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Local Flavor is a new feature of the Beacon Journal that offers readers a sampling of some of the many restaurants and venues available locally. Watch Thursday Life for this occasional series.
My daughter Anna and I felt like we struck gold when we stopped at Evelyn's Coffee & Banh Mi in downtown Akron in the fall to try the Vietnamese iced coffee, which we immediately deemed the Best. Coffee. Ever.
The delicious Vietnamese iced coffee ($2.75) is like a dessert treat, made with bold drip and sweetened condensed milk. Adding even more to the sweet decadence was the piece de la resistance: cold sweet cream on top.
After several iced coffee visits, we made a pact to try Evelyn's banh mi, the Vietnamese baguette sandwich that's a popular street food item in that country. In Vietnam, you'll find numerous varieties of banh mi at food carts on the street or at bakery and deli counters.
"It's really a staple of Vienamese food, very common," said Evelyn's owner Vinh Nguyen, an Akron-area physician. "Something to pick up on the go, similar to how our fast food is here."
In downtown Akron, the tasty sandwiches can be bought as takeout at the counter at Evelyn's, which isn't offering sit-down dining due to the pandemic. Anna and I ate our first banh mi takeout Jan. 23 — a fresh and flavorful lunch on a cold winter's afternoon.
Friendly Evelyn's employee Kaitlyn Schroyer was helpful while talking to us about the ingredients that go into the banh mi sandwiches. Five varieties all cost $5.50: lemongrass chicken, lemongrass beef, Korean beef, meatball and dac biet.
For our first banh mi experience, Anna and I were excited to mix and match foods and flavors at home. Evelyn’s service was quick, and both of our sandwiches, served warm and wrapped in foil, stayed warm for the 15-minute trek from downtown to our kitchen table.
"One of the different things about the sandwich is that traditionally it's more of a warm or toasted sandwich," said Nguyen, who stressed that Evelyn's takes pride in the marinades it uses for its meats.
This lunch definitely brought takeout to a satisfying new level.
I opted for the dac biet banh mi, otherwise known in Vietnam as "the special" or "the works." Evelyn's dac biet features a chicken-based pate as the base, plus ham that's a combination of pork and chicken, topped with pickled vegetables (cucumber and carrot), cilantro and avocado mayonnaise.
Anna, 17, chose lemongrass chicken banh mi, which had chunks of chicken with the same accompaniments as my sandwich. The pickled vegetables created a subtly sweet, crunchy counterpoint to the meats on both sandwiches.
We all know a sandwich can't be great without fabulous bread, and Evelyn's delivers with its light and airy 6-inch baguettes. They come from a local baker but Nguyen said he wants to keep his source a secret.
At this eatery, you can get two filling banh mi and two decadent iced coffees for just about $20, including tip. Anna and I splurged by each adding a salad and also splitting a side of two small Vietnamese eggrolls ($2.75).
I noshed on the papaya salad ($5), which had an interesting mix of flavors with its julienned green (unripened) papaya topped with grape tomatoes, peanuts and very fresh, bias-sliced green beans. It was served with a refreshing lime garlic dressing.
Anna's Vietnamese salad ($5), which had a nice sweetness to it, was our favorite. It's made with julienned cabbage topped with finely shredded chicken, carrots, onion and a yummy, sweet-and-tangy dressing.
At Evelyn's, the chairs are now on top of the tables. The eatery opened in July, in the midst of the pandemic. Owners Nguyen and his wife, Francesca, see it as a place where folks will eventually gather for good conversation and where students can study.
"We opened a coffee shop mainly [because] our passion is really to support the students at Akron U.," said Nguyen, whose staff of six includes UA students.
The couple, who named their restaurant after their 2-year-old daughter, created their menu as a combination of some of the things they love to eat and drink.
"We always had a dream to open a coffee shop where we could bring Vietnamese coffee and the banh mi that we love," they say on their website.
Nguyen, who emigrated with his parents from Vietnam when he was young, has lived most of his life in Akron. He's returned several times to Vietnam, where he’s enjoyed exploring the cuisine.
"Every time I go back, there's something new that I haven't even tried. The variety of food is just phenomenal," he said.
Evelyn's full menu is on a floor-to-ceiling chalkboard, including a variety of coffees and teas ($1.50-$4), smoothies ($4-$4.50), banh mi ($5.50) two salad selections ($5), Vietnamese eggrolls ($2.75 for two or $4.25 for four) and vegetarian dumplings ($3.75). Evelyn's also offers kimbap, a Korean seaweed rice roll that's cut like sushi and made with seasoned rice, fish cakes, carrots, pickled radish, egg and spinach ($5).
At the counter, baked goods ($1.25-$2.25) include blueberry muffins, maple-glazed gingerbread scones, butterscotch chocolate chip cookies and bagels.
For hot or cold food, folks can get quick service as walk-ins or order online between 10:30 a.m. and 2:30 p.m. My daughter and I, who thoroughly enjoy making food discoveries, are looking forward to returning to Evelyn's to taste more delicious varieties of banh mi.
Arts writer Kerry Clawson may be reached at 330-996-3527 or kclawson@thebeaconjournal.com.
Evelyn's Coffee and Banh Mi
Address: 11 E. Exchange St., No. 101, Akron
Phone: 330-849-5080
Website: evelynscoffee.com
Instagram: evelynscoffee_akron
Hours: 8 a.m. to 4 p.m. Monday through Friday, 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday
Carryout: Yes
Online orders: Yes
Delivery: No.
Dine-in: No
The Link LonkFebruary 04, 2021 at 06:07PM
https://www.beaconjournal.com/story/entertainment/arts/2021/02/04/banh-mi-takeout-evelyns-akron-fresh-taste-vietnamese-street-food/4265066001/
Local Flavor: Banh mi takeout at Evelyn's in downtown Akron is fresh, flavorful experience in Vietnamese street food - Akron Beacon Journal
https://news.google.com/search?q=fresh&hl=en-US&gl=US&ceid=US:en
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