So what are air fries, I hear you cry. Well, they're potatoes cooked with blasts of hot air and served in paper cones. The menu states that they contain 50-70 percent less fat than demon French fries; one manager seemed confused when I suggested that these spuds must be sprayed with some type of oil before cooking—otherwise, wouldn't they be fat-free? Fifty to 70 percent isn't 100 percent, and potatoes don't contain significant oil, so logic would dictate that there is some fat on these potatoes. Plus, if there weren't, how else could they come out so crispy and delicious? At press time, I was still waiting for comment from a company spokesman.
This air-cooking process also turns up in the chain's excellent air-baked chicken strips and breaded trout, used in assorted wraps, burgers and salads. The chicken in particular is impressive, almost as tasty as oil-fried chicken.
If you can believe it, Evos (the name is derived, rather cornily, from "evolved") also does a soy corn dog, which, when eaten with mesquite-flavored ketchup, is an authentic replica of the real thing. All this adds up to a concept that I am actually excited about. If they work out a few glitches, I predict they'll have a real winner on their hands.
The burger section offers six choices, two of them vegetarian. Evos' American Champion is the signature soy burger. Pile it with all the trimmings, and it is hard to tell from real meat, though mine was a bit dry. Veggie Garden Grill uses an all-vegetable patty, and I found it needed more flavor.
The steakburger is commendable because it uses naturally raised, hormone-free beef, which is worth the extra money it costs when compared to comparable burgers at larger chains. But my money will go for the spicy chipotle turkey, a lean and moist patty smeared with a caloric but delicious smoked-chipotle mayo.
The wrap I liked best contained chopped soy protein: the Southwest soy taco, laden with reduced-fat sour cream, red leaf lettuce, tomato and onion. It's really big enough to share, as are all these wraps. Crispy Thai trout has tasty strips of that good fish, but the chain erred by sweetening the dressing, which is supposed to have a spicy peanut and chili-pepper flavor, and by not including enough crunchy rice noodles.
There are several options with the burgers and wraps. The wraps can be lower carb, meaning that they'll serve it without the tortilla, or even double the protein for an extra charge. With the burger value meals, you can substitute the chain's delicious vegetarian chili for the air fries, and there are other substitutions available, as well.
My fave among the salads is Mediterranean Summer, similar to a Greek salad except for the balsamic vinegar in the dressing and the addition of multigrain croutons. Santa Ana chicken Caesar is fine, but the dressing has no anchovies, and spicy Thai and crispy chicken is sort of like the wrap deconstructed, and still a mite too sweet.
There aren't really desserts here but for a few sweet breads in the cold case. Organic milkshakes are superb, though, especially the vanilla, and there are real fruit shakes.
This is the first Evos outside of Florida, but the chain has big plans. Overall, this is an encouraging—and healthy—beginning for a trend that deserves to have legs.