Oregon Guide and Deals

When Dave Wagenheim started selling tofu dogs in downtown Eugene in 2006, he had no idea his modest venture would blossom into Viva! Vegetarian Grill, a food cart honored as the city's third best by Eugene Weekly in 2012. From his corner on 12th Avenue and Willamette Street, as well as a café inside the Eugene Family YMCA, the team crafts a rotating selection of 100% vegan and vegetarian items. Those include Polish-style soysage, locally made organic tempeh tossed in a vegan hot-wing sauce, and an original vegan soft serve made from a cashew base, rather than just the ice part of ice cream.

Organic coffee from Wandering Goat Coffee Co., organic chai and rooibos teas, and a selection of organic juices complement each meatless feast. Along with the mainstay locations, the Viva! team feeds hungry herbivores at music and arts festivals throughout the Northwest.

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.

Named for the year that the Beaver State achieved its statehood, 1859 Oregon’s Magazine highlights the best in local travel, cuisine, recreation, design, and art. Features might guide cyclists on craft-beer tour rides, bring fishing enthusiasts face to face with the nitty-gritty of crab catching, or help history buffs uncover hidden points of interest along supposedly dreary Highway 20. The publishers commit to sustainable practices while producing the quarterly: they recycle as much of their office waste as possible, highlight only local travel destinations to reduce readers’ fuel use, and print with inks harvested only from squids that enjoy being tickled.

Situated on 250 acres between Siletz Bay to the north and the great expanse of the Pacific Ocean to the west, Salishan Spa & Golf Resort welcomes visitors into a serene coastal environment surrounded by virgin forest and picturesque highlands. The resort has granted guests a wealth of diversions since opening in 1965, including a par-71 golf course redesigned by PGA professional and native Oregonian Peter Jacobsen. The course’s bent-grass fairways hug the hills that dot the coastline, yielding panoramic vistas of the Pacific on the front nine and the bay along the links-style back nine. Though challenging, three sets of tees per hole make the course enjoyable for every golfer and greatly increase an individual’s chances of making an ocean-in-one.

After a round, players can rest tuckered-out tendons in the spa, where saunas, rain showers, and whirlpools ease the physical self and a rustic-chic aesthetic works on spiritual clarity. Natural stone walls and tree-branch arrangements blur the boundaries between indoors and outdoors, and antler chandeliers present numerous options for hanging golf bags.

Course at a Glance:

18-hole, par-71 course

Total length of 6,470 yards from the back tees

Course rating of 72.3 from the back tees

Course slope of 132 from the back tees

* Three sets of tees per hole