visits

what with my mom in town, we have done much dining out here in lovely scenic eugene. while i initially feared that i was moving to a culinary wasteland, i've been quite pleased with the options. no, it's nowhere near the bounty that chicago has to offer, but it's much better than ann arbor, that's for sure. so far, we've eaten at, in no particular order:

Marche, located in 5th Street Public Market. this is probably the fanciest restaurant in town. it is french-inspired cuisine using local seasonal ingredients. we had fantastic oysters from Hook Bay here. they were buttery and sweet and perfect. we thankfully got a dozen (original plan: 1/2 dozen). i was going to explain the other dishes, but thoughts of the oysters has completely shoved out my memory of anything else we ordered. needless to say, it's pricey but quite good.

Cafe Soriah, up on 13th street, is a sort of middle eastern-style restaurant. we split "paella" which we found to be, in reality, a tasty boulliabase, and scallops which tasted too much like cream for me. also some decent appetizers. it's one of those places that's heralded as the ABSOLUTE BEST and it was good, but i wouldn't rush back. oh, the dessert, a chocolate mousse cake with a layer of whip cream and topped with ganache was rather divine.

Pizza Research Institute from which we ordered the vegan chef special pizza, complete with slices of corn (cob included) and peaches. we were weary of the tofu "cheese" going into it, but it was so tasty and garlicky that i think i prefer it to cheese. and you can't get more eugene than PRI. it's such a good example of the ethos of this town.

the sushi place on 13th which is a quick cheap place for lunch. 'nuf said.

Red Agave, near downtown, with latin american-inspired menu with local seasonal ingredients. and pint glass-sized margaritas. not for the weak of heart.

Cafe Xenon tasty for brunch. quite enjoyed the pate, which was more of a pot de chicken livers. would've been good slathered on a hunk of challah. yum!

okay. enough for now. must get back to work.