Eugene - Great local places to EAT & DRINK (Coburg: appointed, home)

[ExoticFish]

Hi Everyone,

I'm going to be visiting Eugene in a month or so and would love to hear your recommendations for good, local & inexpensive places to eat breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also, any great local coffee shops and bars with a low key but nice ambiance?

Thanks so much for taking the time to respond!

[JustPatrick]

Here's a couple of restaurants I enjoyed while living in Eugene:

Newman's Fish Company at 1545 Willamette
Unfortunately this one is only outdoor/to go. I found the fish & chips delicious, however, and the price is right. I ate here often. There's an indoor one on Coburg Road called Newman's Fish Grotto, but it's a little out of the way.

Cornucopia (breakfast/lunch/dinner) 17th & Lincoln
Good neighborhood spot for a beer and a burger. Reviews on Yelp have suggested that this place has declined in service, but I was there a few months ago and had great service. Go figure. Anyway, I like this place.

Hope this helps. Give Yelp.com a try.

[JustPatrick]

Oh, and my favorite coffee/pastry spot was "Sweet Life." Not exactly inexpensive, but tasty.

[Mr Eugenified]

Originally Posted by JustPatrick

Cornucopia (breakfast/lunch/dinner) 17th & Lincoln
Good neighborhood spot for a beer and a burger. Reviews on Yelp have suggested that this place has declined in service, but I was there a few months ago and had great service. Go figure. Anyway, I like this place.

Cornucopia was on my list as one of the best in Eugene but too many instances of bad service finally knocked them down to "never again" status. The most recent case was when I went there for late lunch a couple of weeks ago around 2pm. Walked in, saw the place was half empty, and sat down at a 4 person table, despite having only two people in our group. The waitress came over and insisted that we move to one of the two person tables which were crammed into between the other occupied tables or lined up along the very sunny/hot front window. This is the second time I have had this issue, so it seems this is their firm policy no matter how empty the restaurant may be. This time I said "no thanks" and left.

As for good places, try Jalisco Mexican, Howling Coyote BBQ, or Ta Ra Rin Thai (Full reviews at my website). There are also quite a few smaller places near campus that have tasty college-y food such as Dough Co. (calzones), Sushi Station, and Glenwood's (breakfast and other stuff). Another place that's good for fish n chips or burgers is Steelhead. Plus they brew their own beer. 5th Street Market also has a nice upscaley food court with great simple Italian, fish, and some other nice choices.

[Acuda]

I loved Cornucopia when I lived there. They always had a small tasty selection of good beers to choose from. Others that I gorged myself on when I went back there this last summer:

Papa's Soul Kitchen (best BBQ in Eugene. More Deep South via Louisiana than Texan...which is good, because places not located in Texas seem to mess up brisket IMO)

Tio Pepe's, Beppe's & Gianni's, Northbank for the view and beer of course, Pizza Research Institute (?), Keystone Cafe, Studio One, and of course there is the myriad of bars that can suffice if you just want to drink beer and have pub grub.

[haggardhouseelf]

Originally Posted by JustPatrick

Oh, and my favorite coffee/pastry spot was "Sweet Life." Not exactly inexpensive, but tasty.

Finally went there the other day! Good organic fair trade coffee with organic milk!!! I'm so sick of places like starbuck's trying to sell organic fair trade coffee and then they ruin it with nasty milk... Ugh! They brewed it just right, too. No bitter burned taste... it was earthy and yum and just the perfect cup of drip...

So we did Laughing Planet Burrito's (YUM!) and then walked across the street to Sweet Life for coffee. It was like the perfect fall lunch date. I can't wait to do it again. Got the Che Guevara burrito... mmmm mmmm mmmm....

[haggardhouseelf]

Originally Posted by JustPatrick

Here's a couple of restaurants I enjoyed while living in Eugene:

Newman's Fish Company at 1545 Willamette
Unfortunately this one is only outdoor/to go. I found the fish & chips delicious, however, and the price is right. I ate here often. There's an indoor one on Coburg Road called Newman's Fish Grotto, but it's a little out of the way.

The Newman's on Coburg - the grotto - is not as good as the older one on Willamette. Their portions are smaller, too, we've noticed. If you're going to go to Newman's go to the Willamette one. But honestly, I don't care for Newman's much and I LOVE fish and seafood places. I feel like it's a lot of hype there, and overpriced for what it is. We go quite a bit because my husband likes it... but lately we've been a bit disappointed and are hoping to find a different place. We've also just been going inside to buy the fish or shrimp or whatever ourselves and taking it home to cook ourselves. We like to go in and see what's fresh that day.

[InLimbo520]

Our favs, in no particular order:

Restaurants:
The Vintage - Near WOW Hall. Great food!
Turtles - on Willamette in S Eugene
McMenamin's North Bank - for the river and beer, not the food and service
Ron's Island Grill - South Eugene, though i think theres other locations

Bars:
Sam Bonds Garage - Whiteaker neighborhood, they have good food too from what i hear.
Jackalope Lounge - 4th and Willamette, by the Amtrak Station. Nice low key bar, great bar food (get the onion rings)
Luckeys Bar - downtown on Olive (& Broadway)
Max's - On 13th St, between campus and downtown. Supposedly the bar that Moe's Tavern on the Simpson's is modeled after.

All are solid choices.

[sarahkate_m]

Good, local, inexpensive: Jiffy Mart on Hilyard. Friendly, small, low beer opening fee (don't know the cool name for it). Wine tasting. Sandwiches. Game on the telly on game day. Very tiny venue with outdoor dining optional. Jiffy Market - Google Maps

A bit more upscale with fancy bar, hard to find, Annies on 29th & off of Willamette on the edge of the Market of Choice Center... 49 W 29th Ave Annie's Bar & Grill - Google Maps

[haggardhouseelf]

Ate at Toshi's Ramen the other day with the hubby for lunch. It was one of those really cold days - below 30's... very nippy! I got the miso broth and it was just the thing to warm me up on a chilly day. The people that run the place were really nice, too. I also got some green tea and it was very good, too... not bitter like I've had at other places. I think their noodles are homemade. The gyoza was amazing!! If you go, definitely try the gyoza...