My family went to Evos for lunch today. It was my first (and last) time there. Perhaps you’ve heard of the catchy marketing phrase they use … “feel great fast food”. Here’s the website in case you want to take a look: http://evos.com/
Yikes! I did not find this food either tasty or “feel great” at all! I ordered the Spicy Thai chicken (hormone free) wrap. It had absolutely no taste! The peanut sauce was so bland they might as well have put no sauce in there at all. It was also quite dry and the spinach wrap tasted like cardboard. To their credit, the chicken was very tender and delicious. Unfortunately, the rest of the wrap was so tasteless I ended up taking out the chicken and eating that by itself. Problem was, there was hardly any chicken in it! I ditched 70% of the wrap in the garbage can and was, of course, still hungry after eating the few bites of chicken.
My kids and husband got the free range steakburger. I was astonished at how “unburgerish” the meat patty looked. I only use organic, grassfed beef in our home (Grateful Harvest), and this certainly did not look grassfed. I don’t even know what “free range” beef is, to tell you the truth! I’ve never heard of it before going to Evos. Must be just another marketing slogan that is not rooted in the realities of grassfed farming!
The fries tasted ok, but I didn’t perceive any difference in the oils that they used. Indisputably, the healthiest and tastiest oil for making fries is tallow, and Evos clearly did not use that. They used some sort of vegetable oil from the brick it formed in my stomach. Using vegetable oil for frying is a big no-no, as vegetable oils become rancid at the high temperatures required for frying. So, even if an establishment says that partially hydrogenated oils are not used, it is just as health damaging if plain old vegetable oil is used. The new process edible oil manufacturers are using instead of hydrogenization is called interesterification. Surprise, surprise .. it’s just as heart unhealthy as hydrogenization of vegetable oil. Here is a great link that discusses this issue in depth:
All in all, my first and last Evos experience was quite forgettable!
If you want a truly healthy burger, try Burger Monger instead! Â Here’s my review of this top rated burger chain founded in Tampa, Florida.
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Focus on getting nourishing foods that will support your immune function now and in the long term—making your body more resistant to infections and diseases by getting sufficient protein from good leafy greens and flavonoids from colorful vegetables, foods that are rich in vitamin C and zinc. Avoiding high sugar food and highly processed foods which are causes start in many diseases.
We need access to affordable, nutritious food available in the market for healthy eating, and we need skills to gather and make them. We also need the places we live in to support and make healthy eating easy for us every day. Work needs to be done to make healthy eating easy for our friends, families, ourselves, and our communities, and we can start this by thinking about the way we approach food in our day-to-day lives.
Had the original steakburger, fries and iced tea at your new location in Carrollowood in Tampa, Florida for the second week in a row. Loved all with the exception of the red onion slices which were on the steakburgers…had to remove them as they make me nauseous, but miss the sweet onions which not only add to the taste, but give the sandwich a little crunch. Today I asked if they had any sweet onions and was told they do not. It would be wonderful if you would give your customers a choice of sweet or red onions…even Burger King uses sweet onions and was hoping that you might do the same.
I love Evos. I wish they had them in the Palm Beach county area. Sorry you didn't like it, but I've never had a bad lunch there.
We had a totally different experience:
My daughter and I are regulars at Evo's in St Petersburg for the occasional convenience as well as the knowledge that they're on the right track. And even though I wish they would do SO MUCH better(white buns and wraps?!) I'm thrilled they even have a freerange steak burger! We never eat at any other fast food establishment. But being in the food industy myself I know the many challenges that Evo's faces. They are attempting to redefine fast food, to offer a much better alternative to the status quo and, oh yes, make a profit. You know the really best ingredients are really exspensive but also, the average Joe isn't necesarily ready to embrace all that is wholesome at once! I see Evos as a transition place that attempts to appeal to a broad scope of people. Those who know how to eat healthy and appreciates a convenient, affordable place that does better than the grease mongers and those who want to learn how to eat healthier and are comforted by by terms and descriptions they recognize as normal. Anyway, I had the pleasure, many years ago, to dine regularly at Evo's original, single restaurant in Tampa and, I assure you, the original ran circles around what they do now. Much tastier, wholesome and more creative. Now I need to tell them that, right? And Megan, I had a milk shake a couple of weeks ago. For the quality, grainy not creamy at all! it was too expensive. Oh well!
Thanks for a great blog Sarah!
Sarah, I hate to post this comment after I see that the founder of Evos has commented, but I have to agree with you. I have gone 2-3x and not found it that tasty, although their milkshakes are pretty good.
Sarah,
We are sorry about your recent experience at one of our EVOS locations. Please also take the time to fill out a comment card at comments AT evos.com; we want to know more about what happened and what location this happened at. Furthermore, at EVOS you have a 100% Taste Guarantee. We understand that not everything on the menu will fit your taste profile, and we certainly want you to find somehting you like.
As for our burger patty, we have been baking all our meats and vegetables instead of grilling or deep frying, since 1994. That is why is may appear unburger like. However, we are currently testing new ways to continue to cook our meats in a clean way, but give the traditional tasting grill flavor Americans are used to. The goal was to reduce the amount of high heat cooking, and reduce the chances of cancer causing heterocyclic amines (HCA's) found in traditional gas grill and charbroiler cooking. Our Airfries are simple potatoes and vegetable oil, baked in an oven, without the dirty brown grease you will find in typical restaurants. As for the wrap, we are sorry you did not enjoy it, but we hope to hear from you soon, so we can send you something in the mail so you can find something to your liking. And keep up the good writing.
Dino Lambridis
Founder