Food and beer recommendations in Eugene and PDX

Discussion in 'Northwest' started by eatabagofbooger, Jun 9, 2015.

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  1. eatabagofbooger

    eatabagofbooger Initiate (0) Mar 27, 2009 Oregon

    My folks are coming to town next week and I want to take them to some new places that have both good food and good beer, as they are huge fans of both. I live in Portland and they've visited me here numerous times, so we've hit most of the standards (Deschutes, Grain and Gristle, Breakside, etc). Does anyone have any recommendations for places that are either under the radar or new that I might not know about? Unless I'm entertaining guests, I don't eat out much, so while I'm pretty familiar with the beer centric places, even well established food centric places that also have great beer may have escaped my attention.

    We also plan to spend a day in Eugene and I'd like some recommendations there as well, as I haven't spent much time there. I've got some ideas based on beer alone (Oakshire, 16 Tons, Bier Stein), but have no idea which places would be good for food as well. Also feel free to suggest good food places that have no beer, but are near good beer spots.

    We generally prefer semi-healthy casual dining, but any and all suggestions would be most welcome.
     
    #1 eatabagofbooger, Jun 9, 2015
  2. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    In terms of Eugene, that pretty much means anyplace in town. The downtown area is so small, that pretty much anyplace you decide to go to, isn't going to be more than 5 or 10 minutes from a good beer spot.

    If you're set on going to some place that has both a good tap list and decent food, then Bier Stein and the Tap and Growler would be your best bet, IMHO. Hop Valley's food isn't half bad either, and the appetizers I've been able to get at Sam Bond's (not the garage) were surprisingly good as well. IMHO, none of these places are going to compare favorably to what you're able to get at Deschute or the G&G. This isn't Portland, and people's expectations are different here (again, in my experience).

    If you want to go someplace interesting, that has really good food, and otherwise fills you're criteria requiriements, try Isakaya Meiji Company. They're located within 5 minutes of Ninkasi, Oakshire, Sam Bond's garage, Tap and Growler and Hop Valley, and are within 10 minutes of the Bier Stein and 16 tons. There are plenty of other good places to eat in Eugene as well (Marche, Papa's Soul Food, Beppe and Giannis, etc.), but I wouldn't describe any of those places as having "semi-healthy casual dining."

    Good luck.
     
    #2 John_M, Jun 9, 2015
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  3. maltmaster420

    maltmaster420 Initiate (0) Aug 17, 2005 Oregon

    • The Woodsman - I highly recommend the king crab po boy or bacon wrapped meatloaf.
    • Tabor Tavern - the mac and cheese is awesome, and the burger with bacon jam is delicious.
    • Old Salt Marketplace - If you like G&G you'll like Old Salt. I've had good luck just ordering the "butchers choice", but all the food is solid.
    I had a few other places in mind when I started posting this, but I had to take a phone call and lost my train of thought. :flushed:

    Edit to add a few more I remembered:
    • The Commons - Now that they have tables it's a great place to eat a cheese and/or meat board and drink some stellar beer.
    • Trifecta - I've never eaten off the dinner menu, but if the quality of the bar snacks is any indication it should be well worth the money.
    • Stammstisch or Prost - they're both a great change of pace from the normal ale-centric tap lists around town, and the food is awesome. I prefer Stammstisch if only because it's still under the radar and nowhere near as busy as Prost usually is.
     
    #3 maltmaster420, Jun 10, 2015
    Last edited: Jun 10, 2015
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  4. JouerAvecLeFeu

    JouerAvecLeFeu Pooh-Bah (2,032) Apr 17, 2015 Washington
    Pooh-Bah

    I'd add Higgins, Lardo and Raven & Rose to the above list. They all have great beer - although Lardo isn't exactly 'heathy'.
     
    #4 JouerAvecLeFeu, Jun 10, 2015
  5. TaborTime

    TaborTime Pundit (928) Dec 10, 2013 Oregon
    Trader

    Bar Avignon.

    Solid tap list.....Heater Allen Pils. Old Rasputin (Nitro), Urban Farmhouse, along with an upper tier Oregon IPA always tend to be on-tap. Small menu that changes regularly...literally every dish I've had from them has been, at the very least, above average to exceptional.
     
    #5 TaborTime, Jun 10, 2015
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  6. RedMedicine

    RedMedicine Initiate (0) Jun 3, 2005 Oregon

    I'd avoid Lardo. I think the quality of their food has fallen off a cliff.

    Echo Bar Avignon and Woodsman Tavern.

    I also like Farm Cafe and Laurelhurst Market in SE Portland.
     
    #6 RedMedicine, Jun 10, 2015
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  7. eatabagofbooger

    eatabagofbooger Initiate (0) Mar 27, 2009 Oregon

    Thanks for all the great recommendations, guys! I was not familiar with the vast majority of these places (Stammtisch is about the only one I did know about, and it's definitely on our hit list for the week).

    Particular thanks to @John_M for a great primer to Eugene. You seem to be apologizing for your town, but based on the menus, some of those places sound fantastic, especially Isakaya Meiji Company.
     
    #7 eatabagofbooger, Jun 11, 2015
  8. guajolote

    guajolote Maven (1,359) Sep 12, 2008 Oregon

    I'd second (third?) Farm Cafe and The Woodsman. I had Tank Slapper at Farm last weekend. They tend to have lesser-seen Upright stuff frequently, at least in my experience. If you're looking to go vegetarian/vegan, Harvest at the Bindery is a good, new spot with a decent beer list.
     
    #8 guajolote, Jun 11, 2015
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  9. John_M

    John_M Grand High Pooh-Bah (6,849) Oct 25, 2003 Washington
    Mod Team Society Pooh-Bah Trader

    Agreed, and I like it just fine here (in Eugene). However, I'll be the first to acknowledge that the bar is raised a bit higher in PDX than it is down here. Still, I'm fairly certain you'll have fine time during your visit.

    Cheers!
     
    #9 John_M, Jun 11, 2015
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  10. chikunwing

    chikunwing Initiate (0) Jul 18, 2013 Oregon

    Just wanted to thank you for making this a part of my world. I had the bacon wrapped meatloaf on Monday and it was amazing! Nice taplist as well, and it was oyster hour! Great recommendation.
     
    #10 chikunwing, Jun 24, 2015
  11. jbakajust1

    jbakajust1 Pooh-Bah (2,552) Aug 25, 2009 Oregon
    Pooh-Bah

    I'll throw in a few more for Eugene. NorthWest Burgers has some awesome burgers and a fairly decent local taplist (there are 3 other taplists to choose from in the market area as well). They are located in the 5th Street Market which is maybe 20 yards from T&G and Steelhead (not worth the stop really). Belly is also across the street which supposedly has great eats (not sure about the beer selection though). TacoVore is another I will add, great tacos, decent taplist, awesome Tequilla selection, and you can see Ninkasi from the parking lot. The other option for Eugene is to hit Ninkasi and Oakshire and eat from the food trucks while there. The food trucks in our area do a great job of providing some killer food. All the places @John_M mentioned are good too, but I've never eaten at Isakaya or Marche.
     
    #11 jbakajust1, Jun 24, 2015
  12. VictorsValiant

    VictorsValiant Pundit (775) Oct 14, 2014 Oregon

    I'll second everything you said, especially Papa's Soul Food. They don't have the best craft options on tap but damn is the food tasty.
     
    #12 VictorsValiant, Jun 25, 2015
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