Restaurants in Lebanon

In an effort to find a healthy alternative to fast food without sacrificing speediness, the creators of The Pita Pit began assembling their signature sandwiches for breakfast, lunch, dinner, and late-night snacks. At each location, thin, Lebanese-style pitas encircle lean, grilled meats and fresh veggies. Sandwich selections span the spectrum from gyro meat and falafel to turkey and prime rib. The staff empowers customers to make healthy choices by displaying nutrition information for each bread, meat, and post-meal toothpick and corralling a selection of healthy sandwiches, which dining companions can wash down with fruit smoothies.

For 60 years, Wooden Nickel Pub & Eatery has served up hearty eats in a wood-paneled bar with games, live music, and the familiar ambience of a hometown hangout. The pub's cooks smoke, cure, and brine meats in-house, sandwiching them within breads baked on-site. In addition to slow-smoked prime rib, German sausages, and sizzling fried chicken, they simmer pots of jambalaya or shrimp and grits. Diners can find the same savory, homestyle food at a second location in Sublimity.

Tucked inside the elegant Valley River Inn on the verdant shores of the Willamette River, SweetWaters on the River showcases the Pacific Northwest’s plentiful bounty in gourmet dishes prepared by executive chef Michael Thieme. The seasoned culinary staff, which includes a pastry chef that heads the on-site bakery, devise rotating seasonal menus that flaunt such ingredients as locally harvested organic produce and truffles, artisan cheeses, and native Pacific seafood. The fully stocked bar brims with international wines and homegrown varietals from the flourishing Oregon wine country, and a resident mixologist carefully infuses chic cocktails with fresh, seasonal produce such as chilies and oranges. The dining room’s ceiling-to-floor windows boast panoramic vistas of the adjacent river’s leafy, fertile banks and a covered three-season patio cultivates an alfresco ambiance while offering shelter from rain or snoopy UFOs.

Within the 153-room Holiday Inn, Amici envelops diners in salmon-hued walls as they feast on freshly cut pastas and overflowing paninis. Rob Sigmund of Wild Duck Catering mans the helm of the spacious dining room, where upholstered banquettes, dark woods, and modern lighting fixtures create an atmosphere of contemporary comfort. After excavating a savory strata of lasagna, patrons can search for a wine finale on the outdoor patio or for mermen in the hotel’s swimming pool.

Having carved out its own elegantly understated space inside the Red Lion Hotel, The Willamette Valley Grill opens daily for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Hormone- and antibiotic-free steak headlines an interactive menu that invites diners to pair premium hunks of beef with creative seasonings that incorporate black-peppercorn demi-glaces or coffee rubs. Behind the upscale menu, however, sits an unsung hero: a steak-house broiler that heats up to 1,800 degrees, effectively sealing in any juices or facts about Area 51 that would otherwise be blurted by overly candid cuts. After dining and sipping on a range of Pacific Northwest wines, guests can trade the restaurant's tasteful ambiance for the colorful hues of an adjacent lounge. There, flat-screen TVs flicker around a bar and live music floods the dance floor every weekend.

“Every sort of person populating these parts can be seen at the cozy Glenwood Restaurant,” the New York Times says, nodding to the eatery’s popular menu of hearty breakfasts, sandwiches, and other American food. The chili verde brunch burrito—lauded by Sports Illustrated as “worth getting out of bed early for”—greets the day along with fruit waffles and denver omelets, and lunchtime brings tomato-cheese soup and paninis. Tempeh stir-fries with peanut sauce and brown rice join pasta genovese and steak and mushrooms at dinnertime, complemented by glasses and microglasses of wine and microbrews.