
Aciar. “Even living here, I’ve met Brazilians who process exotic
super foods in the Amazon: cashews, mangos,
açai, acerola, and any kind of food you can imagine.”

Rather than mask the long list of healthy foods they work into
their recipes, they highlight them. “When
you’re bringing flavors to life, you’re not covering it
with sugar,” says Aciar. “When
you work with good products, they’re always good for you because they’re
unprocessed.” Their Cold Buster
– a steaming blend of lemon, bee
pollen, honey, ginger, cayenne, and ground cinnamon – got many New
Yorkers through a harsh winter but it was also delicious.

While Feel Food offers an incredible selection of raw and
gluten-free options, Aciar advises moderation and balance. “There is a way that you can go beyond
the same dishes that everyone is doing,” says Anciar. “I’m not looking for
people to be raw, I’m looking for people to have the great
experience of healthy food and taste.”