For this issue dedicated to local food and dining, Eugene Magazine asked our writers and staff to hunt down the delicious dishes and other treats they thought should be the toast of the town. Eugene enjoys a diverse culinary scene with many undiscovered and under-appreciated foods from restaurants, local producers, and food carts. There are more restaurants and food carts on our streets than ever, and while we can’t claim that our staff has tried everything our town has to offer, we do think we’ve found some of the best, and we want to share that with you here. Get ready to tuck in to some great food. We hope you’re hungry!
UBON THAI KITCHEN
Pad Kemao
Have you driven by that tiny, bright yellow food cart on Highway 99 and not stopped? Next time, do yourself a favor and experience their delicious and affordable Thai food. Ubon Thai owners Pla Phongsri and Bill Summers met when Bill was on a month-long Thai vacation. After returning to the States together, Bill and Pla opened the food cart to serve Pla’s authentic recipes. Behind the cart is a hidden oasis, a room outfitted with tables and chairs, a gas fireplace, a slideshow of photos from Bill and Pla’s travels throughout Asia, and walls hung with Pla’s original paintings. Everything on their menu is $5.50. If you’re into veggies, the pad kemao (wide rice noodles stir-fried with veggies) is richly flavored, perfumed with basil and peppery heat (Pla can adjust the heat if you like it milder), or ask for your pad Thai “Eugene style,” and Pla will throw in a handful of broccoli, carrots, and snow peas. And Bill and Pla are expanding that bright yellow trailer at the beginning of May, so check out what the rest of Eugene is slowly discovering! 690 Hwy 99 N, 541/689-0033
GLENWOOD RESTAURANT
Tomato Cheese Soup
Tomato soup and a grilled cheese sandwich is one of the great food pairings of the world. Make that Glenwood’s tomato cheese soup, and it’s bliss in a bowl. And how the Glenwood gets the cheese to not melt in the soup is one of the world’s greatest unsolved mysteries. They have fine breakfasts, but to make yourself really happy, serve yourself up a bowl of this steaming delight. 1340 Alder St., 541/687-0355; 2588 Willamette St., 541/687-8201, glenwoodrestaurants.com
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MICKEY’S CREOLE SAUCE
Sweet, Smoky, Spicy Sauce
The flavor comes first in Southern food, whether you’re in the low country of the Carolinas or the Cajun country of Louisiana. Take the snappy sauce created by Mickey Phill, a Eugenean who was born in Monroe, Louisiana, went to school in Berkeley, and has had a food booth at the Oregon Country Fair for 31 years and a band, Mickey and the Mojo Hitmen, for 14 years. Phill created the sauce 29 years ago for one of his menu items, a Creole omelet. Up until 2 1/2 years ago, the sauce was available only at the fair; now that it’s jarred and sold at The Kiva and Capella Market, everyone is loving it. Use Mickey’s spicy-sweet sauce for zippy nachos in place of salsa, to marinate any meat, or as a dip for shrimp cocktail. Pour it into a pot of chili for down-home spice, or add to meatballs or meatloaf in place of ketchup. Available at local retailers, including The Kiva (125 W 11th Ave., 541/342-866, kivagrocery.com) and Capella Market (2489 Willamette St., 541/345-1014, capellamarket.com)
BRUNO’S CHEF’S KITCHEN
Plum Curried Halibut
Chef and Chef’s Kitchen owner Tom Bollag (aka Bruno) creates ever-changing masterpieces based on what he sees in local markets. Depending on the time of year, you might see duck with chestnuts and cranberries, or perhaps asparagus on top of polenta, with a dill sour cream sauce atop that, then sautéed crab legs on top of that, and Mornay sauce on top of that, all of which gets baked. “There are things on my menu I haven’t seen anywhere else in the world,” Bollag says. “And because I use only what is seasonal, one week it’s there and the next it’s gone.” One of his menu items that has stood the test of time is Plum Curried Halibut, served only from the end of February to early March—a broiled piece of fresh halibut (always from Newman’s Fish Company) resting atop a mild yellowish green curry sauce with onions and celery sautéed in ghee, dried currants, ginger, and garlic; a purplish fresh plum chutney on top of that; and on the side, pink Oregon bay shrimp, also fresh during that time of year. Bollag’s plated creations are true works of edible art. 3443 Hilyard St., 541/687-2433, brunoschefskitchen.com
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EARTH & SEA SALTS
Original Blend Celtic Sea Salt with Herbs
Opening up a jar of this Corvallis outfit’s original blend Celtic sea salt is like awakening to a dream of a picnic in the Mediterranean countryside. It’s a heady aroma and bright herbal taste of organic garlic, rosemary, sage, organic lemon, and organic pepper, and it blends beautifully with fresh corn, grilled meats (ooh, yum, try it in a brining marinade!), focaccia bread, or roasted potatoes. Grind it in a mortar and pestle and add to homemade salad dressings. It will make your Italian heritage sing even if you don’t have any. Available at some local retailers, the Saturday Market, and from earthandseasalts.com
CAFÉ 440
Jalapeño Poppers
Mention jalapeño poppers and most people think of the fried, greasy frozen atrocities found on some bar menus. Café 440’s poppers are the antithesis of this. Mild peppers are stuffed with goat cheese(!), wrapped in prosciutto(!), and seared on a hot grill top, so they aren’t deep fried(!). What looks like mustard on the plate is actually a bright yellow sweet mango purée, which soothes the palate, as some of these babies are really spicy. It’s not complicated magic to cook this way, just a consideration to detail that makes eating truly enjoyable. 440 Coburg Rd., 541/505-8493, cafe440eugene.com
THE BIER STEIN
Beer Cheese Soup
As if the Bier Stein’s million different beers weren’t enough of a draw, their beer cheese soup has become legendary. There’s no written recipe for the soup, surprisingly. But the two things that remain the same each time are handfuls of different kinds of cheese, to make it velvety, plus some light lager. The common instruction for cooking with alcohol is to cook with what you like to drink, but in the case of this soup, that doesn’t work: A strong-flavored hoppy beer in a soup reduces it to a bitter brew. The Bier Stein knows what’s yummy. 345 E 11th Ave., 541/485-BIER (2437)
AGATE ALLEY BISTRO
Pumpkin Enchiladas
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When the West brothers closed their signature restaurant on Olive Street years ago, they took their pumpkin enchilada dish with them. Agate Alley owner Doug Beaird loved those enchiladas, and no one else in Eugene was making them. When he opened his own restaurant, guess what he put on the menu? Agate Alley gets locally grown pumpkins and roasts them, turning them into a rich purée seasoned with mild red and green peppers (all produce is local and organic). The purée is folded inside two flour tortillas, and topped with a from-scratch mole sauce made with grainy, cinnamon-y Mexican chocolate. It’s served alongside white rice and porter beans—garbanzo and pinto beans baked with porter ale. The pumpkin filling is semi-spicy, savory, and sweet; served with salty cotija cheese and sour cream, it pleases the whole palate. 1461 E 19th Ave., 541/485-8887, agatealley.com
BELLY
Seasonal Veggie Salads
Come for the pork confit, stay for the salad. Despite the eatery’s reputation of being all pork all the time, people who like veggies are happy at Belly, too. Chef Brendan Mahaney creates deliciously simple seasonal vegetable salads throughout the year, using such favorites as pea shoots in May (sautéed in duck fat), green beans in June (with creamy blue cheese and nuts), beets in August (raw, with mint and capers in a vinaigrette), and brussel sprouts in November (warmed, over endive with cashews). The salads are fresh and lively enough to let the vegetable stars shine through, but if you want to stick with the pork belly on lentils, you won’t be disappointed by that either. 291 E 5th Ave., 541/683-5896, eatbelly.com
RATATOUILLE BISTRO AND CAFE
Raw Cheesecake
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Who knew how good vegan desserts could be? Ratatouille’s cheesecake tastes like heaven, and it is raw (made using almond milk), gluten-free, vegan, soy-free, sugar-free, and is rich in healthy Omega 3 and 6 fatty acids. Now that it’s starting to sound like healthy food, imagine a dessert that is creamy, sweet, and rich, yet light. All the flavor, none of the guilt. Find it in six flavors: strawberry, chocolate chai, blueberry, mocha, raspberry, and banana. 1530 Willamette St., 541/344.0203, ratatouillebistro.com; cheesecakes at Sundance Natural Food (748 E 24th Ave., 541/343-9142, sundancenaturalfoods.com), Cappella Market in Eugene (2489 Willamette St., 541/345-1014, capellamarket.com), and some locations in Portland
AIYARA THAI CAFÉ
Khao Soi
Aiyara’s owner, Kannika Hime, was born in Chiang Rai and later moved to Chiang Mai, which is famous for its Khao Soi—Chiang Mai is in northeast Thailand, near Myanmar (Burma) and Laos. Influenced by Burmese cuisine, Khao Soi is a soup-like dish made with deep-fried crispy egg noodles, pickled cabbage, lime, and thin slices of meat in a curry-like sauce containing coconut milk. In Thailand it is popular as a street dish. Traditionally, the dish is served with beef or chicken rather than pork, as it is Chinese Muslim in origin, and Aiyara serves their Khao Soi with beef only. Aiyara Thai Café has received the Thai Select Certificate from the Thai Trade Centers, which work with the Royal Thai Government to certify authentic Thai food. 1010 Harlow Rd., Springfield, 541/736-8306, aiyarathaicafe.com
BEPPE AND GIANNI’S TRATTORIA
Cappelli di Vescovo
With so much deliciousness on the menu at Beppe & Gianni’s, it’s understandable—but a shame—that this pasta dish gets overlooked. Cappelli di Vescovo, or bishop hats, is house-made, hand-formed pasta stuffed with Swiss chard, prosciutto di Parma, and ricotta and parmesan cheeses, served in a brown butter sage sauce. The pasta shape is similar to a tortellini—little squares of fresh pasta are filled, folded over, and wrapped around a finger, which allows for a piece of the folded-over pasta to stick up and out as if it were a bishop’s hat. Once you try it, it just might become your go-to favorite menu item. 1646 E 19th Ave., 541/683-6661, beppeandgiannis.net
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CARAMEL FRENCH PÂTISSERIE
The Mana Tart
Barbara Walraet, proprietor of Caramel, doesn’t have a storefront yet, but she has an extensive menu of authentically French sweets and pastries, along with some savory options. The Mana Tart is her mother’s signature tart. Walraet’s mother, Marie-paule—known as Mana to her children and grandchildren—lives in a home in a small village in the mountains of southeast France—this past winter she was snowed in for almost three weeks. Tarts are one of those things that you can make to use up your butter and flour and whatever vegetables you have on hand, and the results are almost always incredible. Walraet’s dough is not like the kind of flavorless paste you could just go and buy, it is buttery, flaky—you can just taste that it is hand-made. Mana’s recipe calls for onion, garlic, red or yellow bell peppers to keep it sweet, zucchini, tomatoes, and herbes de Provence. If you’re more about the sweet stuff, Walraet also has a dessert club—Community Supported Pastry. Allow 48 hours’ notice if possible for orders, 541/514-2227, caremeleugene.com
MARCHÉ PROVISIONS
Salad Bar
Like that Dr. Seuss storybook On Beyond Zebra, you could stop with the basic salad bar, but not me. Why settle for chopped celery when you could have celery root rémoulade? Or grated carrots, when you could enjoy carrot-tarragon slaw? Dried out florets of broccoli, or sweet, crunchy broccoli mixed with Marcona almonds? Or plain greens, when you could top your plate with a salad of grapefruit and fennel? Many of the ingredients are locally grown and organic, and dressings and soups are made from scratch. Your salad will be sublime before you even get to the dressing. 296 E 5th Ave., 541/743-0660, marcheprovisions.com
PAPA’S SOUL FOOD KITCHEN
Chicken Gumbo
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Unless you’re a born-and-bred Southern cook—or using the recipe of one—most gumbos are a pale shadow of what gumbo should be. Not the gumbo at Papa’s Soul Food Kitchen. It starts with a rich, brown roux, almost the color of chocolate. Into the gumbo goes chicken, andouille sausage, and shrimp. Filé powder gives it an earthy, round flavor. The finished dish is a massive bowl, completed by a scoop of rice on top. “It’s traditional as it gets,” says Cliff Davis, aka Chef Redbone. In his younger days, Papa (Ted Lee) Soul traveled down South on a cross-country food journey. Somehow Papa finagled the recipe away from one of the chefs he was working with, who had her grandmother’s recipe for gumbo. “He kept it closely guarded since then,” says Davis. “Now me and Deb are the only ones who know it.” Papa began his food career in Eugene with a food cart in 2001, building up at various locations until he found the perfect spot on Blair Boulevard in 2006. His wife, Deb, is carrying on in the wake of Papa Soul’s untimely death in November 2009. “Papa always said he wanted to make a million smiles and not a million dollars, and we still run the business that way,” she says. “This was his baby, his dream.”
CAFÉ ARI RANG
Kimchi Meet The Pork
Yep, Kimchi Meet The Pork is the name of the dish, and it is as genuine and delicious as the owners of Café Ari Rang are friendly. Owner June Jang is Korean and uses authentic Korean recipes; she makes all of the kimchi herself, proudly using no fish sauce, only salt, to pickle the ingredients. Jang provides diners with radish kimchi and cabbage kimchi with every meal, replenished as often as you want. The Kimchi Meet The Pork is spicy but oh-so-good: pan-fried kimchi, thin slices of pork, in a spicy red miso broth over rice. 485 E Broadway, 541/302-4542
INTEGRITY SPIRITS
Trillium Absinthe Supérieure
No other spirit has the mystique of absinthe. Stories of the hallucinations of 19th-century French bohemians who drank “the Green Fairy” regularly led to a belief that absinthe induced a psychoactive response in the brain. In 1912, the United States regulated the production of absinthe due to the supposedly high levels of this psychoactive compound, thujone. When it was recently discovered that pre-ban French absinthe often contained much lower levels of thujone than regulations allowed for, the ban was toppled. Trillium Spirits in Portland, which also makes artisan vodka and gin, became Oregon’s first producer of absinthe, and the nation’s second. To drink absinthe, no smoky den of iniquity is required, but an enjoyment of the taste of licorice helps. An intensely herbal spirit, absinthe tastes strongly of anise, almost like a black jellybean with the finish of clove. Though there are many delicious cocktails that feature absinthe, the traditional preparation involves placing a sugar cube on a slotted spoon over a glass containing the absinthe. Ice water is dripped over the sugar to dissolve it into the drink, turning the liquor a cloudy, pale green, while the sugar smoothes the herbal flavor. Available in select liquor stores and bars in Eugene and from integrityspirits.com
SWEET LIFE PÂTISSERIE
Pecan Chewy Bar
Pick just one favorite out of Sweet Life’s many tartlets, petit fours, truffles, éclairs, tortes, strudels, muffins, scones, pies, and cakes. Seriously? Well, the whole store should be counted as one fab food find, but if we are forced to pick one, the pecan chewy bars are pretty darn good. Imagine the flavors of the richest pecan pie, condensed into a pocket-sized form. 755 Monroe St., 541/683-5676, sweetlifedesserts.com
FERNS EDGE DAIRY
Fresh Chèvre
These are some happy goats. Nestled in the hills overlooking Dexter Lake in Lowell, Ferns Edge goats are raised using biodynamic methods and organic practices in every way. The dairy’s mild, soft chèvre is clean and light tasting, and it comes plain or flavored with their farm-grown herbs, wild-crafted chanterelles, and other edibles: try ginger and fig chèvre with honey, dill, or pesto. Available at the Lane County Farmers Market, some grocery and natural foods stores, and at the dairy, fernsedgedairy.com
EUPHORIA CHOCOLATE COMPANY
Chocolate Pinot Noir Sauce
Oregon pinot noir and rich, dark chocolate sauce? Yes, please. So decadent, it’s a perfect blending of fine wine and the best chocolate. Pour it by the spoonful over ice cream, drizzle it over cheesecake, or dip strawberries into it. Valentine’s Day. . . hello! Available at Euphoria’s 17th & Willamette, Oakway Center, and Valley River Center locations, euphoriachocolate.com
MOOKIE’S NORTHWEST GRILL
Halibut Piccata
Formerly Mookie’s Place, and in a new location, Mookie’s Northwest Grill is the realm of chef Randy Hollister, who for 30 years has been preparing fine dishes from scratch. Hollister takes halibut piccata (with that famously light and tangy lemon, caper, white wine sauce) and gives it a Northwest twist, with Dungeness crab and bay shrimp on top. 400 International Way, 541/744-4148, mookiesgrill.com
CORNUCOPIA
Buffalo Chicken Salad
Of course, Cornucopia’s 1/2-pound burgers—made using grass-fed beef from Knee Deep Cattle—are famous, but have you tried the salads? They are monstrous, big enough for two meals for the average person. Their Buffalo Chicken Salad is a bed of lettuce topped with a crispy breaded chicken breast smothered in hot and tangy buffalo sauce. It is spicy!— which you don’t often expect with a salad. But luckily their generous portions of house-made dressings chill out the palate. 295 W 17th Ave., 541/485-2300; 207 E 5th Ave., 541/485-2676, eugenecatering.com
EXCELSIOR INN AND RISTORANTE ITALIANO
Linguine alla Scoglio
Excelsior chef and owner Maurizio Paparo grew up in Naples, Italy, right on the ocean. “Scoglio” means reef, and this dish, with mussels, clams, calamari, and prawns, represents the plentitude of the sea, and the smells of his childhood. “With the garlic, olive oil, and the seafood . . . it reminds me of growing up in Naples,” Paparo says. “Every time I see it, it makes me smile.” The dish is finished with a light, fresh tomato sauce and Italian parsley. With the mussels and clams served in the shell, lined up around the edge of the bowl, and the large grilled prawns decorating the middle, the dish is artistically presented, and is fun to eat, too. 754 East 13th Ave. 541/342-6963, excelsiorinn.com
NIB DESSERT AND WINE BAR
Pure Cocoa Plate
A chocolate fix in six textures. Nib serves desert plates with different treats, all with very distinct flavor profiles. The pure cocoa plate stars a flourless cocoa almond cake, made with rich, dark Valhrona cocoa powder. The cake’s ganache, made with 64% tainori chocolate, provides tropical tones of pineapple, passion fruit, and banana. A chocolate pavé offers a light chocolate cream made with 64% South American Guayaquil, with a deep chocolaty character, the flavor that most people think of when they think of chocolate. There’s also a really fluffy chocolate mousse, a cocoa nib croustillant (lace caramel cookie made with chopped pieces of roasted cacao beans), and ice cream made with 66% Caribbean chocolate. 769 Monroe St., 541/485-1269, nibdesserts.com
CARTE BLANCHE
Soup
Carte Blanche has been serving up soup from their cart on the UO campus since 1997. With more than 80 soup recipes to choose from, their menu changes daily. On a rainy day, there’s nothing more satisfying than 5 Spice Chicken—brothy veggies and chicken soup seasoned with Chinese five-spice, soy, and ginger—or the curried split pea, perhaps. On a hot day, the gazpacho is definitely an excellent choice. E 14th and Kincaid, 541/554-9088, cbsoup.com
FISHERMAN’S MARKET
Crab Dinner
Sure, you can walk into Fisherman’s Market and get some of the freshest Northwest seafood to take home, but they also have a menu of delicious prepared meals. They cook fresh Dungeness crab daily, in front of their store in huge kettles. Diners can enjoy a dinner of freshly cooked whole crab with butter and sides (cole slaw, fries, salad, homemade cioppino, or clam chowder) with beers from Oakshire and Ninkasi on tap. There are tables outside and in, and lots of crustaceans in tanks to look at and talk about while you eat. 830 W 7th Ave., 541/484-2722, eugenefishmarket.com
OFF THE WAFFLE
Liège Waffles
The two brothers who started Off the Waffle one year ago quickly outgrew their original bright-orange house in Whiteaker, and it was hard to keep their 24-hour cart staffed. Now both of those efforts have been shuttered in favor of a new Willamette Street location. Same bright orange paint inside, but with actual tables and a set menu rather than pick-and-choose ingredients. The waffles are slightly smaller—with a smaller price—and the fresh and frozen fruit, cheeses, and other delectables that were formerly fillings are now placed on top of the waffles. The taste is just as good, though. That Belgian pearl sugar caramelized throughout a thick, chewy waffle . . . and those inventive flavor combos make it nearly impossible to choose a favorite flavor. Try The Overachiever, topped with bananas and chocolate chips; The BMB, topped with Havarti cheese, basil, bacon, and maple syrup; or The Habib, with goat cheese, pistachios, and cardamom. The Blue Goat, with goat cheese and fresh blueberries (when in season), is also a favorite. 2540 Willamette St., 541/606-4348, offthewaffle.com
MORNING GLORY CAFÉ
Happy Morning Sandwich
First, a split biscuit, like all of Morning Glory’s baked goods, always vegan. Both halves dressed with a thick, herbed sour cream, fresh organic spinach leaves, and tomato slices. One side holds a vegetarian sausage patty, the other, an herbed tofu patty (or substitute egg and cheese for the tofu)—the biscuit is practically a meal in itself. Then, a generous portion of home-style red potatoes, smothered in Morning Glory’s signature tantric mushroom gravy, and graciously sprinkled with sliced green onions. A delicious, perfectly sized morning meal to leave you satisfied, not stuffed. 450 Willamette St., 541/687-0709
SWEET BASIL THAI
Thai Iced Tea
Walk into Sweet Basil any time of day and you’ll see a number of diners contentedly sipping tall glasses filled with an orange drink. It’s Thai iced tea. A combination of Thai tea leaves, cream, sugar, and spices, it’s strong and sweet, presented with layers of beautiful orange color in the glass—the perfect antidote to a hot day or a spicy Thai dish. 941 Pearl St., 541/284-2944; 1219 Alder St., 541/393-5797, sweetbasileug.com
HORSEHEAD BAR AND GRILL
Gator Burger
Feeling like a burger, but want something more adventurous? Try the alligator burger. Alligator is a lean white meat that looks like chicken but has a richer, dark-meat flavor, like duck. Staff at the Horsehead grind the meat themselves, season it with Cajun spices, and deep fry it. Served on a bun with garlic-lime aioli, lettuce, tomato, and red onion, with fries on the side. 99 W Broadway, 541/683-3154
RED AGAVE
Ahi Ceviche
With Red Agave’s ceviche, you don’t get a bowl of fish and lime wedges; theirs is more like a cold timbale, gently formed into a pillar, with diced and blanched sweet potatoes mingled with diced avocado, topped with small cubes of sashimi-grade ahi. The beautiful presentation creates an effect of a tiled column. Red Agave serves their ceviche in the less-familiar Peruvian style (traditionally containing potatoes and not as much sauce), rather than the Veracruz style (often with tomatoes). Red Agave’s ahi isn’t marinated in the citrus for too long—it’s flash-cured for flavor rather than cooking effect, so you just get a light, fresh citrus taste with a tiny bite of Serrano pepper. Dig in with corn chips for a snack or light meal. 454 Willamette St., 541/683-2206, redagave.net
HOLY DONUTS
Vegan Donuts
Though they’ve been wholesaling from their tucked-away Willamette Street location for two years, family-owned Holy Donuts opened up a cute retail shop with lots of outdoor seating in December 2009. Serving organic donuts free of cholesterol, trans-fats, gluten, eggs, and dairy products, it’s easy to see how these donuts can fit into a healthy diet! Try the “Stormin’ Norman,” a maple bar topped with bacon crumbles, or the chocolate-glazed coconut crème. Holy Donuts doesn’t use a donut press that plops out pre-shaped dough circles into deep-fryer oil. Instead, their batter is hand-formed, cut with care, and drained on paper towels; the vegan dough results in a slightly crunchier batter. If you’re after something less sweet, they also have a small soup, salad, and sandwich menu. 1437 Willamette Alley (entrance on Willamette St.), 541/510-6635
TURTLES BAR & GRILL
Late-Night Menu
It’s late and you need a nosh? Maybe you don’t want to have to pass through a hipster meter to get a restorative bite or sip, and furthermore, you don’t want to have to drive to the ends of Eugene. Try the family-style barbecue menu at Turtles. They keep their kitchen open for their full dinner menu through midnight. It’s not really a secret, as late night tables at Turtles are often full, even on weeknights, but when you get a late-night craving for BBQ Baby Rack Ribs or Chicken Marsala, where else are you going to go? 2690 Willamette St., 541/465-9038
WANDERING GOAT COFFEE COMPANY
Locally Roasted Coffee
Don’t let bad coffee get your goat . . . Wandering Goat has art, excellent coffee, music, and community, and not necessarily in that order. In the heart of Eugene in the hip Whitaker district, Wandering Goat has lived up to its reputation as a truly unique coffee shop. They buy only fair-trade, shade-grown, and organic coffee beans from around the world, and roast each pound of coffee on-site (you can even watch while it’s roasting). Open late, and with vegan fresh-baked goodies, free Wi-Fi, and trains running right by the shop, sleep is so boring. 268 Madison St., 541/344-5161, wanderinggoat.com
THE HUMBLE BEAGLE PUB
Lamb Pizza
The Humble Beagle is an intimate little pub (with beer, wine, and espresso), opened by the daughter of Humble Bagel’s owners and tucked away in the same building, open only in the evenings. The pub’s maroon-and-yellow decor and the bustle of neighborhood diners seeking evening meals give the place a comfortable bistro feel, suitable for families, dinner parties, and couples. Much of the food has a Middle Eastern flair, including the simply named Lamb Pizza, with spiced ground lamb from Cattail Creek Lamb, organically grown spinach and onions, and garlicky Greek yogurt sauce (yogurt by Springfield Creamery). Naturally, the pizza dough is made next door at Humble Bagel. 2435 Hilyard St., 541/484-3062, thehumblebeaglepub.com
LAUGHING PLANET CAFÉ
Che Guevara Burrito
Get your “PND” degree . . . Portable Nutrition Devices, that is. The founder of Laughing Planet Café was a global traveler who loved street food (read: food that was fast, but not fast food), as well as an avid bicyclist. With Laughing Planet, he combined those loves to create grab-and-go burritos that were intended to be perfectly sized to fit in a bicycle’s water bottle holder. Che Guevara has become a hero on the Laughing Planet menu, memorialized in the Che Guevara burrito: brown rice, black beans, plantains, sweet potatoes, spicy barbecue sauce, and pico de gallo. Many people love it as is. Some people love it with Draper Valley natural chicken, or organic tofu or tempeh added. How hippy are you feeling today? 760 Blair Blvd., 541/868-0668, laughingplanetcafe.com
SUSHI STATION
Dragon Sushi Roll
If you know enough about sushi to pick and choose from a revolving conveyor belt of prepared plates, then Sushi Station is the place for you. Try the Dragon Roll. Inside is crab meat, deep-fried shrimp, avocado, and cucumber. On the top of the roll—which really is plated to look like a dragon—is eel, barbecued and warmed to provide a smoky flavor, and fish eggs. If you’re shy of anything uncooked, relax. The Dragon roll has nothing raw in it. Word on the street is that it’s “cravingly delicious.” 199 East 5th Ave., 541/484-1334, eugenesushi.com
OUR DAILY BREAD
Chicken McKenzie
Our Daily Bread is a family-owned restaurant that operates out of a renovated church. The proprietors offer the service and amenities of fine dining but without the oft-accompanying stuffiness. The dining room’s beautiful space is enhanced by a menu offering unique preparations of fresh Northwest ingredients. The Chicken McKenzie is an excellent example: tenderized chicken breast stuffed with locally sourced cranberries and hazelnuts, spinach, and feta, and baked. It’s served with their house wild rice blend and fresh seasonal vegetables, topped with a white wine beurre blanc, and served on a bed of spinach. Doesn’t that sound delish? 88170 Territorial Rd., Veneta, 541/ 935-492, ourdailybreadrestaurant.com
FIELD TO TABLE PRIVATE DINING & CATERING
Spring Lamb French Dip
Field to Table’s menu changes weekly, based on the freshest finds in the farmers market. This time of year, one dish you’re likely to see on their menu is Spring Lamb French Dip. This sandwich is the essence of spring: succulent lamb, fresh green garlic, baby carrots, fresh tender herbs, asparagus—all the fresh flavors that hold the promise of more goodness to come with the warmer weather. Sure, Field to Table’s chefs hang on to some of those over-winter crops, such as onions and green beans, they put up from the previous summer, but this dish is the perfect combination for early spring: warming to ward off the lingering chill and bursting with the flavors of what the sunshine is starting to bring. Lane County Farmers Market, Saturdays through March at 8th & Oak; Saturdays April 3 – Nov. 13 at 8th & Park; Tuesdays, May 4 – Oct. 26, 8th & Oak
NOLI ITALIAN CAFE
Tiramisu
Chef Davide Mulone grew up in a family of restaurateurs in Genoa, on Italy’s Northern coast. Naturally, nothing but the freshest local produce and meats and authentic Italian cheeses will do as he reproduces many of his family’s authentic recipes in Noli’s kitchen. Noli’s tiramisu is the best in town, and maybe in Genoa, too, since he makes it the way his mother taught him. Yes, tiramisu is a rich desert, but it should also be light and fluffy—not overpowered by chocolate or espresso, and not a soggy mess; Mulone’s is neither. Mulone’s ladyfinger cookies are topped with real Mascarpone cheese doused with amaretto liquor. There’s a drizzle of chocolate, and dusting of cocoa, just enough to allow the individual flavors to shine through. 296 E 5th Ave. Suite 201, 541/686-9199, noliitaliancafe.com
ADAM’S SUSTAINABLE TABLE
New York Steak
Chef Adam Bernstein is a staunch supporter of using fresh, local, and organic products in his restaurant kitchens. His New York steaks and filets are no exception: they come from cows supplied by Oregon Natural Beef that are fed using the spent grain produced by Eugene’s Ninkasi Brewery. Bernstein knows his beef comes from small numbers of cows that are humanely raised with plenty of space, on an all-natural antibiotic- and steroid-free diet. The meat of grain-finished cows has improved marbling, and the steaks are dry-aged for 14 days; nearly unheard of in this day and age, when many food producers want to rush to market. With a steak that good to begin with, you don’t need any seasonings besides salt and pepper. Bernstein serves his steak with a fresh vegetable that varies weekly based on what’s in season and available. Bernstein cares more about the thickness than the size of the steak—a steak that is too thin won’t cook properly, so the New York steaks at Adam’s will always be at least an inch thick. 30 E Broadway, 541/344-6948, adamsplacerestaurant.com
FEAST
The Oregon Truffle
Though the menu at Feast focuses on many Oregon foods, the star of the menu would have to be the truffle. During truffle season, the highly prized edible is featured in myriad dishes. The truffle makes its way into truffle compound butter, truffle gremolata, and truffle oil . . . the chefs are not afraid to put truffle on anything. Though their menu changes seasonally, one dish you can always expect to find using the pungent fungi is the potato soufflé with black Oregon truffles and French Gruyère cheese. The owners of Feast were employees of the former restaurant in that space, Cravings, but in a sense, the restaurant is community owned. Cravings’ owner wanted to close the restaurant, but employees made him an offer and a community member donated $10,000 anonymously to keep the business open. Another fan of the restaurant purchased the liquor license for the new owners. The chefs locally source as many Oregon ingredients as possible, including fish from the ocean right outside their door, and lettuce, spinach, and herbs grown in the restaurant’s own garden. 294 Laurel St, Florence, 541/997-3284, eatafeast.com
METROPOL BREAD
The Opera Cookie
The origin of The Opera Cookie really was a cookie served at an opera, nearly 40 years ago. Donna McGuiness and her husband George traveled to Vienna to research pastries and sweets for Metropol, tasting their way through all the famous bakeries. As Donna tells it, the couple had standing-room-only tickets to an opera in Vienna. Thinking they would simply take a seat during the intermission, they happily stood through the first half, but then were denied admission to the seating area to rest their weary legs. They and other SRO ticket holders were herded down to a decidedly non-resplendent basement area, where Donna and George were disappointed to find merely a long wooden table and a lady holding an urn of coffee. But that disappointment vanished when they were served a wonderful chocolate cookie flavored with coffee. Donna and George snooped all around Vienna trying to find this cookie recipe, and though it eluded them, the memory of that flavor did not. Donna tried to recreate that unique chocolate-coffee combo with the really crisp outside and fudgy inside, almost like a brownie, and when she finally did, she called it, what else? The Opera Cookie. Other bakeries have copied it, but if you want the original, head to Metropol. 2538 Willamette St., 541/465-4730
