Category: Staff Picks
-
Best public information officer who we probably piss off all the time but is helpful anyway
MELINDA MCLAUGHLIN EUGENE POLICE DEPARTMENT 300 COUNTRY CLUB RD. 541-682-511. EUGENE-OR.GOV/4423/POLICE. Not gonna lie, when you write for an alternative newspaper that’s known for digging into allegations of police abuse, unjust police shootings and police racism, and that has a generally skeptical eye of the…
-
2023 Best of Eugene Staff Picks
The best of Eugene dust has settled, and after celebrating this year’s winners, Eugene Weekly staffers start to ponder the weird and wonderful things around Lane County that defy categories. From troves of baby photos to our favorite drink choices, check out the niches the…
-
Best cat at a yoga class
Oliver at Everyday People Yoga 352 W. 12th Avenue. 541-782-8678. EPYogaEugene.com. His name is Oliver, and you can’t miss him. He won’t allow you to. He insists you say hello at the door and pet his soft coat, then tries to sneak into a class…
-
Best photographer wandering the streets shooting nightscapes
Bill Holderfield Instagram @twocrowspictures. On any given night, photographer Bill Holderfield wakes up around 2 am, pounds a Rock Star and hits the road. Holderfield has been searching Lane County streets in the wee hours of the morning for seven years, and his nightscapes tell…
-
Best place to get your long lost baby photos from 50 years ago developed
Dot Dotson’s 1668 Willamette. 541-485-1771. DotDotsons.com. A couple of years ago, I stumbled upon one of Eugene’s best kept secrets: Dot Dotson’s storage room, filled wall to wall with negatives of 50 years of baby photos. In the back of the nearly 100-year-old camera and…
-
Best of the Ballots
One of the quirks of working at Eugene Weekly is that people assume you know everything that’s going on — and sometimes we do. All those hours we spend editing the What’s Happening Calendar listings aren’t for nothing! But since our crystal ball malfunctions on the…
-
Best bar you won’t know how to get to unless you know how to get there
86 Bar and Restaurant The Gordon Hotel 555 Oak St. 86Speakeasy.com. Typically, when someone recommends a bar that you might want to check out, the location might be the first thing mentioned. But telling you the address or even exactly where the 86 Bar and…
-
Best place to go for the cocktails but stay for the food
barTini Bistro 1203 Willamette, ste. 130. 541-359-1235. Facebook.com/bartinibistro. barTini bistro is a newer Eugene establishment- — setting roots on Willamette Street in the fall of 2019. The overall atmosphere is classy without being pretentious, and the cocktail menu, as the name barTini indicates, is finely…
-
Best place to taste the Levant in Springfield
Shalosh Levantine Cuisine in Public House 418 A Street, Springfield. Find on Instagram. All it takes is one bite of the chicken flatbread wrap at Shalosh Levantine Cuisine’s food cart to become a believer. The mix of chilled vegetables with juicy chicken can remind someone…
-
Best place to get an alcoholic drink that’s on fire while listening to karaoke
The Monkey’s Paw 420 Main St. Springfield. 541-505-7975. Facebook.com/themonkeyspawtikibar. Thursdays are my favorite day of the week for two reasons: First, it’s really close to Friday and second, Monkey’s Paw karaoke. After four grueling days of reporting and writing local news, what better way to…
-
Best record store on Main Street in Springfield
Little Axe Records 325 Main St., Springfield. 503-320-3656. LittleAxeRecords.com. Sure, Eugene has many great record stores, from the iconic House of Records to the hip Moon Rock Records. But Little Axe Records is Springfield’s answer to my age-old weekend question: Will I find a Steely…
-
Best Salad greens
Horton Road Organics hortonorganics.com. You can catch me walking around Farmers Market eating Horton Road Organics’ “Original Salad Mix” like a bag of Kettle chips. No dressing. No nothing. I can’t put my finger on the perfection they’ve crafted so I had to reach out…
-
Best Eugene diner people forget is actually a diner
Brails 1689 Willamette. 541-343-1542; 395 W. 5th Avenue, #2506, 541-342-2075. BrailsRestaurant.co. I’ve lived in Eugene for a little over a year, and I’d never heard of Brails before. Crazy, right? My editor mentioned that it’s a perennial winner in Eugene Weekly’s Best Of competition, so…
-
Best Eugene-based pro wrestling brothers
The Blanchard Brothers POWProWrestling.com. When the Blanchard Brothers strut their way to the Eugene-based POW! Pro Wrestling ring, you know you’re in for a treat. Jeremy and Bubba Blanchard look and act the way I imagine pro wrestlers in the “territory” days were like, a time…
-
Best place to get dog food and enjoy a rural vibe
Pleasant Hill Feed and Farm Supply 84841 Edenvale Road, Pleasant Hill. Facebook.com/pleasanthillfeedandfarm. I am going to be honest, I don’t just get dog food at Pleasant Hill Feed. I also get my horse’s feed there. But I figure the average Eugene Weekly reader is more…
-
Best Vinyl pop-up
TOP SCORE Record Show Facebook.com/TopScoreRecordShow. Since 2015, TOP SCORE Record Show has been providing a record show environment that was geared more to being fun, family-friendly and less competitive. The event quickly became bi-annual with a homebase at Level-Up Arcade. Co-Founders KI Design and André…
-
Best Food cart pod community
The Friendly Garden 2758 Friendly Street. TheGardenonFriendly.com. Nestled in one of Eugene’s best neighborhoods, commonly known as the Friendly Area, The Friendly Garden is our 2022 Best of Eugene staff pick for Best Food Cart Pod. Located right on Friendly Street, directly across from the…
-
Best Bowling alley for upscale food
Lane 25 1166 State Hwy 99 N. 541-688-9904. EntertainmentEugene.com. If bowling brings to mind cheap hot dogs and watery beer, leave those notions behind at Lane 25, my staff pick for the best place for grownups to go bowling. Located in the Gilbert Center on…
-
Best Former funeral parlor and questionably haunted coffee shop
Art House 492 E. 13th Avenue, 541-686-3229. EugeneArtHouse.com. Art House is an iconic institution promoting independent cinema, art and expansive representation. My love for the Art House location began when it was Bijou Art Cinemas showing quirky film festivals, contemporary indie movies and cult classics.…
-
Best New downtown beer bar and bottle shop
A Beer Club 472 W. 7th Avenue. Ste 5. 541-636-3094. ABeerClub.com. Walking into A Beer Club, located at Washington and 7th, the first thing you’ll probably notice is the massive amount of empty beer cans and bottles decorating the walls. It’s a collection that owner…
-
Best Place to embark on the adventure to get dinner and beers with toddlers who are no longer cute to anyone else
ColdFire Brewing Company 263 Mill St. 541-636-3889. ColdFireBrewing.com. A few weeks ago, while attempting to grab a few things from the farmers’ market, I realized that my toddlers have phased out of age where they attract the generous eye and smiles of strangers. These days…
-
Best German food on the coast (never mind the former politics)
The Blue Heron Bistro 100 Commercial Avenue, Coos Bay. BlueHeronBistro.com. Yes, it’s not exactly in Eugene or Springfield. But Coos Bay’s excellent Blue Heron Bistro can satisfy that sudden overpowering desire for wiener schnitzel, sauerbraten or even Hungarian goulash that always seems to come over…
-
Best Punk rock drag band
DR/UNK Instagram.com/dr_unkhc. Local band DR/UNK — whose name combines “drag” and “punk” — does exactly what their name describes. Granted, their music has leaned more into heavier genres over time, but the concept is still the same. Going to a DR/UNK concert is like going…
