CHARCUTERIE PLATE WITH CROSTINIS
NORTH-
WESTWARD
EXPANSION
PHOTOS BY TODD COOPER
Rain Northwest brings finer dining
to west Eugene BY ANDY VALENTINE
F
without the tinned-sardine claustrophobia.
When you share a parking lot with an
Applebee’s, though, atmosphere is just one
part of the equation. Rain Northwest sources
its ingredients from local farms and vendors,
which is all well and good, but preparation
is the true priority. Shojai says great care
was taken in choosing a refined, experienced
and collaborative kitchen staff to bring these
quality ingredients to life.
“A lot of smaller restaurants thrive on local
and organic, but this is a larger dinner place,”
she says. “Our chefs have a lot of leeway and
rotating specials to work with. They love it
because they don’t get bored.”
This creativity is immediately recognizable
after a glance at Rain Northwest’s menu.
Whether it’s smoked pork chops with apples
and shallot butter, coq au vin with goat cheese
polenta, or even a sorrel and roasted beet
dip, you’d be hard-pressed to find a more
idiosyncratic menu in town. At $25-$30 per
entrée, it’s a pricier, yet more perfect place to
paint the town red. Shojai explains that the
higher prices are largely due to ingredient costs.
She sees sacrificing quality as a big no-no.
“People have given up eating vegetables
and trying new things,” she says. “They’re so
used to processed foods. If people are going to
invest in us, we want to invest in them. They’re
making the choice to put high-quality food in
their tummies, so we want to fulfill that need.”
The foodie sensibility can be lacking in
west Eugene, and Rain Northwest may just
be a pioneer. So the next time you’re slogging
your way through the strip, drawn like a moth to
the pyrite lights, consider heeding your body’s
opinion. After an evening at Rain Northwest, I
guarantee your stomach will thank you.
or years the building at 1190
City View Street housed a dowdy
local Mexican favorite named
Nacho’s Restaurant, and for years
the building blended right in:
Complete with faux-adobe walls and a waifish,
grinning hombre caricature, the restaurant had
everything we’d come to expect of Eugene’s
longest strip mall on 11th west of Chambers.
Three miles of golden arches, Jacks in
Boxes and Fourthmeal fug: The problem
here is visibility. On a drag characterized by
corporate marketing, where international
brands are jammed down our throats like so
many flavorless fastfood fries, how best to
polish the local gems and let them outshine
those big-money lights?
For Tracie Shojai, co-owner of Rain
Northwest, a focus on fun is an absolute must.
When Nacho’s closed its doors in 2014,
Shojai, who owns the building along with her
husband, had a difficult time renting out the
space. After some deliberation, they decided
to open their own restaurant — one that filled
an obvious gap in the west Eugene food scene.
“There’s really nothing on this side of town,”
Shojai says. “That was a lot of the impetus,
because we live over here. When we designed
[Rain Northwest] we really wanted it to be a fun
place — my husband and I like going out, and
there aren’t a lot of restaurants where you can
go out and hang out and have a fun atmosphere,
and really feel like you’re out on the town.”
To this end, Shojai and her husband have
succeeded. The atmosphere inside Rain
Northwest is sleek and welcoming, without
all the harsh, square lines of modernity
that so often cold-up your bog-standard
bistro. A scratch-bar complete with dazzling
cocktail list awaits the diner just inside, and
the tables are spaced in such a way that the
dining experience retains that cozy, urban feel
SNAKE RIVER FILLET WITH BURNT ONION HOLLANDAISE AND BACON CARBONARA
EUGENEWEEKLY.COM/CHOW
Rain Northwest is open for dinner six days a week from 4:30
to 9 pm Tuesday through Thursday, 4:30 to 11 pm Friday and
Saturday and 4:30 to 9 pm Sunday. For pricing and rotating
specials, visit rainnw.com.
CHOW WINTER 2017
5