Laughing Planet Cafe
760 Blair Boulevard
Eugene, OR 97402-4802
(541) 868-0668
www.laughingplanetcafe.com

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Here we have another one of those Eugene restaurants that has a strong “political” following, i.e. people strongly support this place for cultural/lifestyle reasons. Which is nice and all…but the question still remains: When all the quirky cultural aspects are stripped away, is the food at Laughing Planet any good to eat with your mouth? [Read more...]

Hult Plaza Restaurant
401 East 10th Avenue,
Eugene, OR
(541) 484-2933

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As the goofballs on Fox News often say, things were so much better back in the old days. America was great, everyone got along, and diners served good, hearty food with a smile…Really? [Read more...]

The Dough Co.
1337 Hilyard St
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 485-7459

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Once in a while, you come across a little restaurant with humble goals. Concentrate on one type of food, do it well, and keep the price down. That pretty much sums up The Dough Co. Is it fancy food that you can feel snooty about? No. Is it pretty good? Yes. Is this a boring review? [Read more...]

Dickie Jo’s Burgers
Ste A, 201 E 13th Ave
Eugene, OR
(541) 636-4488

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OK, here’s the idea. This place is sorta like a cross between an old-fashioned diner and In-N-Out Burger (from California). Sounds OK…if you like that sorta thing…and if it is executed properly. Dickie Jo’s got blasted in its opening weeks for bad service, chaotic management, and other foibles. Have those problems been solved yet? More self-importantly, what advice can Mr. Eugenified offer to improve their chances of success? [Read more...]

Aiyara Thai Cafe
1010 Harlow Road
Springfield, OR 97477
(541) 736-8306

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As you may already know, Eugene is not the home of great Thai food. Acceptable, maybe, but not great. So I was fairly skeptical when I heard good things about Aiyara Thai Cafe in Springfield. Of course, our neighbors to the east (Springtucky a.k.a. Sprangfield) are not well known for their sophisticated tastes in world cuisines, so that could be the explanation for the overly optimistic reviews. But the question still remained, could it measure up to the more selective standards of Eugenifites? [Read more...]

Ocean Sky Restaurant
1601 Chambers St
Eugene, OR
(541) 342-4848

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Anyone who knows anything about Chinese food has heard of oyster sauce. It’s a very basic sauce that is used frequently in Cantonese food, but it’s also a staple in most other regional variations of Chinese food. The key is to use oyster sauce as a minimal base (and thickening agent) while adding some other spices to bring da flavor. Well, apparently, the head chef at Ocean Oyster Sauce Sky missed that day of cooking class. Now, if this was a network TV sitcom, the wacky hijinks would shortly thereafter ensue. This is not a network TV sitcom. [Read more...]

Cornucopia Restaurant
Flagship Location:
295 W 17th Ave
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 485-2300

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Second Location:
5th & Pearl
Eugene, OR

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Note: This review covers the original Cornucopia location on 17th Ave, but please be sure to read the dire warning about the new location at the end of this review.

Cornucopia Restaurant in Eugene. Well, there’s some very good news and there’s some sorta picky bad news. Which do you want to hear first? [Read more...]

Burger Lovers
1466 W. 7th Ave.
Eugene, OR 97402
(541) 687-6424

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If you regularly drive along 7th Ave, near Wells Fargo, you’ve probably noticed a new restaurant under construction for the last few months. Well, Mr. Eugenified finally took the plunge and gave it a try (after leaving the appropriate one month waiting period for them to serve all the “construction dust burgers” to other more gutsy patrons). The name of this place gives a pretty good idea of their goal: specialists in burgers. But their claim to be “the best burgers in Oregon” is certainly ambitious. So the question is: Are they good burgers, the best in Eugene, and/or the best in all of Oregon? [Read more...]

Jalisco’s Mexican Restaurant
3095 W 11th Ave
Eugene, OR 97402
(541) 485-8636

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Looking for something a lot better than Burrito Boy (setting the bar REALLY low)? Not quite down with Chapala (suburban style Mexican food) or Taco Loco (tequilla-drenched place for drunk college kids), then head on down to Jalisco. Certainly not gourmet food, Jalisco nevertheless delivers some solid performers in a strip-mall environment.
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Studio One Cafe
1473 E 19th Ave
Eugene, OR 97403
(541) 342-8596

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Studio One Cafe really has a great reputation. Supporters rave about the French Toast, the servers, and the homey atmosphere. Which begs the question: Is Studio One Cafe really that good or is it the most overrated restaurant in all of Eugene? I be the judge. [Read more...]

Three Forks Wok & Grill
2560 Willamette St
Eugene, OR 97405
(541) 485-8489

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Gotta love those hippies. Nature-loving, green, earthy…aren’t they great!? They love nature so much that they have no fear of dirt or bacteria of any kind…and therein lies the problem with Three Forks Wok & Grill. [Read more...]

McGrath’s Fish House
1036 Valley River Way
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 342-6404

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McGrath’s should be sued for false advertising…Every few weeks or so, I get one of their glossy fliers in the daily Eugene Register-Guard newspaper. It always has a big photo of a big plate of fried mish mash recalling something like the Monty Python “Spam” skit with the word “Fried” substituted for Spam. So then I says to myself, “Self, why should I go there and spend more than $12 for Fried Fried Mish and Fried Mash Fried Fried when I could just go to a Long John Silver’s and spend a lot less for an equally disgusting plate of oil soaked fish-like material?” Read on as my Self wisely answers this question and more. [Read more...]

The Cooler
20 Centennial Loop
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 484-4355

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The Cooler. It’s got a cool name. The entire building looks like a big walk-in refrigerator (hence the name) including the big wooden cooler-ish front door. It’s also got a bunch of neon beer signs, a real live moosehead (not exactly live anymore) on the wall, and a couple of nice looking pool tables…Oh, did I mention that this place is basically a bar serving food? Well, it is. And usually that does not bode well for the quality of food, especially breakfast food. [Read more...]

Maple Garden Restaurant
1275 Alder St
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 683-8128

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Yes, to the naked eye, this place looks like a dive. Guess what? It is. [Read more...]

Barnes & Noble Booksellers
Valley River Center
1163 Valley River Center
Eugene, OR
(541) 687-0356

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OK, so maybe you’ve already read the Border’s review on Eugenified, and you are still searching for that perfect megabookstore to take advantage of, i.e. read their books for free while drinking a tall double-shot decaf non-fat latte. Barnes & Noble at Valley River Center is really the only other option to consider. But does it meet the stringent requirements of fine connoisseur free book readers? [Read more...]

Ye Olde Pancake House
2421 W 11th Ave
Eugene, OR 97402
(541) 344-7830

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I am trying to think of something to say about Ye Olde Pancake House, but my mind keeps drifting before I can get anything on paper. It’s hard to describe. It’s just so…so so. There’s nothing really bad or good to say about it. Of course, that could be seen as a wonderful reliability on their part, or it could be seen as a not-so-wonderful drabness. Which one is it? You be the judge. [Read more...]

Borders Books Music Movies & Cafe
5 Oakway Ctr
Eugene, OR
(541) 345-6072

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I really like Borders. First of all, I appreciate that they seem to have started the whole megabookstore thing (Or maybe Fox Books was the first?). I really enjoy having a giant put-Meg-Ryan-out-of-business-bookstore AND a nice coffee shop in which I can read said books for free. I even learned over time to accept their Starbucks wanna-be, Seattle’s Best. But the Borders in Eugene definitely has some quirky things that bug me more than a little bit. [Read more...]

Howling Coyote BBQ Co.
3264 Gateway St
Springfield, OR 97477
(541) 746-8043

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Break out them apostrophes, today we’s writin’ a review of a good ol’ Texas BBQ restaurant located righ’ chere in Sprangfield!

But first: ATTENTION ALL BBQ RESTAURANT OWNERS IN EUGENE/SPRINGFIELD. THE COMPETITION IS NOW OVER. PLEASE CLOSE UP SHOP AND MOVE TOWARDS THE CITY EXITS IN AN ORDERLY FASHION. HOWLING COYOTE BBQ CO HAS BEEN DECLARED THE WINNER. NO, NOT JUST THE WINNER, THE KING. NOW ALL THE REST OF YOU CLOWNS SHOULD JUST SHUT UP AND LEAVE.  AM I SHOUTING TOO LOUDLY?
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Tom’s Tea House
1333 Hilyard St
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 344-1175

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You know how sometimes you find a really bad restaurant that’s so bad it actually becomes good in a way? Well, Tom’s Tea House is not one of those. No, the dial gauge pointer for Tom’s has spun all the way around, gone past bad, back into the good range, but then continued on to stop firmly in the bad range. That’s double bad. Astonishingly bad.
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Brail’s Restaurant
1689 Willamette St
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 343-1542

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What more could you ask for in a breakfast place?! Brail’s has the feel of a well-worn diner. It’s located in a funky student rental area of Eugene. It pretty much specializes in breakfast food, although they do have plenty of other items on the menu. It’s known by UO students as the best place to recover from a hangover from last night’s big dorm party. It’s even got a Korean-lady-on-speed owner who watches over the daily operations like a…uhhhh…Korean lady on speed. Sounds pretty good, right? Well, let’s slow down a bit and take a closer look…
[Read more...]