EVOS Fast-Casual Restaurant: Fast Food That Won't Kill You

All photos by Laine Doss

EVOS features hormone-free and organic food that even your kids will like.

​On a recent hunger-filled and cranky drive to Pinecrest for a day of shopping, we passed EVOS's little green storefront on U.S. 1 and gave it a try.

EVOS is clean, with cute Lichtensteinesque posters decorating the walls. On a Saturday afternoon, practically every table was filled with families consisting of several small children, all munching on the restaurant's air-baked chicken strips and fries.

The restaurant boasts "All-American food. Hamburgers, fries and shakes. But without the guilt." It backs this statement up by using organic milk and sugar in the shakes, hormone-free meats, and organic greens in the salads. Fries, fish, and chicken are air-baked, not fried. Though a meal at EVOS isn't necessarily the healthiest on the planet, it seems like a step in the right direction.

EVOS Iced Tea Heaven features three kinds of tea with free refills.

​We ordered a few wraps, fries, and iced teas. While we waited for our meal, we were given cups for Iced Tea Heaven ($1.79), where patrons can choose between unlimited cups of their choice of traditional Chinese black pekoe, fair trade organic green, or ruby-red herbal raspberry teas.

Another cute feature is the Ketchup Karma bar, where America's favorite condiment comes in the choice of original American, mesquite magic, garlic gravity, and cayenne firewalker. The ketchup bar even comes with cute stickers to identify each flavor.

An avocado and turkey wrap was filled with white-meat turkey, avocado spread, lettuce, and tomato. It was fresh and light, served in a spinach wrap. The veggie garden patty wrap could have used a bit more spice. All wraps are priced at $6.19 alone, $8.49 with fries and drink.

The fries, however, were a big hit. Air-baked with their skin on, they were crisp on the outside, moist on the inside. As I ate, I wondered why the heck anyone still fries a potato. This is clearly the way to go.

Other options include naturally raised beef burgers and 100 percent white-meat lean turkey burgers, breaded trout filet sandwiches (all sandwiches are $5.19 alone, $7.49 with fries and drink) and salads.

Families especially should consider EVOS. A special Healthy Kids menu features a choice of chicken strips, grilled beef hot dog, Championburger, or Steakburger with fries and drink for $5.29. I noticed families enjoying their meals. There were no children crying for the missing grease in their lunch.

Most kids like to eat chicken strips and fries, so you might as well take the little ones to a place that serves healthier versions. Oh, but don't mention the word healthy to the kids. Not knowing that won't kill them. Eating better won't kill them, either.

EVOS Ketchup Karma Bar features four different ketchups with handy ID stickers.

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