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KATIE BECKMAN
PU
Thai Time
News and mini-reviews of the local food scene.
Mekala’s
1769 Franklin Blvd. 342-4872
I hadn’t been to Mekala’s since they
moved to their Franklin Boulevard loca-
tion, but a balmy summer evening makes
Thai food most appropriate. Hand painted
umbrel-luminaries in every hue suspended
above our heads drizzle an ambient glow,
making even the most sunburned or pasty-
faced person look their most alluring.
The hot night inspired snacking: the
vegetarian spring rolls with a slightly spicy
plum sauce, pad Thai with generous
amounts of chicken and the decep-
tively spicy massaman with
rice were highly palatable
and not unreasonably
priced. While these dishes
are fairly traditional Thai,
and were not fabulously
presented, the taste and
quality were definitely a
cut above Eugene’s stan-
dard. The liquid refresh-
ment ranged from Rogue’s
Dead Guy Ale (my preference)
to insanely imaginative mixed
drinks. All will quench even the
most Thai-tormented tongue. It seems
as though Mekala’s, with their spacious
seating and attentive servers, has made a
home away from 5th Street Public Market
and will continue to be a Eugene institution.
Restaurant: 11 am-10 pm M-Sa, noon-9
pm Su. Lounge: 5-11 pm M-Th, 4 pm-mid-
night F & Sa, 4-9 pm Su. $$. — Erin Lusk
Of course, even if this variety of banana
is doomed, another variety may be found.
But finding this variety will take more time
with bananas than with a fertile crop like
tomatoes or corn: It takes about three years
to get fruit out of a new mutation of
bananas. Genetic manipulation could be the
answer with the development of fungus-
resistant genes. Or we may have to resort to
artificial flavoring for those nut muffins
and cream pies, and supplements for the
potassium.
SA PP
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760 Blair Ave Eugene, OR • 484-CAKE • 7am - 5pm daily
Novella Café
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Granitas
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Pastries
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A percentage of all sales is shared with the Eugene Public Library
100 W. 10th Ave. Located inside the Eugene Public Library Entry Garden.
Open Daily • Weekdays Open at 7AM • 683-7070
There’s bad
news going
’round these
days for the
humble
banana.
We can survive in a world without
bananas, survive and even thrive, but it
really isn’t just about bananas. Each time
we buy a conveniently seedless watermel-
on, or a cheap fresh ear of GMO corn, we
are narrowing the options for genetic diver-
sity. — Marina Taylor
Banana Blowout
Leftovers:
There’s bad news going ’round these
days for the humble banana. You may have
heard the dire predictions: extinction of the
popular commercial variety of the fruit.
Robert Alison, a Canadian biologist, has
written the latest chapter, via the news site
www.commondreams.org. It’s not an opti-
mistic picture he paints: the banana is a fruit
without seeds or pollen, identically cloned
by grafting and basically without any resist-
ance to most diseases. Which has been fine
for the past fifty years when it was intro-
duced after the last variety succumbed to
disease. However, now a stubborn fungus
has decimated 50 to 70 percent of banana
yields, and reduced the trees producing life
span from 30 years to about two years.
The Pavilion, the latest commercial
development on Coburg Road, is well
under construction, and should be ready for
move-in by mid September. The businesses
should be up and running by the end of the
year. It will house, at this point, a Baja
Fresh Mexican food restaurant, another
Ben & Jerry’s scoop spot, owned by Gary
Bertelsen (who runs the one by campus),
Early Rise Coffee and Tea Co., a phone
shop and a bank. The breakdown sounds a
lot like Oakway Center, interestingly
enough, and maybe it will work as well.
Apology to Beverly, owner and producer
of the delicious Upper Crust pies at the
Saturday Market, who was misnamed in the
7/17 morsels column. — Marina Taylor ew
Fisherman’s Market
Fantastic Seafood Entrées
Entrées change weekly.
Fresh U-Bake Sea food
Fresh Crab Dinner $11.95
Good Inexpensive Wine
Variety of Microbrews
Orders to go: 484-CRAB
7th & Blair • Open 11-8 Mon.-Sun.
JULY 31, 2003 27