Eugene Cuisine

We had a lovely visit with my grandparents. They were enroute to a wedding, north of us. We picked them up at their RV camp and the 5 of us (they had JP with them) crammed into our Miracle Honda and went out for dinner. Earlier in the day, BN and I had discussed where we should go to to eat since, as a stomach cancer survivor, Grandpa can’t really eat spicy food. That wasn’t actually the worst of our concerns though, since the main problem about where to eat in Eugene is, is there any good food in Eugene?

Now, BN and I don’t eat out very much. Certainly not as much as some people. We are fairly frugal and now that I work part time, and that at home, I love to cook! So those are reasons that we don’t eat out much in Eugene. But another, distressing reason, is that we really haven’t had very many good experiences dining out in this town. It makes one gun-shy to have so many disappointing meals. The one place that is mostly consistently good (they did burn my food once) is Jung’s Mongolian Barbecue. Yay for all-you-can eat fresh-cooked stir fry. You know that eating-out phenomenon – people tend to go to a few favorite restaurant and always order the same thing at the same place? With us, when we feel like eating out, it really means we are craving Mongolian yummyness. So, preferring a predictably good and economic experience over risking one’s cash and appetite, we go to Jung’s.

So we can’t say we’ve tried all Eugene has to offer, cuisine-wise, but we’ve tried enough to make us suspect that Eugene is the black hole of university town dining diversity. Take for instance, Taste of India. The name sounded promising, and once we arrived it even looked promising. Everything from the silk flowers and framed photos of the Taj Mahal, to the table linens and glass water goblets, looked just like the numerous delicious Indian restaurants we’d been to in the Bay Area. The employees were Indian. We were all set for a real Taste of India. But, the food was – even the memory is a shock – bland. Oily, bland, and such a disappointment. Actually, BN and I have both been to India. We know what it tastes like there, and this was not it. Around Thanksgiving last year, we found a goldmine on the $4.99 clearance table at Border’s – The Best Ever Curry Cookbook. These days, if we want a taste of India, we cook it ourselves.

I have a weakness for Chinese food. I mentioned before that BN and I don’t eat out much, but that was not the case for me when I was single. I worked full time in Sunnyvale and Mountain View, both packed full of wonderful ethnic cuisine, and it often seemed I was too busy even to grocery shop and pack lunch. So I ate out a lot, and was a regular at Lucky Chinese cafe in MV. It was just the typical cafeteria 3-item lunch plate to go deal, but man it was good. If I had to pick my favorite Chinese restaurant, it would be Chef Li in Campbell. Tasty, non-greasy, great prices, and soup and eggrolls are included. Nice atmosphere for sit-down dining.
Soon after we moved here, BN and I went out to China Blue. I don’t remember it being that bad but he felt sick after eating there so needless to say we haven’t returned. Recently we tried Louie’s Village and that was possibly the worst Chinese food I have ever experienced. I shudder at the recollection. How I long for a tasty, quick lunch stop at Lucky or a special dinner date at Chef Li.

So, once all the belts were buckled in our circus-capacity Hatchback, we asked my Grandpa where he would like to eat. We had selected an Italian, a Mexican, and a Thai for him to choose from, having rave reviews from friends on the Italian, I’d eaten lunch at the Mexican, and we’d eaten several times at the Thai and it was really quite good. Somewhat to my surprise, Grandpa opted for Thai. So we went to Tasty Thai Kitchen and ordered a selection of dishes that were very flavorful but not very spicy, which was just fine with Grandpa who washed them down with a tall one of milk. Everybody enjoyed it, and the conversation was pleasant. It had cleared up late in the day and the clouds and sky were pretty colors outside. Very nice.

I suppose I haven’t completely given up on Eugene Cuisine, but if you want anything really spicy, you’re going to have to come to my house.