Eugenites Choice

Katie D.

February 14, 2010 - 5:33 PM

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! You know what Valentine's Day means... (dramatic drum roll)... It's OREGON'S BIRTHDAY! So I'm going to take this auspicious day to celebrate some Eugene goodness.

First, this was the second annual Spencer's Butte climb with my group of friends. Spencer's is a gorgeous hill south of Eugene, with a round-trip hike of about an hour. The view of the city is incredible, and the whole area is so beautiful. Today it was foggy and muddy, but that just added to the incredible green beauty. Moss and ferns and huge trees everywhere. Instead of the normal view of Eugene from the summit, we had a beautiful, shifting pattern of fog and forest. If you're ever in town, I would recommend this as the Number One Eugene hiking destination.

Which leads me to the larger blog a commentary on "Eugene's Best." A couple of weeks ago, the Oregon Daily Emerald student newspaper published a "Reader's Choice" special magazine edition about the "best" of Eugene. The full list is a treat to read through, and I highly recommend the magazine, which you can also find online. They polled students about their favorite places as diverse as campus hangouts, happy hour bar, ice cream, and make out location. For another take on Eugene's Best, please check out blog by Caitlin H, my fellow Annual Giving Program blogger.

I want to provide some commentary and alternative views, and overall evaluation of the list of Eugene's Best. I love their focus on the quirky and unique of Eugene, and I so appreciate the results. More than anything else, I love that there is not a single restaurant or store that won first place that is a large chain store. Several are Northwest chains, and a couple have multiple Eugene locations. But what Eugene natives and UO students love about this city is its quirkiness, it's ability to create unique cultural icons. So when "Best Under $5" has Cafe Yumm! in first, Holy Cow Cafe second, and SUBWAY representing national fast food chains in third place, that is a serious commentary on the quality of our city. And, Northwest pride or no, Starbucks also took a third place ranking, behind Espresso Roma and the Wandering Goat for "Best Coffee." This is the way it should be.

Some of the Emerald's selected "Bests" are also my own.

"Best BBQ" went to Papa's Soul Food Kitchen, which is an uncontested favorite among anyone with any kind of taste for food. It's got the atmosphere and music to back up the claim, also.

"Best Italian" went to Beppe and Gianni's Trattoria, which for me wins best Italian, best restaurant, best ravioli in my life, best restaurant staff, best location, and (significantly) best place to force visiting relatives to buy me dinner. Hands down.

"Best Secondhand Store" is Buffalo Exchange, according to the Emerald. However, for the female shoppers out there, I would recommend the Clothes Horse any day. It's right down the street from campus, and has the cutest dresses I've ever seen in a thrift store. My bus passes their window and every morning there is a different display in the front window, and it's always a struggle not to go and buy a total wardrobe makeover. I found my favorite dress there for less than twenty dollars.

"Best Taxi Service" made me laugh. The winner was the Designated Driver Shuttle, which everyone can agree with. It's a free shuttle for UO students, to provide students a safe way of returning home, and an alternative to driving while under the influence. I have made use of DDS in the past, and would say it's one of the best uses of student fees I could imagine. The runner-up, however, made me think "only in the Northwest." In Eugene the second-best taxi option is Pedicab! Not only will some nice cyclist pedal furiously to take you to your destination, they will also often offer you a serenade for the ride.

"Best Campus Icon" is a toss-up for me. Frog is the official winner, the purveyor of the "World's Funniest Joke Books." Frog can be found in the same place on the sidewalk near the Duck Store every working day, accosting passersby and touting the hilarities of his joke books. If urban legend speaks truth, Frog has been standing on that corner for more than fifteen years. However, I have another favorite campus regular: The Jesus Man. He might be "Doug," the third place icon. He stands with a "Jesus Loves You" sign next to the EMU, and is pleasant to everyone who passes. I'm no believer in the proselytizing, that arrives on campus with a nasty attitude and confrontational style. But the Jesus Man just stands and smiles at everyone, wearing his ducks garb and the same jacket every day. Truth be told, I thought he might be an undercover FBI agent my first year on campus. Now I just think he's a nice campus fixture.

"Best Ice Cream" is Prince Puckler's. So says the Emerald, so say I, and so say we all.

"Best Place to People-Watch" I disagree with. The people have spoken, and vote for the EMU as number one, with the 13th and University intersection as second. To me there is no question. The third place selection, the Saturday Market is the best place to go to see and be seen in Eugene. It's on the top of many other personal lists, as well: best place to buy produce, best place to spot hippies, best way to spend a Saturday afternoon, best place to buy gifts, best place to bring prospective students, and most iconic Eugene event.

Rather than enumerate all the rest of Eugene's Best, I'll direct you to their online site. However, I would like to add an extra category: best place to spend a sunny Friday afternoon. Now, I already stated that the Saturday Market is the number one choice, but it's only open once a week, and that's only in the summer. This one's tricky, folks, and has cost me some real effort to decide. But here it is, in the world according to Katie D.

Best: Alton-Baker Park

Why? This miles-long set of trails for walking and biking includes a duck pond, multiple bridges across the Willamette River, and a huge variety of picnic locations. It's close to campus and beautiful at all times of the year. The Autzen Footbridge is a great place to watch the river, and there's almost always an Oregon "O" piled in rocks in the middle of the river. This location also wins best place: for a first date, to pet a stranger's dog, to watch waterbirds, to fly a kite, and walk with a large groups of friends.

Runner-up: The Quad

Why? The quad is the grassy space between the library and 13th street. Ringed by oak trees and crossed by busy sidewalks, this is always my favorite place on campus. But when the weather gets nice and the grass dries off, it always feels like the whole university has turned out to be there.

Honorable Mention: Hendrick's Park

Why? This is a beautiful hill in Eugene, close to campus and with an incredible rhododendron garden. The trees are beautiful and there's a rope swing. This is a great destination for a large group of cabin fever sufferers.

A final Eugene's Best: season. Eugene's most glorious season is spring, there's no doubt about it. Spring in Eugene is not only the most beautiful explosion of flowers I've ever seen, it is also the best smell and best reason to spend the day outside. Friends, the first trees have started blooming. Crocuses are out, as are the daffodils. Pretty soon I'll have to leave the favorite study locations and favorite rainy day spots for the favorite outdoor locations.

The view from Spencer's is great, but so is the Eugene from my bedroom window, from my favorite desk in the campus library, and from my favorite homework location in the Honors College lounge.

Eugene's best looks pretty good to me.