CREAMY GORGONZOLA AND
WALNUT WONTONS
The beginning was a little rough. “There were days
when we didn’t serve one customer, the whole darn day,”
Shadrick says.
Retail kept them afloat, and now the café is full of
diners ready for a tasty little departure to warmer, spicier
climes — that yummy nexus between East and West.
Signature dishes, such as a creamy gorgonzola and
walnut wonton, offer just the right balance between savory
and sweet, a decadent and satisfying morsel, fresh with
crunch and especially divine when dipped in house-made
pear butter.
The café’s falafel, humble chickpeas and special spices,
fried to a golden brown, are light and airy, irresistibly
moist and delicious. With accompanying tahini, tzatziki
and spicy red pepper sauce, they’re the perfect antidotes to
the gray wet of an Oregon spring.
Shadrick benefits from Sprout!’s Friday afternoon farmers
market, she says, which operates year round. Tradewinds
regularly features local produce in daily specials and on the
tasting menu for the café’s monthly supper club.
ABBIE SHADRICK
Catch the
Tradewinds
Mediterranean inspiration in Springfield By Rachael Carnes
T
radewinds Café & Catering Company co-owner
Abbie Shadrick is on a mission to provide tasty,
nutritious, Middle Eastern-inspired food on what
used to be the site of a quiet, empty church at 4th
and A Street in downtown Springfield.
“We’re part of the restaurant incubator program
here at Sprout!,” Shadrick says, gesturing around the
welcoming space where diners are feasting on Tradewinds’
signature dishes, along with fare from neighboring
restaurants, all housed in a cheerful, open dining room with
high steel tables and plenty of light.
“Sprout! provides space,” Shadrick says. “And they’re
creating a curriculum to help start-up restaurants go from a
café-food court setting to their own brick-and-mortar space.”
Since opening in January 2015, Shadrick says, it’s been
helpful to be in the company of other growing businesses,
including a Latin American eatery and a German café.
“From serving to learning new techniques, it’s been a
collaborative experience,” she says.
Featuring restaurants like Shadrick’s, small businesses,
classes and community events, business incubator Sprout!
is owned by NEDCO, a nonprofit organization that helps
neighborhoods and families build assets through home
ownership, neighborhood revitalization and business
development.
The first restaurant to jump on the bandwagon,
Tradewinds offers a mostly Mediterranean menu, from
pitas and pizzas to little plates and salads, with options for
other flavor and spice combinations that strike the fancy of
Shadrick and her partner, Mark Head.
“We’ve taken the Silk Route as inspiration,” Shadrick says.
Shadrick got her start creating recipes and cooking for
nonprofits like Food Not Bombs and homeless shelters in
and around town.
And after serving at festivals and developing a retail
presence for their hummus and spanakopita at Friendly
Street Market and Capella Market, Shadrick and Head
decided the time was right to launch a business.
“When we make our food, we honor the traditions that
are there, and we try to stick to the ingredients, making
them the freshest possible,” Shadrick says. “Everything is
made in house with our loving hands.” ■
Tradewinds Café is open 11am to 9 pm Tuesday through Saturday at 418 A
Street in Springfield. A full menu is available on the restaurant’s Facebook
page.
Selection of BBQ
meats and seafood
cooked on a griddle
table in front of you
All You Can
Eat Special
$19.99
d
Pork Belly an
Beef Brisket
Lunch
Specials
Starting at
$7.99
• Handmade Tofu
• Soft Tofu Stew
• Aged Kimchi Stew
• Homemade Fried
Dumplings
• Seafood or Kimchi
Pan Cake
Vegetarian options include
bibimbap served cold or
on a hot sizzling stone pot
and soft tofu stew
*Most of our meat dishes
can be substituted with tofu
NEW HOURS
TUES - THURS 11:30 - 8:30 • FRI - SAT 11:30 - 9:30 • SUN 1:00 - 8:00
2130 West 11th Ave. Eugene • 541.505.8744 • fourplus3.com
EUGENEWEEKLY.COM/CHOW
CHOW SPRING 2016
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