PICNIC
PROVIDERS
For when you want to ditch the dining room
BY VANESSA SALVIA
MARCHÉ PROVISIONS PREPARED PICNIC MEAL
MARCHÉ PROVISIONS
Located in the ground floor of the 5th Street Public
Market, Marché Provisions has no shortage of specialty
foods to select, from wine to cheese to jams, and they’re
making picnics easier than ever by offering wooden crates
holding a pre-selected picnic meal for four people for $50.
“We’ll put together cheese, olives, crackers, sliced
meats, fresh fruits and chocolates,” says Sam Rollins,
specialty foods buyer at Marché. “Along with a half a
bottle of wine to get the party started.”
Rollins says Provisions will have a couple prepared
crates on hand, or customers can call ahead and order one.
The keepsake crates also hold reusable silverware, napkins
and bamboo plates.
For customers who want to put their own basket
together, Provisions can still do some of the work. Simply
tell the staff that you’re planning a picnic, and they’ll cut
wedges of cheese into bite-sized chunks and arrange in
individual boxes. Stop by about 3:30 pm daily for fresh-
from-the-oven breads.
“We can put together a picnic as simple or as elaborate
as the customer would like,” Rollins says. “It just takes us
about 15 minutes to put it together and we love doing it.”
LONG’S MEAT MARKET
“Let’s start with condiments!” says Loretta Frye, who owns
Long’s Meat Market with her husband, Robert Frye. Frye is
excited to run down the many different flavors customers can
choose from to add some zip to their meat and cheese tray,
from gourmet chipotle mayonnaise to horseradish or honey
mustard. “Oh, and the olives!” she says. “Many different
varieties of olives and sweet peppers, all in jars.”
Robert Frye had been a butcher at Long’s for 31 years
before he and Loretta purchased it last fall. The Fryes
created something for themselves they call the Picnic
Pack, and now customers can get it too — slices of hard
salami, mortadella, soppressata and finocchiona (a salami
flavored with fennel) along with pepper jack and smoked
Gouda cheese. Add large dill pickles, bread or crackers and
packets of nuts, and you’re all set.
Located in the Southtowne shopping center at 28th and
Oak Street, Long’s also has beer and cider, and that perfect
picnic pairing — Bandit wine in a box with a screw-on top.
“We’ve got pretty much anything you would want for a
picnic,” she says.
W
hat makes the perfect picnic? Aside
from a memorable locale, isn’t it all
about the food? But just any food
does not a perfect picnic make. Picnic
food should be easy to transport and
easy to eat, using fingers or minimal silverware. Nothing
fussy is allowed, but elegant is excellent.
Where do you go to get these perfect foods? Here’s a
run-down.
CEDAR CREEK CAFE AND BBQ
Oakridge is a natural stopping point if you’re heading
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P HOTO BY TO DD C O O P ER
from Eugene to any of the falls or lakes accessible from
Highway 58. Make a pit stop at the Cedar Creek Cafe and
BBQ, located right off the highway as you enter Oakridge.
The café smokes its own brisket, ribs, pork, tri-tip
and turkey. It make its own breads, and gets some loaves
from Marché Provisions in Eugene (read on for more
about that spot for picnic fare). Grab containers of any
of the barbecue sides — potato salad, baked beans, pasta
salad, cole slaw — and any meat by the pound. Fill up
your growler and don’t turn down the Marion berry pie.
There’s also a coffee hut, and during the summer it's open
7 am to 9 at night.
THE KIVA
The Kiva excels at bulk ingredients and sports a fantastic
deli case. Get just the amount you want of dried fruits and
nuts and trail mixes in bulk. Place an order for a sandwich,
but if you’re in a hurry, call ahead. Build your own six pack
of beer or choose from a wide selection of kombucha.
A fixture at West 11th Avenue and Olive Street, the Kiva
is small but carries produce as well as housewares, which
means you can get a cucumber, a cloth napkin and a hand-
poured beeswax candle all in the same stop.
FARMERS MARKETS
Eugene and Springfield farmers markets aren’t just for
vegetables. The Lane County Farmers Market runs 9 am
to 3 pm Saturdays, April 1 through Nov. 11, and Tuesdays
from May 2 to Oct. 31 from 10 am to 3 pm at 8th Avenue
and Oak Street. The Springfield Farmers Market, held at
5th & A Street, is open 3 to 7 pm every Friday through
September. At both places, buy your berries, bread, cheese
and honey directly from local farmers and producers. ■
CHOW SUMMER 2017
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