Welcome back to Tasty Thursday, Badgers! For those new to the column, Elin and Sam will bring you bi-weekly accounts of their successes and misadventures as they tackle our treasured Madison food scene. So put that Ramen away and read on.

Madison is a town known for, among many other fine qualities, its adventurous and worldly food culture. When faced with a new dish, our people are never afraid to dive right in and embrace (or reject) whatever deliciousness (or repulsiveness) the restaurant (or vending cart) has to offer.

I consider myself a fairly open-minded Madison citizen, especially when it comes to thick, creamy, frozen, blended drinks. But Fair Trade Coffee House (418 State Street) tested even my resolve two weeks ago when, after ordering my strawberry smoothie, I was given the option of throwing spinach into the mix.

Really?

My jaw went slack in front of the cashier as my mind did the equivalent of a runaway car screeching to a halt. “Spinach?” her voice echoed in my head. “Do you want to mix spinach in with that?” A flurry of images came into my mind — a plastic bag of fresh baby spinach with Dole printed on the side, a can of dark green sludge, Asian ginger salad dressing, Popeye flexing his muscular cartoon arm — but none of them seemed remotely related to the glistening glass of cold, pink, solid sugar rush I usually looked forward to when ordering a smoothie. I almost turned her down, but then remembered what town I was in. Telling myself to keep an open mind, I gave the go-ahead and let her add in the greens (and, consequently, tack another 75 cents on to my tab).

The verdict? Amazing!

Maybe it was the classiness of the glass the strawberry/spinach smoothie came in, which was actually made of glass. Maybe it was the high-ceilinged, open living room atmosphere of the Fair Trade Coffee House itself. Maybe it was the 85 degree heat beating down on the sidewalk outside the plate glass windows. Or maybe it was the spirit of the Madison food culture at work in me, but I fully enjoyed every ounce of my fruity (salad-ey?) drink.

At first I thought the flavors would contradict each other, but the sweetness of the strawberries dulled down the slightly acidic earthiness of the spinach, reducing it to a non-threatening, dark undertone. After all, these types of flavors have been proven to work together before — my brain just forgot to include raspberry vinaigrette in my post-shock salad imagery.

As far as the spinach’s contribution, think Jamba Juice and their option to add a ‘boost’ of flax and fiber to your drink. Adding in the leafy greens made for a meatier, thicker smoothie that filled my mouth up and, ultimately, lasted longer. Not to mention spinach’s negligible calorie count and copious amounts of vitamin A. Oh, and the orange juice Fair Trade adds to their smoothies packs a full day’s worth of vitamin C. Come to think of it, they also give you the option of sitting outside in the sun, where you could soak up plenty of vitamin D. Heck, who even NEEDS Flintstones vitamins when you have Fair Trade? Okay, me. I need Flintstones vitamins. I would never abandon you, Fred and Wilma.

In the End…

Product: Great! The sweet strawberry and leafy spinach made for a delightfully nutritious combo, if you can stand those dark green flecks amidst the pink in your drink. Just think of them as a less expendable version of watermelon seeds. Four-and-a-half stars (out of five).

Service: Cordial, informative, matter-of-fact. Will do everything in their power to preserve the integrity and freshness of their drinks. Attentive to your needs, but will keep you in check to make sure you’re doing the right thing, too. They work for Fair Trade Coffee, after all — trying to save the planet here, people. Four stars.

Price: On the ritzy side. The smoothie came in what I’m pretty sure was a 16 oz. (glass!) glass and clocked in at $4.90. Adding spinach meant another 75 cents, bringing my total to $5.65. Folks from the business sector may not blink an eye, but the price alone may relegate this treat to little more than the occasional splurge for your typical starving college student. Two stars.

Sam is a junior majoring in journalism. Are your taste buds titillating at the thought of a spinach smoothie? Send comments, suggestions and recipes to [email protected].