CHOW!
CRAB CORN DOGS
GLOBE TROTTER
BLACKENED STEELHEAD
The Main Attraction
TAVERN ON MAIN ELEVATES DINING IN DOWNTOWN SPRINGFIELD By Will Kennedy
A
fter nearly two years of takeout and delivery
courtesy of the pandemic, I was feeling burned
out on bar food when I stepped into Tavern on
Main in downtown Springfield, only to have one
of the best burgers in Lane County.
Tavern on Main Bar + Kitchen is located, appropriately
enough, on Springfield’s Main Street, among other
restaurants and shopping opportunities in an increasingly
charming district of downtown. Opened in April 2021, it’s
the latest project from Todd Wallenbeck and Andrew
Deffenbacher, following B2 Bar and Grill in the Crescent
Village area of north Eugene.
Serving new American cuisine, the space has a tasteful
mix of art deco and modern interiors, themed around F.
Scott Fitzgerald’s Roaring ’20s classic The Great Gatsby;
the tavern is inspired by Death & Company, an on-the-
pulse cocktail bar with outlets in Los Angeles, New York
and Denver.
Of his latest project, Wallenbeck says, “We want to
transport you — make you feel like you’re in a larger city.”
As far as the burger, what makes it notable are the
contradictions.
Restaurant priced, it’s served with a good-portioned
fresh salad or fries — experienced eaters might notice
something familiar: The thin-cut fries are cooked in
beef tallow just like McDonald’s used to be. Otherwise,
the burger is made from an 8-ounce dry-aged patty, flat-
topped and seared, with gouda, offering all that makes
a fast food burger such a naughty treat: a kicky yellow
mustard, an open-fermentation pickle and a savory-sweet
grilled onion frisée, on a pillow-y bun made by The Bread
Stop bakery in Eugene.
There’s also an emulsified American cheesiness,
met with what’s listed on the menu as a secret sauce,
similar to a New Orleans comeback sauce, typically
mayonnaise, ketchup, chili sauce and lemon juice. Add
to that, Worcestershire sauce, dry mustard, onion powder,
hot sauce, garlic powder and paprika.
“Not so secret,” Wallenbeck admits, but delicious, and
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with everything sustainably sourced you feel somewhat
less guilty for enjoying it.
Is it possible to transition from the raved-about burger
to a Caesar salad without sounding condescending? Let’s
give it a shot, because Tavern on Main’s plentiful Caesar
is no bit player.
With little gem lettuce, pecorino cheese, croutons, fried
anchovies and shaved cured egg yolk, it’s satisfying and
something like a drink of cool refreshing water. There are
lots of other great non-meat eater options on the menu
CHEF JOSH GACKE
as well, such as the citrus salad, a mix of chicory, citrus
segments, savory ricotta salata, mint, hazelnuts and
champagne vinaigrette.
Elsewhere, Tavern on Main excels in updated classics,
befitting the atmosphere, like oysters Rockefeller —
baked oysters in herb butter with parmesan and bread
crumbs. Head chef Josh Gacke’s take on another fine
dining mainstay, lobster Thermidor, was a recent New
Year’s Eve special, made relevant with hints of lemon
and experiments with fermentation. Also selling well,
according to Wallenbeck, are the crab corn dogs — a
concept borrowed from his time serving lobster corn
Photos by Todd Cooper
dogs at The Blacksmith Restaurant in Bend.
No, it’s not crab meat forced into the elongated shape
of a hot dog, but a battered and spherical Dungeness
crab cake on a stick, served with old bay and harissa
aioli — cut with citrus, the harissa is peppery and hot,
but worth the risk.
Among all the offerings on the menu, Wallenbeck says,
“steak is king,” particularly the frites, or eight ounces of
grilled hanger steak with pomme frites, beef demi-glace
and wild mushroom compound butter.
Serving a brunch menu on Sunday (lunch service is
scheduled to return in February, COVID allowing) there’s
buttermilk and poppy seed pancakes with lemon curd
and powdered sugar, and biscuits and gravy, with home-
made biscuits and boar sausage gravy — add eggs for an
additional $2.
Cocktail heavy any day of the week, the drink options
extend to brunch, according to front-of-house manager
Nicole Kauffman, who collaborated on the mixed drink
menu, like the Spicy Bloody with a chorizo infused house
bloody mary mix.
There’s also the popular cereal shots, which are exactly
what they sound like: sweet, cereal-infused milk, just like
you remember from when you were a kid, mixed with the
booze of your choice.
“It brings people back to their childhood,” Kauffman
says. “You feel like an adult riding a tricycle.”
Despite the attendant challenge of running a restaurant
in a pandemic, business has been great so far for Tavern on
Main, signaling Lane County’s readiness for more dining
options in a new-look downtown Springfield.
“We have really awesome local support from the
Springfield community,” Kauffman, with a lure for the
Eugene community as well. “The area is becoming more
pedestrian friendly, people want to come here and we
offer a pretty approachable menu,” she says. ■
Tavern on Main is at 338 Main Street, Springfield. It’s open Tuesday
through Thursday 3:30 to 10 pm, Friday 3:30 to 11 pm and Saturday
4 to 11 pm; the restaurant serves brunch 10 am to 3 pm Saturday and
Sunday. For more information go to TavernOnMainSpfd.com.
E U G E N E W E E K LY . C O M