Cafe Evoke
Getting Buzzed In Edmond
It is not something new or unusual to any Edible OKC reader or caffeine connoisseur that the coffee scene in the metro has exploded. No matter how you like your joe or where you live, there is an exceptional coffee place near you. So how much luckier can we java junkies be? Two words: Café Evoke.
What started as a coffee catering service 10 years ago by husband and wife team Jason and Jenni Duncan, has turned into a busy coffee shop. With a cool, sleek monotone design, and an incredible pop of color from their custom-painted espresso machine, Evoke looks more like it would be at home in downtown Chicago, instead of downtown Edmond. But don’t let the look, overwhelmingly delicious smells, or talented people behind the counter fool you—this place has that Oklahoma charm in an incredibly enjoyable and chic package.
“We’re hoping we’re challenging people’s palates,” said Café Evoke owner, Jason Duncan. And challenging palates they are, with a multi-roaster platform, where every three months or so they spotlight different small batch coffees from roasters all over the country. “We love the outlet that it provides us and we can feature fun companies doing fun things,” said Jason.
Customers have come to expect and even look forward to the different featured coffees, with some even offering Jason their own suggestions. “When [the customers] walk in they want something new,” said Jason.
Coffee might have been the main focus of their original business, but Jason stepped out of the proverbial box with Evoke’s take on something else adults enjoy—alcoholic beverages. As he explains it, it takes a tremendous amount of skill and knowledge to master an excellent coffee drink and it also takes the same to master the perfect cocktail, so he incorporated them both into Evoke.
“The idea is to keep it fun and fresh, it’s a cocktail party from open to close,” he says.
The cocktail menu is a very small, focused list. It features curated cocktails that Jason’s team (which he affectionately refers to as baristabartenders) has spent a great amount of time to make their own. Jason believes that people can get very intimidated by cocktail lists, so they kept the cocktail list small and uncomplicated, but with exceptionally good drinks they knew their customers would enjoy.
The drinks might sound familiar, like an Old Fashioned, Gin and Tonic, Whiskey Sour or White Russian, but don’t let the names fool you—they sure don’t taste like your grandpa’s drinks of the past. If something a little lighter is more your speed, they also have different canned beers in rotation and if you catch them at the right time you might be able to get some featured wines by the bottle.
The coffee and cocktails are obviously Jason’s main passion, but judging by the packed house at lunchtime, either he is incredibly humble or he works with very talented people. The care, prep and passion they put into their food is obvious; everything is made in-house, from the frittata with sriracha cream to the scones, even the seasonal cardamom orange simple syrup for the lattes. One of their most popular items is the waffles, which are also the biggest hit on their food truck.
Did you catch that? I said food truck. Because as if serving coffee, original handcrafted cocktails, and made-from-scratch food weren’t enough, Café Evoke also has a Sip Truck. It features most of the same coffee and coffee drinks you will find at the shop, simply from a mobile location. In the mornings they typically offer their delicious waffles, like the buttermilk pecan or cinnamon roll. At evening events, house-made pastries, like the salted caramel blondie or brownie, are available.
So even though you might be comfortable at your next-door coffee shop, visit downtown Edmond or find the Sip Truck for something a little out-of-the-box. For more information about Café Evoke visit cafeevoke.com and for more information about the Sip Truck visit evokesiptruck.com.
