EVO Kitchen

7950 W. Sunset Blvd.
Los Angeles, CA 90046
323-375-3390
www.evokitchenla.com
twitter.com/evokitchenla.com
Parking: 1-hr validated parking in Sunset & Hayworth complex
Days: Monday-Friday
Times: 4-7pm
Drink Deals: $4 Beers, $5 Wines & Sangria, $5-7 Soju drinks, $8 Beer Flight
Food Deals: Bites from $4-7

Having run this site for over 2 years now, we’ve seen a lot of turn-over with the bars & restaurants we’ve covered. Just check our “Reviews by JB” and “Reviews by JG” to see how many of the establishments are now closed. At least in LA, when a joint closes, there’s usually another in its place within the month – something not every city can boast in these trying economic times.

One of these spots is EVO Kitchen, which stands in the place of Pizza Fusion at Sunset and Hayworth. I’m not sure if this really counts as new though since EVO is run by the same family that owned the Pizza Fusion and I don’t even know if they were closed for a day during the transition! Whatever the case, EVO operates with the same concept as Pizza Fusion – environmentally friendly and locally grown eats with lots of options for vegan diners and foodies with gluten-allergies. Pretty cool.

Pizza Fusion was relatively new when I stopped by for a Happy Hour Tour review back in December 2009. I had given kudos for the dining experience, but complained that the Happy Hour food menu didn’t have enough variety and there weren’t enough drink options. Looking back – the options really weren’t so bad, especially considering that some Happy Hours don’t even offer food (we’re looking at you, Hard Rock Café!).

The Happy Hour deals must have been working for them at Pizza Fusion because EVO has kept the same deals – $4 beers (+$8 beer flight!); $5 house red & white wines and sangria; $5 Soju soda cocktails; and $7 Soju Martinis. There’s a little bit more on the food menu now – a mix of salads, pizzas, BBQ sliders, Veggies & Dip, and Garlic Cheese Bread from $4.50-$7.

P & T with $5 Cherry Pop's!

For this visit, I went with my work pals, P & T (who I’d actually covered Pizza Fusion with 2 years back), and we were of one mind to start off with the Cherry Pop ($5), Soju* mixed with natural Black Cherry soda. The drink was just sweet enough and very refreshing for a mid-October hot-spell.

For eats, we tried the BBQ Burgers (2 for $4.50) – 2 regular beef mini-burgers and 2 portobello sandwiches with Daiya (vegan) cheese; the Raw Veggies with Hummus & Fig Tapenade ($6); and when we were still hungry – the Garlic Cheese Bread with Marinara Dip ($4.50). Everything tasted pretty good – albeit a bit sweet. The burgers used the same sweet bread as the garlic cheese bread; then the Hummus & Fig Tapenade was sweet too. I really enjoyed the fig tapenade served with vegetables, but wasn’t as crazy about the sweet bread, which was also a little flakey for a sandwich.

Sliders (2 for $4.50)

Raw Veggies with Hummus & Fig Tapenade ($6)

Garlic Cheese Bread with Marinara Dip ($4.50)

Now back to the drinks… for our 2nd drink round – P & I shared the Beer Flight ($8 for four 5oz. glasses). We both selected the Chocolate Porter from Bayhawke Ale in Irvine (yum & rich and can be made into a beer float for $8!); and then P had the Napa Smith Organic IPA (traditionally hoppy), while I LOVED my Black Market Hefe-Weizen from Temecula. Of this flight, the Hefe-Weizen was the only beer on Happy Hour special – the other featured HH beers were the Scrimshaw Pilsner and Bards Gluten-Free.

$8 Beer Flight (Fly away beer, fly away home!)

Overall, my feeling is very similar to my original visit, though experience has taught me to never look a gift horse in the mouth and to take my good deals where I can get them – in this case, it’s in the swell drink selections from $4-8!

--JB

*For those of you who found the site by searching “what is soju?” :) – it’s a liquor often made with rice, that bars without hard liquor licenses can serve due to its lower alcohol content, usually around 20% as opposed to vodka’s average 40%.
Rating: 3.5 Martinis