Evolution Fresh

I have a new favorite restaurant and if its sibling is any indicator, it’ll be coming to a corner near you soon. Starbucks launched a restaurant called Evolution Fresh and it is naturally friendly to any food allergy you might have because they use whole foods, healthy and heavy on veggies. You may have seen their juices lining the Starbucks cold cases, and honestly I’ve tasted one or two of those and wasn’t overly impressed. There have been times in my life when I’ve been an avid juicer so I know exactly how I like my veggie juice and when it is pre-bottled, well, it’s just never the same. The food on the other hand, is awesome, so here’s what the experience at Evolution is like: You go up to the counter, think Qdoba or Chipotle, and you can either order a bowl where the ingredients are predetermined or you can ‘make your own bowl’ where you handpick each ingredient you want. Also, you can get it in a warm broth instead of a salad feel, which I haven’t done but I’ve heard is a wonderful alternative. Here’s an example of making your own bowl~ I asked for Quinoa, Kale, brown and wild rice, red peppers, grape tomatoes, black beans, and garlic balsamic sauce. Here’s the menu at their first store which happened to be in Bellevue Square: Menu. Yum. Notice the little w that is the symbol for without wheat ingredients~ nice touch. It’s inspiring, really, and each time I have gone there I think, “why don’t I just do this in my own fridge?” and the answer is, because it will go bad before it is all used. This is one chain I’ll be rooting for seeing on more corners.