PHOTO CREDIT: Evan Casey
Trueman McGee, the owner of Funky Fresh Spring Rolls.
At Funky Fresh Spring Rolls (in Sherman Phoenix, 3536 W. Fond du Lac Ave.), spring rolls become a blank slate of unique culinary expression. That is to say, Funky Fresh doesn’t serve the kind of deep-fried fingerlings one is apt to find at Asian American buffets. For starters, the spring rolls here are far lengthier and grilled in oils high in polyunsaturated fat. Secondly, the fillings are imaginative and nutritional beyond the standard ground pork, cabbage and carrot combination.
The sweet potato and kale are hearty enough to satisfy meat eaters as well. In the chicken club roll, white meat, crisp turkey bacon and plum tomatoes play with the taste buds in texturally and flavorfully surprising ways. A sweet chili dipping sauce complements each roll from pleasing angles. Funky Fresh's proprietary quinoa bowls and Mean Green salads offer healthy accompaniments. As an example of the latter, spring greens, blue cheese crumbles, cashews and strawberry slices together course through nigh every flavor center on one’s palate; mango and grapefruit vinaigrettes accentuate the mix all the more. Founded by a sheet metal worker-turned-personal trainer wanting healthy recipes for his clientele, Funky Fresh is a satisfying stop in a health-conscious lifestyle.
