America's best juice bars

Freshly squeezed, pressed or blended with a bit of green algae, raw fruit and vegetable juices, new juice bars across the country are being lauded by everyone from celebrities to soccer moms with a vigor that recalls the '90s smoothie craze.

 “People are sick of being tired and fat and out of shape,” says Brian Heck, founder of Portland, Ore.’s Sip juice cart. “If you think about it, it’s a natural response to the state of health that America is currently in.”

For people who don't have time to sit down and eat a balanced meal, raw juice is a fast way to down nutrients—several pounds of produce often go into one bottle of vegetable juice—and companies claim that the liquid delivery allows the digestive system to rest while providing the body with energy.

Fueling today’s juicing trend are new innovations like the Norwalk, a hydraulic press able to make juice without any sort of heat (which is generated when there's friction), thereby retaining the maximum amount of health benefits from the produce, though many labels warn that the juices are not pasteurized for that reason.

Los Angeles’s original juice bar, Beverly Hills Juice, opened in 1975 and is still a Hollywood favorite. Celebs like Jake Gyllenhaal have been snapped with the shop’s signature Banana Manna shakes, a blend of pressed juice with vegan “ice cream” made from frozen bananas and almonds, cacao or sunflower seeds.

In New York City, celebrities like Sarah Jessica Parker hit Melvin’s Juice Box for their fresh juice fix. This tiny spot has a party-like vibe and inventive juices like the Catch a Fire, a blend of apple, beets, lemon, ginger and cayenne.

Now even international coffee powerhouse Starbucks is joining the juicing rush: The chain opened its first juice bar in Bellevue, Wash., earlier this year.