Trendy McSaltypants

At the very tail end of last year (I admit it: I’m still stuck in 2008), The New York Times had one of those I-wish-I’d-thought-of-that pieces, this one about the rising popularity of salted caramels, now available not just at Starbucks, but in your local (er, well…) Wal-Mart. Continue reading 

Your Favorite Bartender is EVERYWHERE

How does the national media love the man Eugeneans voted Best Bartender? I’ll spare you from counting the ways; you can check the press page of his website for that. I just want to mention the two latest, er, mentions: • Last week, The Wall Street Journal did a story on Repeal Day, the growing-in-popularity sorta-holiday that celebrates the end of Prohibition: Continue reading 

PETA Loves PRI

Pizza Research Institute now has another award to hang next to their handful of Best of Eugene certificates: The delicious pies and slices have led the tiny, tempting-smelling joint to be selected as one of the country’s Top 10 Vegan-Friendly Pizzerias. They’re sitting nicely in the middle of the pack at number five; the press release from PETA says: Continue reading 

Happy Birthday, Bier Stein!

The boyfriend and I wandered into the Bier Stein tonight on a whim, which is usually how we wind up there: “I think I’m hungry.” “OK, what do you want to eat?” “Um, I dunno … Bier Stein?” We have a thing for their sandwiches, though the pizzanini is still missed. Continue reading 

Fine. Just Take Your Toys and Go … to Oklahoma

You might think I wouldn’t care about the fact that Seattle’s basketball team is leaving. Seattle’s a long drive, for one thing, and for another, my heart belongs to the Pistons (and then to the Suns. Gotta love hippie Canadian NBA stars). But for some reason it still pisses me off that the Sonics (though they won’t be called that anymore) are ditching Seattle. Continue reading 

Everyone Must Be On Campus

It took us a minute to realize why it was so empty everywhere. The Safeway parking lot, the streets, Brails … oh, wait! Everyone must be on campus. Right? We thought about biking down there, but that would have meant forgoing our delicious containers of leftovers (bi bim bob for him, pork bulgogi for me), and that simply wasn’t an option. We’d wolfed down all the side dishes — how I love small pickled/fermented things — but each Brails entrée was definitely enough for two meals. And they serve beer and wine with dinner! As if you needed more reasons to eat there. Continue reading 

I Couldn’t Eat Another Bite

The saddest thing about Chef’s Night Out, FOOD for Lane County’s annual fundraiser of deliciousness, is that it’s pretty much impossible to enjoy all of it. I ate until I was stuffed, then ate a little more, and felt like I’d only scratched the surface of what the 50+ booths in the Hult Center had to offer. Continue reading 

I (Usually) Love the Pit

I was so excited to get tickets to the men’s basketball game vs. UCLA last night. So very, very excited. There’s something funny — in a good way — about the Pit, about the way that tickets sometimes seem to materialize. Everyone knows someone who seems to have some kind of connection, and sometimes you luck out. Continue reading