The Pantry & Pub

It's all too easy to fall back on old favorites. This holds true for establishments and for dishes. I can't count on all my fingers the times that I have gone to the same restaurant and ordered the same meal. Call me lazy, call me a creature of habit, call me fixated, but when I find something I enjoy, I tend to give in to the desires of my taste buds, salivating for that familiar flavor. Unfortunately, this disposition precludes discovery.

The past two days have been a real treat, then.

First, Tuesday night saw the trial of a new local brewpub, Falling Sky. To J's review below I will only add two things:

First, I second J's conclusion that the "Back Alley Burger," sculpted from the grass-fed beef that I have been dying to try, falls near, if not at the very top of, the list of best hamburgers ever (many thanks to J for parting with the bite he allowed me to sample).

And, second, that I never, NEVER, order chicken (because, let's be honest, chicken is the Bud Light of meats), but not only did the smoked chicken thigh, collard greens, and some corn dish of which I forget the name intrigue me enough to order it, it also made me question my devotion to other meats and do something else I never, NEVER, do: eat the chicken skin.

Then, came lunch on Wednesday.

I finally made it to an establishment that I have been meaning to patronize ever since it opened several years back: The Pantry & Pub.

Open for breakfast, lunch (which it serves all day), and dinner, it features various specials, such as $.99 taco Tuesdays and "burger and brew" specials. The latter are significant because of the numerous burger options, of which there are 15+, and which only multiply when one begins factoring in substitutions such as chicken, salmon, tempeh, and gardenburger for the optional 1/3 pound or 1/2 pound beef patties.

Being as I had just experienced the "Back Alley Burger," I decided to limit myself to the sandwich and panini menu.

My eyes immediately fell on the Philly.

Now, understand, I'm such a devotee of the Philly cheese steak sandwich, that I have often fantasized about going on an all Philly tasting spree of all the establishments in Eugene offering such a delicacy, so it took a lot to pry my eyes from that offering. Just above it on the menu, however, was "The Cattleman," which boasted roast beef, caramelized onions, sautéed mushrooms, and horseradish. Very similar to a Philly, but different enough to be interesting.

My conclusion upon sinking my teeth into this delicacy: The Philly may have a new rival with which to contend.

On top of the delicious food, The Pantry & Pub offers a decent selection of beers on tap and a large selection of bottled beer and cider, including all three flagship ciders from 2 Towns Ciderhouse.

The interior maintains a spacious layout, despite its rather small size and includes two separate bar areas in addition to booth and table seating.

I look forward to returning to sample the breakfast and dinner menus in addition to further exploring the lunch menu.

I Heart PCNW: Backyard Brewers to Back-Alley Delicatessen (Eugene, OR)

A and I gave ourselves to the brewgods at a ripe young age. When we started to brew together we both had just started college and there was only one shop in town: Valley Vitner and Homebrewing. They had the knowhow and materials to turn your fermenting fantasy into bottled reality.

While the store is still A and I's brewshop of choice, they may have further monopolized our free-time with the Falling Sky Public House which was started by the brewshop to showcase their years of dedication to Oregon's intoxicating crop.

The atmosphere is amazing from the moment you walk in. This isn't a black-tie affair and there are no pretensions of gormet in the modest two-page menu. But, after you've ordered at the counter and the meal arrives, you can't bring yourself to call it just another burger stand.

Right now, I can say without a doubt that I would commit various criminal acts to get another taste of their "Back Alley Burger" with cheese and forest mushrooms. I took me until the end of the burger to realize they hadn't added ketchup and I really didn't care. Better yet, I looked around me and realized I'd found Oregon's best burger in a garage off 13th avenue. Looking at the menu, I realized that the burger's deliciousness was second only to its customization. I added cheese and mushrooms, but bacon, carmelized onions, and a fried egg are also options. A and I have already set the date for trying this alchemist's concoction of flavors (one that I'm naming the "Trash Can Burger").

I wish I could have rounded off my experience by sampling a beer, but the fledgling brewery (just on the other side of a glass partition from the restaurant) would not be able to serve their own draughts until mid-March.

Either way, the selection was great, I got to leave with one of the brewery's growlers (given it was filled with Ft. George's IPA), I had the memory of the Back Alley Burger resting gently on my palate, and my pints were 25 cents cheaper.

That's right, a quarter off the beer. Why? Because it was raining of course. At Falling Sky, there's every reason to love your Pacific Northwest.