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