Coffee & Treats in Eugene

From 3 a.m. to midnight, the pastrysmiths at Dizzy Dean’s Donuts bake a slew of donuts in a spectrum of flavors. Fresh batches rise in the oven twice daily, with the piping-hot finished products ready to catapult into coffee cups in a host of traditional flavors, such as chocolate, glazed, and cinnamon sugar, as well as fruit-filled concoctions, including mango and blueberry. Unique donut designs, such as bacon-maple bars and apple fritters, break the circular mold, and fresh-baked cream-cheese muffins throw their paper pastry cups into the breakfast-cake arena.

Sweet Thang Chocolates' seasoned confectioners whip up classic and unconventional sweets that eschew gluten, artificial flavors, and preservatives within a cozy, wood-floored storefront draped in turquoise hues and bucolic décor. Artfully arranged display cases and tables brim with handcrafted brittle, truffles concocted with deliciously unorthodox ingredients—including real bacon and cayenne pepper—and peppermint bark harvested from the vocal cords of candy-cane hounds. Staffers also stock a selection of berry-flavored jams and preservatives, as well as nonedible gifts, including spa bath products and holiday decorations.

Visitors walking past Crumb Together’s storefront catch sight of brightly colored red, yellow, and green outdoor tables. The satisfied looks of customers sipping mochas and lattes gives them pause, but it's the smell of melted chocolate that finally draws them in. Once indoors, vibrant local artwork welcomes them, as do different cookie varieties that sit on the counter waiting to be sampled. Just below them in the glass display case, made-from-scratch ginger snaps lay side by side with oatmeal raisin cookies cookies. Gluten-free options and upon-request vegan options promote the bakery's belief in the inalienable right to snack. Once selected, the gourmet treats can be nibbled on the premises.

Bob Cook isn’t big on labels. Take the word breakfast, for example. To him, a chili dog complements a sunrise just as well as an egg sandwich. That’s why he serves Bob’s Deli & Donuts’ entire menu of homemade pastries and deli fare from 5 a.m. until closing time.

As alarm clocks buzz around town, cyclists begin circling the shop, which boasts a parking station fit for bicycles and Bob’s own unicycle. Inside, friendly staffers slice freshly roasted turkey and ham by hand, tailoring the thickness to each customer’s liking, as patrons inhale the scent of frying bacon or deliberate over several styles of donuts. The deli also whips up vegan italian sausages bolder than coffee filtered through a megaphone.

From the 1940s until 2003, Mom’s Pies flanked Highway 126 in Vida. The hearty fare sustained road trippers on long drives, but it was the homemade pies that made the eatery famous and kept its doors swinging all summer long. Restaurateur Lou Sangermano’s parents owned the eatery before he purchased it from them, later selling the road-stop building in 2003. But the allure of the popular pies his parents made stuck with him, and in 2011 Sangermano reopened the shop as a pie-only destination at Valley River Center, in a space much closer to the crowds who always loved his family’s pies.

Scrapping most of the former restaurant menu to focus on its beloved pies, the new Mom’s Pies bakes 10 different pie flavors each day to sell by the slice, whole pie, or fresh-baked whiff. Visitors who ate at the original location back in the day can taste some of the same flavors they formerly craved, as each pie is still baked according to the pie shop’s original 1940s recipes that called for fresh, whole ingredients, such as locally picked berries.

Grown on the fertile slopes of Hawaii’s islands, Kona coffee beans are known for their distinctive flavor, low acidity, and relatively high value. Many cafés and lemonade stands mix Kona beans with much cheaper beans, but Kick’n Kona Coffee supplies savvy sippers with 100% Kona brews for flavorful drinks that can be served piping hot, iced, or in a blended signature concoction. The baristas pair the caffeine-filled cups with refreshing pours of Italian sodas, fruit smoothies, and a variety of bakery fare, allowing guests to fuel up for the morning or take a breather after a rigorous bout of window shopping.