Restaurant Review: Healthy Fast Food?

On a recent road trip from Roanoke, Virginia to Rocky Mount, North Carolina, our family stopped in Chapel Hill. We discovered a new "fast food" restaurant called EVOS. We were shocked to find the healthiest fast food we've ever eaten. Their menu includes burgers, wraps, salads, fries and even a special healthy kids menu.

What do they serve? Ericlee wanted to know all the secrets so he interviewed the manager on all menu items. He discovered they chucked all the typical greasy elements of fast food in favor of hormone-free meats and veggie options. Choose from 100% all-beef burgers, soy burgers, turkey and veggie burgers. They even have chicken sandwiches. Don't you worry: you can still get the works on your burger like natural cheddar cheese, lettuce and tomato added to your burger.

And we were truly amazed by the french fries. They should be called "french bakes" because they are actually air-baked in a special oven and never dipped or sprayed with oil. That means 50-70% less fat. And yes, they do past the taste test. We also dug the homemade ketchup in four varieties. Ericlee asked twice and it does not have sugar! (or the more popular high fructose corn syrup found in those little packages of othe ketchup brands.) Our two-year-old enjoyed her first french fry (ever!) at EVOS.

Ericlee wanted to kick it up a notch so he ordered the Crispy Thai Trout Wrap. The trout is also airbaked and topped with a spicy peanut sauce and bundled with organic spring greens in a spinach herb wrap. He gave it a 9/10 on the rating scale. When's the last time you had a healthy fish sandwich or wrap?

Dorina's pregnant belly needed a shake. The choices include 100% fruit shakes or organic milkshakes. Mango Guava had amazing flavor and rivaled our favorite all-fruit smoothies from Jamba Juice. For the coffee lovers in the audience, they even make a cappuccino milkshake. Yum-o!


We loved the atmosphere at EVOS. It has a decidely "green" (as in environmentally-conscious) vibe using all recycled energy. It also has this very retro-meets-modern feel. The booths are done up in tangerine orange and avocado green giving a little nod to the '70s. Yet, the restaurant takes the best from popular coffee shops and includes little couches and lounge chairs for customers who just want to "hang."

So the big question is: what about the moolah? Admittedly, you're going to have to lay down a little more cash for all this quality. There's no dollar menu at EVOS. But we didn't mind. We spent $15 on a meal for three, trying a variety of items and we felt it was money well-spent.

For all our California friends, a new EVOS is opening this year in San Luis Obispo near the Trader Joe's on Higuera Street. See the web site for other locations across the country.

Got a hankering for a burger, fries and a shake? Stop at EVOS and you won't be disappointed. And you won't be suffering down the line like you will after eating at those other fast food joints.