Author: EW-staff

To Bake Is  Human; To Cupcake, Divine

Chow

When Aaron and Mariah Kastrava acquired The Divine Cupcake in early May, they were ready for a challenge. Previously, the married couple had planned to open a coffee house, but when an opportunity for something sweeter arrived, they went all in.  After closing its store in west Eugene in 2012, The Divine Cupcake (which existed for nine years under previous ownership) operated principally as an online business, and the Kastravas understood this going in.  Continue reading →

Irish Gem

Chow

Walking through the dense, cherry-wood front door of The Pint Pot Public House, you’re greeted by many things: the sound of bagpipes, the smell of hearty spices, snug armchairs in dimly lit corners, stacks of board games and smiles from welcoming strangers.  Immediately, your eyes are drawn to writing in chalk atop the bar: “May your home always be too small to hold all your friends.” And while The Pint Pot may be small, its collection of patrons is brimming. Continue reading →

Above Board

Chow

Tiny Tavern is dead. Long live Tiny Tavern. With the protracted death rattle and final expiring sigh of the Whiteaker’s seediest bar now just another piece of Eugene folk history, the question “what will become of Tiny’s?” has at last been answered: It will be a restaurant, of course. Continue reading →

Take Me to the Chapel

Chow

Living in Lane County can be a charming mix of city culture and country life. For example, a short drive west from the city of Eugene is Our Daily Bread Restaurant in Veneta. Located in a renovated ’40s-era church, Our Daily Bread is a full-service restaurant offering home-style comfort with a fine dining twist.  The vintage atmosphere of the church offers intriguing nooks for intimate conversation or open space for a family-style, communal experience. You may even chat with a server who attended the church as a young girl. Continue reading →

Cheeseburgers and Rainbows

The author reflects on coming out as bisexual in middle age

Culture

Bisexuals don’t eat cheeseburgers. This thought had never crossed my mind in 20 years of advocating for LGBTQ people and issues. But having come out of the closet as a bisexual just a few days earlier, it seemed like this might be true. I came out at a high school staff meeting in 2014 after my fellow teachers had spent an hour debating the nature of LGBTQ students. Earnest but clueless, many of them were discussing something they knew nothing about. My favorite: “I don’t know why it’s such a big deal who you have sex with.” Continue reading →

Word Is

Chow

* Want to grocery shop online? You can do it locally at Lane Local Foods, an online farmers market operated by the Willamette Farm and Food Coalition. Online shoppers can login at lanelocalfoods.com, or access it through the market’s mobile app, and order groceries any time from Wednesday morning to Sunday night. Farmers post their products and shoppers can choose what they want, anything from okra from Mountain View Farm in Junction City to feta cheese from Ferns’ Edge Goat Dairy in Lowell. Continue reading →

Celestial Vibe

Chow

Vegan and gluten-free chocolate donuts.   Alex Moon has worked in the restaurant industry for 20 years, but it only recently occurred to her that she could open up her own place. “It’s a relatively new idea for me,” she says. Continue reading →