Image provided by: University of Oregon Libraries; Eugene, OR
About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (Oct. 21, 2004)
BEST OF EUGENE 2004 Who needs it? Do you deserve to win? Owner Mike Opdyke talks about buying the restaurant four years ago. Before that, he “did body work and painted cars.” He has carried on the Studio One tradition of great French toast and toppings and as one loyal customer says, “He does wonderful things with eggs.” Worst kitchen disaster? During an 11 am weekend rush, a chance remark ticked off the cook who knocked six gallons of French toast egg batter on the kitchen floor. Scrambled eggs, any- one? BEST TAKEOUT: CHAO PRA YA (See Best of the Best p. 16) 2nd: Tasty Thai 3rd: Kowloon’s BEST PLACE TO FIND A ONE-NIGHT STAND: JOHN HENRY’S 2nd: The Jungle 3rd: Church EW talked to Keith Martin, booking agent/ promoter Why do you think you won? Variety … dif- ferent strokes for different folks. If you were an animal or vegetable, what would you be and why? An albino rhinoceros … for obvious reasons. BEST PLACE TO SHOOT POOL: HIGHLANDS 2nd: Luckey’s 3rd: Good Times Up in the Eugene hills on 40th and Donald, wardrobe? Shoes from the 1970s. ters? Armen goes back about a decade to talk about when a water pipe broke on a Friday or Saturday night, of course. Fortunately it was late enough that they could shut down the water supply. Better to lose the water than the wonderful wine at Ambrosia. BEST SINGLES BAR: INDIGO DISTRICT AND DIABLO’S 2nd: Horse Head 3rd: John Henry’s EW talked to Troy Slavkovsky, manager of Diablo’s: Why does Diablo’s deserve to win? The diversity of the bar lends itself for people going out to meet people — there isn’t any particular kind or age here. Where was your first kiss and with whom? The kiss I remember was in the summer when the movie Every Which Way But Loose came out. It was with Vicki Ward and it was my first tongue kiss. I saw that movie nine times. It was a big summer. EW talked to Justin Gibbs, manager of Indigo District: Why does the Indigo District deserve to win? I think that it’s because we have a good environment for dates and we attract a lot of quality people. When was your first kiss and with whom? My first kiss was at summer camp in sixth grade with a high school girl. I was excited. BEST BREWPUB: HIGH ST. BREWERY & CAFÉ 2nd: Steelhead Brewery EW talked to Rob, the manager: Do you think you really deserve to win? Honestly, yes. First off, the brewer rocks. He’s the best in our company, even. He’s won the Barley Cup twice. His extractions are phenomenal. His passion for brewing is high- BEST BUFFET: CHINA SUN 2nd: Taste of India 3rd: Hometown Buffet EW talked to Cong Lin, the owner: Why do you think that China Sun deserves to win? It is popular because the food is good — the customers say that it is deli- cious. And there is no MSG. Worst kitchen disaster? Never a disaster. BEST GENTLEMAN’S CLUB: SILVER DOLLAR BEST PLACE FOR A 1st DATE: SORIAH 2nd: The Hot Body Club 3rd: Alaskan Bush Company EW talked to Damon, the owner: Do you think you really deserve to win? Well, of course. It’s the best club in town. It always has been and it always will be. We have the best entertainers. We have the friendliest staff. It’s like Cheers meets Hooters. Worst kitchen disaster? Just the fact that we have one. We only have a kitchen ‘cause we have to, because we have alcohol. Any incidents that jump into your head? The occasional time where the wife will come storming in and grab the man from the club. (See Best of the Best p. 16) 2nd: Bijou 3rd: Ambrosia BEST CHEAP EATS: BURRITO BOY (See Best of the Best p. 16) 2nd: Glenwood 3rd: Burrito Amigo BEST CORVALLIS RESTAURANT WE WISH WERE IN EUGENE: NEARLY NORMALS BEST PLACE TO SHAKE YOUR BOOTY: THE JUNGLE 2nd: John Henry’s 3rd: Wow Hall This ain’t Portland but apparently there is actually a place to “shake your booty” here in Eugene. With cages to grind in, and speakers at perfect ear drum-popping height, who’s to disagree? It’s the closest thing we’ve got to a club, and the most free pole dances in town. So lap it up kids and shake ‘er down. Let’s get this party started! BEST PLACE FOR LADIES NIGHT OUT: LUCKEY’S In the cage at The Jungle BEST PLACE TO SHAKE YOUR BOOTY Highlands is a bar to relax in. It has plenty of pool tables, and its jukebox is stocked with alternative music selections. This is a good place to mellow out before the party or just take it slow with a date. Highlands has cozy couches, standard bar food, and a nice selec- tion of beers on tap. Don’t expect the place to get wild; it seldom hosts live music and it doesn’t draw the standard drunken college-age crowd. BEST WINE LIST: AMBROSIA 2nd: Broadway Market 3rd: Marché When asked if his wine list deserves to win, owner Armen Kevrekian puts it back on us. Our readers picked Ambrosia, he says, adding that Wine Spectator has selected his list for the last 17 years. The Spectator looks for wine lists that blend with the cui- sine. The editors are also concerned about the breadth of the list. Any kitchen disas- er than any brewer in town, and I know ‘em all. What’s one of the worst incident stories you have there? A customer took off his hat, and there was a chameleon just sitting on his head. He’d been sitting at the bar for a couple of hours. He knew it was there, but we didn’t. BEST HAPPY HOUR: CORNUCOPIA (See Best of the Best p. 17) 2nd: Diablo’s 3rd: Monroe Street Café BEST GAY AND LESBIAN FRIENDLY BAR: NEIGHBORS 2nd: Lucky Noodle 3rd: Sam Bond’s EW talked to Cindy Hill, the owner Why does Neighbors deserve to win? We are the only gay and lesbian bar there is [in town], but we are also open to everyone in the area — there are people who are 60 and 70 years old to college students here. It’s a versatile bar. What is the oldest item in your TODD COOPER 2nd: Intaba’s 3rd: American Dream Pizza EW talked to Barb, the owner: Do you think you really deserve to win this award? Of course! I think we’ve always had a strong connection with Eugene and Corvallis. We’ve been in business almost 25 years and I think we’ve provided a real- ly unique environment for people to eat in and serve really good home-cooked meals. We just cook good food in a really good atmosphere. We grow and change but still serve great food. It’s really an honor to be picked, especially because we started out at the Saturday Market in Eugene. Worst kitchen disaster? Well, hmmm. We’ve had the dishwasher flood. That’s always a dis- aster. A few months ago the electricity went out when the restaurant was packed. Once someone put the pound cake batter in the mustard container. It was yellow and they weren’t paying attention and we were serving it as mustard. 2nd: Diablo’s 3rd: John Henry’s So Pabst may not be the dankest beer on the market, but if you go to Luckey’s on Tuesday night, it’s raining Pabst and it feels like Christmas. (Well maybe not quite like Christmas, because you don’t have to unwrap the cup and it’s a little more foamy, but you know what I mean.) The ladies of Eugene have proclaimed Luckey’s as the best place for “ladies night out,” and for 25 cents a cup on Tuesdays, it would be hard to find anyone who would disagree. So now that the women have spoken, you know where we’ll be. BEST AFTER HOURS: JO FEDERIGO’S 2nd: Pita Pit 3rd: Lava Lounge EW talked to Jerome, the owner: Do you think you really deserve to win? Absolutely. We’ve been here for 23 years with live music for all those years. I don’t know, just dedication to what we do here. The smoking ban has hurt the bar busi- ness, but we’re still plugging away. And there’s the table-top art. It’s fun, butcher paper and crayons. We display the cus- tomers’ art. What’s your worst kitchen disaster? Oh gosh, the worst that happens is when the exhaust hood shuts down, it gets like 130 degrees and smoky in there. OCTOBER 21, 2004 27
