Park St. Cafe: The Best Lunch Spot You've Never Heard About Park St. Cafe 776 W. Park St. - 485-2089 Fare: Mediterranean Entrees under $7 Reviewed by Matthew Betz & Emily Philbin Park St. Cafe is a European style cafe serving up a selec tive menu of homemade Mediterranean dishes, hand selected by the owner and providing diners a sample of Mediterranean cuisine. The < ecor follows suit—tall ceilings and brick walls decorated w ih Greek art and giving the cafe a casual but classy feel. Large windows provide atrium-like lighting and enjoyable views of the downtown fountains. The cafe is open 9am-3pm for breakfast and lunch. Lunch options consist of fresh Greek, chef, spinach and other salads ranging in price from $5.95-$7.95, as well as an ample selec tion of homemade sandwiches made with a variety of ingre dients. The highlight of lunch is the specials—five standard daily specials and one special that varies each day, all priced at $6.95 and accompanied by your choice of soup or salad. As we entered the cafe, a friendly man with an indetermi nate accent greeted us. Once seated, we were encouraged to try one of the popular lunch specials, including a vegetarian stir-fry and meatless lasagna. After careful consideration we decided on the pineapple chicken and side salad and the meat lasagna and chicken rice soup. Before we even had time to start a conversation, lunch was served. The pineapple chicken was served on top of sweet rice with sliced red peppers, chucks of pineapple and large pieces of chicken in a sweet and sour pineapple sauce. Accompany ing the entree was a crisp salad with fresh tomatoes, zesty Italian dressing and served with classic Mediterranean flat bread. The portions were considerable - perfect for a hearty lunch and thoroughly satisfying. The meat lasagna had thinner egg noodles than I’d ever had before but they were no less delicious. The sauce was a thick and hearty, well-seasoned base for the large chunks of tender beef, spinach and zucchini all topped with fresh parmesan. The portion was more than I could handle and the combination of homemade quality and size made it a steal at $6.95. The chicken rice soup made an excellent com panion to the lasagna. Creamy and well seasoned with large chunks of chicken, it was perfect for dip ping the soft, chewy bread that accompa nied it. The overall experi ence was excellent. Park St. is a great little spot to catch a lunch or breakfast while downtown. Every thing tasted truly homemade and this is a restaurant we strongly recommend. If you’d like to break out from the typical lunch spots in Eugene, head down to Park St. Cafe. Ask for the lunch special and come away with a full stomach, an unhurt wallet and the appre ciation of your lunch companions. 018584 Serving our patrons for 20 years Fine Italian & Northwest Cuisine Live Jazz Nightly (no cover, Monday - Thursday) Kitchen open 'til bar closes jofeds.com Lunch Tues-Thurs • 259 E. 5th Ave. • 345-8488 • Dinner 7 Nights Greatful Bread • j ■ ■■■ FEATURES A FULL-SERVICE ESPRESSO BAR, SPECIALTY COFFEE DRINKS, FRESH-BAKED BREADS, ROLLS, PASTRIES, RUFFINS, COOKIES AND CAKES. ALSO SERVES SOUPS, DELI SANDWICHES, GOURMET SALADS, ITALIAN SODAS AND FOUNTAIN DRINKS. CUSTOM CAKES AVAILABLE. MONDAY-FRIDAY 7AM-4PM Erb Memorial Union • Main Level GREATFUL BREAD ACCEPTS UO CAMPUS CASH