Restaurant of the Week: Bowl of Heaven

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Bowl of Heaven, 2087 Foothill Blvd. (at D), La Verne; closed Sundays.

Starting with the name, Bowl of Heaven may present a couple of problems: namely, what do they serve, and if you dare step inside, will employees be wearing robes and attempt to ply you with “literature”?

Actually, I knew from having seen coupons that Bowl of Heaven makes acai bowls (a so-called superfruit berry) and smoothies, but it wasn’t until commenter DebB recently gave it a rave here, and I realized the bowls might make a good breakfast (they open at 9 a.m. and stay open until 9 p.m.), that I decided to give it a try.

It’s next to Sal’s Pizza and the interior is Hawaiian-themed. I got a regular Dan’s Peanut Butter ($7), a blend of acai, banana, strawberries and something called “Maq 7 fruit blend,” plus peanut butter and almond milk. It’s topped with granola, banana and honey. I’d seen this on the menu online and knew that’s what I wanted.

Essentially, it’s a smoothie in a bowl, evidently made with vegan yogurt. It was really tasty, and filling. As I sat at a table reading my newspapers, other customers entered, and almost all of them got the Peanut Butter. Must be a popular choice. Everything is gluten-, soy- and dairy-free.

So, I’m a little skeptical of the possibly exaggerated benefits of acai, and seeing “nutrition, weight loss, energy” on the front of the menu is kind of a turnoff. I feel like I’m signing up for a movement or program of some sort. And $7 is more than I want to pay for a breakfast that doesn’t involve bacon.

That said, I may pay it again, because I liked what I had and, even though there’s no nutritional information on the menu, the offerings would seem to be low-fat and full of fruit and protein, all good things. Also, for the record, none of the employees wore robes.

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