EW’s Back to Campus 2011
No Car? No Problem Living in Eugene sans automobile
Late Night Eats Stuffing face by moonlight
Gourmet Locavorism Eating well at LCC
Q&A: Students on the street
Ducking In Joiners can be choosers
Bass-Ack-Wards The world of collegiate tournament fishing
Late Night Eats
Stuffing face by moonlight
By Shannon Finnell
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| Photo by Trask Bedortha |
Here in Eugene, things local are things sacred, and in no area is that gospel more adhered to than in food. Late at night, a lot of mom and pop restaurants are closed; their profit margins wouldn’t survive the staying open late to serve the late-shifters, the stoners, the partygoers and the insomniacs.
An exception to the “late can’t eat local” rule of thumb is Dough Co., which is open until 3 am (except on Sundays), delivers and is located near campus. The combination of sweet cookies with savory calzones isn’t intuitive, but they fulfill two vital, late-night food group categories: pizza and baked goods. Not limited by typical pizza flavors, Dough Co. lists 31 flavors on its menu; so whether a craving calls for cordon bleu, pesto or potato and bacon, the eatery can handle it. Plus calzones are travel-friendly, if you can manage not to drool your sauce of choice all over your shirt. Better yet, don’t wear a shirt. It’s late night.
If you’re feeling more like doughnuts than Dough Co., Voodoo is open 24/7 downtown. This Portland-based spiritual tradition chose Eugene as its third location — and why not? We sometimes need them in the middle of the night, for our glaucoma. On that note, we have to take a moment to endorse — in addition to the classic maple bacon bar — the Old Dirty Bastard (chocolate frosting, Oreos and peanut butter), the Memphis Mafia (banana chunks, cinnamon-sugar, chocolate frosting, peanut butter, peanuts and chocolate chips) and Butterfingering (vanilla frosting and Butterfinger crumbles).
Burrito Boy on Patterson is always open, too, and the Mexican fast-food joint gets packed during the post-drinking weekends. We did a quick survey: None of us can remember going there sober, but we all know we like the wet burritos.
Creatures of the night can also partake in Pita Pit, a chain speckled across the U.S. that’s also open until 3 am and is situated across from the LTD bus station, a convenient walk from the Barmuda Triangle. Less things-that-will-kill-you-oriented than doughnuts or calzones, Pita Pit is an ideal delivery or downtown stop for late nights when inhaling heftier foods isn’t in the cards.
In addition to these late closers, the Eugene area has a plethora of those all-night diners ubiquitous across the country, completing the American experience. Without places like Shari’s, Denny’s and IHOP, where would the youth of Eugene plan games like Pin the Obscene T-shirt on the Pioneer Mother and How Much Glow Stick Goo Can You Get on the Pioneer Statue Before DPS Catches You (which EW completely discourages playing)?
Open, well, always, the two Eugene, two Springfield and one Corvallis Shari’s locations are built with a distinctive octagonal shape and feature a consistent menu. Denny’s has consistent stuff too, and there’s one each in Eugene and Springfield. The desserts are best at Shari’s, the breakfast is best at IHOP and the I-5 Denny’s combines nonstop coffee and fried food with the awesomeness of knowing you are scarfing your late-night eats where Jack Nicholson once famously bitched the waitress out for refusing to give him a side order of toast in the film Five Easy Pieces.
Mostly, late nights at restaurants aren’t all about food, though chomping into a favorite late-night snack certainly muddles that fact for a while. Late nights are about stomach survival, being with friends, and loving life when the rest of the world is dreaming it away.
A Note From the Publisher
Dear Readers,
The last two years have been some of the hardest in Eugene Weekly’s 43 years. There were moments when keeping the paper alive felt uncertain. And yet, here we are — still publishing, still investigating, still showing up every week.
That’s because of you!
Not just because of financial support (though that matters enormously), but because of the emails, notes, conversations, encouragement and ideas you shared along the way. You reminded us why this paper exists and who it’s for.
Listening to readers has always been at the heart of Eugene Weekly. This year, that meant launching our popular weekly Activist Alert column, after many of you told us there was no single, reliable place to find information about rallies, meetings and ways to get involved. You asked. We responded.
We’ve also continued to deepen the coverage that sets Eugene Weekly apart, including our in-depth reporting on local real estate development through Bricks & Mortar — digging into what’s being built, who’s behind it and how those decisions shape our community.
And, of course, we’ve continued to bring you the stories and features many of you depend on: investigations and local government reporting, arts and culture coverage, sudoku and crossword puzzles, Savage Love, and our extensive community events calendar. We feature award-winning stories by University of Oregon student reporters getting real world journalism experience. All free. In print and online.
None of this happens by accident. It happens because readers step up and say: this matters.
As we head into a new year, please consider supporting Eugene Weekly if you’re able. Every dollar helps keep us digging, questioning, celebrating — and yes, occasionally annoying exactly the right people. We consider that a public service.
Thank you for standing with us!
Publisher
Eugene Weekly
P.S. If you’d like to talk about supporting EW, I’d love to hear from you!
jody@eugeneweekly.com
(541) 484-0519