Oregon Restaurants

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.

“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.

Dinners Done Right liberates families from the time-consuming task of menu-planning by offering ready-made dinner ideas and the recipes and ingredients to make them. Customers bring home and cook seasonally rotating grub packages that could include fresh seafood, pasta, or comfort-food entrees. The food factory also invites patrons to attend build-your-own meal sessions, which are more hands-on than a patty-cake tournament. A series of workstations create an in-store dinner assembly line stocked with the tools and ingredients to help create multiple meals to stock empty freezers.

From the hormone-free Willamette Valley beef to the wall display of University of Oregon athletes, Tom and Johnny's kitchen champions all things local. Grass-fed beef burgers that have never known the icy touch of a freezer mingle with a staggering array of fixin's, ranging from guacamole to deep-fried pickles, on 20 burger combinations atop made-from-scratch ciabatta buns from The Bread Shop. Wings come dripping with one of eight sauces, ranging from Plain Jane to Hellfire, and 100% all-beef hot dogs and nachos bathe in house-made chili like a self-proclaimed king of the Texans. Diners pit fearless appetites against the Ironman challenge, packing in a 2-pound cheeseburger, fries, and browbeatingly hot wings for a chance at free food and eternal glory in the form of a picture mounted on the wall.

Baristas brew up coffee, espresso, tea, and blended drinks at Global Delights, a quaint, locally owned drive thru that infuses its drinks with worldly flavors. The shop recently began roasting its own, certified organic coffee, adding to a menu that already includes pastries as well as gluten-free and vegan options from Holy Donuts. More than just an energy boost for its customers, Global Delights also demonstrates a passion for improving the community, both by supporting other local businesses and working with Eugene charities.