What To Eat If You Move To Eugene
A quick guide to delightful things to eat in Eugene.
On behalf of of the Moving Fellows team, we’d like to welcome you to Eugene.
Outside it looks like this:
You probably Feel like this:
Before you pull out the old umbrella and rubber boots, we ask that you take a deep breath of pacific northwest air. This is a spunky, fresh, rather moist, sometimes dank, green place that sits at the southern end of the Willamette valley. We are a college town. Track city. We are a thriving community that subsists in and around the confluence of the Willamette and Mckenzie rivers. They don’t call Eugene the “Emerald City” for nothing.
If you ask any Eugenian to list their top 5, this one tends to be right there. This restaurant, like the name implies involves bier (german for beer). You can do the hummus plate, choose the beer cheese soup, or eat their award winning burger. The word on the street is, this place hosts the largest selection of import beers in the northwest. So, be an Oregonian and get yourself a pint of BIER!
My favorite: Gyro Sandwich, and Citrus Mistress (Hop Valley) on tap.
This goofy named, funky feelin’, abstract menu carrying, “bus your own table”, “vegan this, veggie that” restaurant is a ‘hungry hippie’ surprise. Immerse yourself in a film of liveliness; dreadlocked children, toy dinosaurs, and bohemian color scheme. Revolutionize your palate with the “Che Guevara” ingredients of smart black beans, plantains, sweet potatoes, organic brown rice, pico de gallo, and spicy bbq sauce. Voice your opinion in community-building forum, discover “Holy Mole”, and realize ambient human laughter. Emancipate yourself from dull-food slavery; none but Laughing Planet Cafe can free your taste.
My favorite: Bollywood Bowl. A bowl of Grilled Draper Valley naatural chicken breast, fresh veggie medley, spinach and chickpeas on a bed of brown rice served with Southern Indian spicy coconut sauce.
Located on 2690 Willamette St Eugene, OR 97405 (only location). If you are from the South Eugene area, this is a great place to bring the fam. Dine with your neighbors, and listen to upbeat room filling sound in “The Loft”. Most of all though, the salad choice is amazing. She is uniquely dressed, sometimes layered with onion and sesame, but always well-proportioned, beet driven, with garbanzo’s to go along. Turtles just ‘salads’ differently.
My favorite: The Blackened Salmon Salad
Located at 2435 Hilyard St., this Eugene landmark is the center of civilian livelihood. There is a general weekday ‘ebb and flow’ to the place, and it goes a little like this: Lunchtime ushers in middle schoolers from Roosevelt MS, Axemen come for an hearty/affordable high school snack, and Ducks to their early morning college cram and caffeine fix. In the back room, older men read/debate The New York Times, and the working class prepare for the day with a plate of “Egg on Bagel”. Even dogs come to get in on the bagel action. Interesting enough, at 5pm, the Humble Bagel Co. is transformed into the Humble Beagle Pub.
My favorite: Toasted cheese bagel with butter, marionberry muffin, and an Odwalla beverage.
Located near Creswell, twenty-five minutes from South Eugene, is a beautiful 1,033 acre European-style estate, brimming with fruit, vegetable, floral gardens, and a 470 acre organic vineyard. Charm your date or longtime spouse with a countryside drive, a home-grown wine taste, and chowder bowl for lunch. When it comes to delicacy and elegance this restaurant is pure excellence. Treat yourselves like Kings! Deliver yourself from mediocrity. Introduce your loved-one(s) to fineness, and experience nourishment and cuisine that is a natural reflection of Oregon’s seasonal ‘comings and goings’. Lastly, savor the “catch of the day” from fisherman Jacob, artisan cheese from Mariano the cheesemaker, and lamb from rancher John. If you get a chance, holler at our buddy Joe King at the wine tasting table. Since we referred you, he’s obligated to crack two and a half jokes, and possibly, a tour of the wine cellar. : )
My Favorite: Wild Chinook Salmon with garlic sausage, potato gnocchi, buttered leeks, and aged balsamic paired with King Estate Signature Pinot Noir.
Voted the “Best Hangover Restaurant” by the Eugene Weekly, the Brail’s Restaurant does what it can to keep Eugenians going strong. We, movingfellows, love it there too! Consistency, punctual service, and their carbo-loaded energy boosting hash browns make the Brail’s Restaurant our routine. Joy, the owner, is a ‘force of nature’, who keeps the joint real spunky, and her crew, on-track and fastidious. The mixture of a ‘Real American Dining’ and Korean influence is peculiar, but this is also an aspect that makes Brail’s Restaurant: a breath of fresh air.
My favorite: “The Hangover Breakfast”
Are you a college student? Is it 1:00am? Whatever time it is, whatever your state of mind, this is one of those staple “I’m so hungry...I could eat a mexican hippo” type restaurants. Burrito Boy Taqueria’s are specifically located to fix your hunger needs and/or ‘drunchie’ desires. The employee’s are genuinely nice, the hot sauce is auténtico, and the price is right. If you are famished, but have to run, get an order to go. There are multiple locations in Eugene, OR. Note: We’ve met the actual “Burrito Boy” and he’s the coolest kid in school.
My favorite: The Wet Carne Asada Burrito. There breakfast sausage burrito is bomb too.
The chain, has Oregon written all over it. It’s made up of 65 brewpubs, microbreweries, music venues, theatre pubs, and historic hotels. The McMenamins Co. is also one of the top 50 largest craft breweries in the United States. McMenamins features NW pub fare and handcrafted ales and wines. There are three locations in Eugene, all of them with something slightly different to offer. McMenamins North Bank is a good place to bring a date or spouse, and watch the sunset riverside. Mcmenamins High St Brewery and Cafe is good for a cozy fire, and meeting your business associates. Mcmenamins 19th St Cafe is perfect for college students, billiard play, soccer moms, and brunch before the big game.
My favorite: Anything that includes their signature brew “Ruby Ale” and fries. The Tater tots are bomb too!
- Other Notables: Oregon Electric Station, Ron’s Island Grill, The Jail, Dough Co., Newman's Fish