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About Eugene weekly. (Eugene, Oregon) 1993-current | View Entire Issue (July 21, 2005)
CHOW! SUMMER 2005 Where’s the Beef ? THE BATTLE OF THE BURGER AND BREW The Original Nice Shell At Turtle’s on 28th and Willamette, 6th Street Bar and Grill has been a Eugene institution for more than 30 years. ambiance rules. Though the vaguely Every Tuesday night, savvy locals spill Southwestern décor is light and open, with into the narrow bar area, dominated by UO the tables relatively close together, the place seems to glow with warmth. A beau- football memorabilia, to lay down a clean tiful, Koa wood bar dominates the back of six dollars and walk away content. the restaurant and is curved to aid conver- The bar and restaurant areas are separate sation, adding to the intimate atmosphere. and distinct. The bar entrance commands the In a place like this, everything tastes better, street, offering an immediate, unobstructed even a no-frills cheeseburger. For $7 on a view of the entire inside. The restaurant by Monday night, that’s exactly what you get comparison is surprisingly elegant and understated. The décor is all blacks and crim- — along with some shoestring fries and a sons, dimly lit with a gothic-modern feel that beer, of course. The burger is a behemoth looks deceptively expensive. All very nice, on a sesame seed bun, lettuce, tomato, except that in the summer the place is kept pickles on the side, all in a foil-lined bas- meat-locker cold. Despite the differences in ket. Very retro-American. The meat wasn’t atmosphere, the two areas share an identical as seasoned as I would have liked, but menu which, at a glance, seems like pretty some would argue it’s better standard extended-item sports bar fare. If to leave salting to the cus- you’re going for the burger and brew, stick to tomer anyway. the bar side — it just feels right. For the discriminating Only one burger is offered for the faux burger devotee, the special on Tuesday, the aptly-named Boca makes a welcome "6th Street Burger." A note for vegetari- appearance alongside the ans (if you bothered reading past the familiar Gardenburger on headline of this article): 6th Street offers Turtle’s menu. But just a Gardenburger for the same price, a when you thought it was refreshing change from the perplexing safe to swap out, get ready up-charge "penalty" many establish- to make a 50 cent offering to the offended beef gods. ments impose for this switch. No matter, though: Even if The 6th Street Burger is actually multiple burgers in one, starting with an impressive you’re in it just for the toppings list that can be scaled back one item brew side of the equation, at a time. With the works, you’ll get bacon, $2 pints all day long on grilled onions and mushrooms, cheddar, swiss and guacamole, as well as lettuce, tomato and mayo. This comes with a side of fries and a choice of any beer on the menu. 6th Street has about 18 beers on tap, with another 16 in bot- tles. Aside from an exceptionally hard strip of bacon, the burger was good, with some truly tasty guacamole giving it a Tex-mex flare. All in all, you can’t go wrong paying six BAR BAR A CO bucks for a spread like this. OPE R By Dave Constantin Mondays should put it all in perspective. The Turtle’s menu doesn’t end at burgers, of course, and that wonderful ambiance is poised to get even better in the near future. I spoke with owner Kate Bonéy briefly about her plans to expand the restaurant. "There used to be a frame shop next door," she said. "We’ll be renovating that, along with our kitchen. We hope to have it done by the end of October." Bonéy says she envisions a piano bar in that space with live music every night of the week and a reprieve from the under-age crowd. But she is also careful to explain, "I’m not going for a hoity-toity kind of place, I’m going for what I think the neighborhood wants." Judging by Bonéy’s continued suc- cess and the turnout when I visited, it’s clear the neighborhood wants more of whatever Turtle’s has to offer. restaurant’s four years in existence. Relics of the old business remain as market dis- play cases, housing various sandwiches, bottled soft drinks, bakery items and an impressive collection of bottled beers. It’s all about the menu though: expansive, unpretentious and offering three meals a day, seven days a week. The burger list should satisfy every palate. Of course, for the vegetarians, or for those who just don’t dig on cow, a chicken breast or Gardenburger (called "vurgers" here) can be substituted for no extra charge. Personally, I opted for the Jero’s bacon cheese burger with pepper jack cheese, as per Verna’s high recommendation. I wasn’t disappointed. The patty was literally draped over the full-size bun, and further weighted down by two perfectly-cooked bacon strips and nice, crisp lettuce and tomato. The fries were a little insipid, though a dousing of salt and Chasing the "Cornucoma" pepper were enough to give them some life. The thing that will stick with me, though, is For a serious burger experience, head that my food was served hot, wonderfully, over to the Cornucopia Bottle Market at mercifully, hot! If that’s a regular occur- 17th and Lincoln on Monday night, where rence, it’s reason enough to go back. for $8.50 you can put together the special As for the brew, I chose the house beer from a selection of award-winning burg- from Hawk’s Brewery, ers and a hefty list of micro-brews. The called Frog’s ambiance here is very casual, almost Wort. It’s café. The cozy, open-air patio out hoppy like back is a great for a relaxed, an I.P.A., summer-dining experience. but with a "This all evolved out of a dusty good balanc- little store," said Verna Ivy, who ing of sweet- has been serving up the burgers, ness from brews and everything in between some thicken- for about three of ing malts — a t h e great burger brew. Otherwise, there’s the always changing selection of 10 micro brews on tap and a pletho- ra of bottled vari- eties. They also have a decent wine selec- tion. Cheers to the Cornucopia for an excellent burger and brew Burger, brew & fries experience. from Cornucopia A CONNOISSEUR’S DREAM Eugene’s Best Beer Selection! 575+ Bottled Beers & Growing 10 Beers On Tap Select Wines Homemade Soups, Salads, & Grilled Panini Sandwiches 345 E. 11 TH AVE . • E UGENE , OR Everything Available On 541-485-BIER Premises or To Go 8 JULY 21, 2005 CHOW! www.eugeneweekly.com
