La Cucina Ristorante Italiana

I finally did it! I finally went to La Cucina! After reading Grant Shindo's review of the place, I knew I had to go one day, and what better time to go than my birthday! Ahhh, yes I am now two decades old...time sure flies when you are in school.

Anyway, my family, Gavin, and I had a reservation on a Monday night at 5:30pm. Of course we pre-ordered the famous osso buco dish upon making a reservation here, as fellow Yelpers had recommended. Also, as a word of caution, be prepared to be at this restaurant for at least an hour and a half. There is one waitress/hostess, and one chef. However, this is my ideal dining situation because I feel like a good dining experience consists of great conversation and tasty dishes. No one should be in a rush. That being said, our entire experience took about 1 and a half hours.

Upon being seated, our herb/olive oil/balsamic vinegar dip was already waiting on the table with filled water glasses. Our waitress brought us our complimentary, fresh-baked bread. It was the absolute BEST complimentary bread I have eaten before, but it was warm, crispy, and fluffy. I had to have some serious willpower to not eat more than I should because I knew my osso buco would be coming soon enough.

My family and I decided to try the Crostini al Porcini and the Caprese for appetizers.

Crostini al Poricini [$8.00] 

Caprese [$8.00]

The crostini was definitely the popular appetizer of the night, I am pretty sure every table ordered it! Just as expected it was amazing, the mushrooms were so succulent and complimented the crostini nicely. The caprese was also very good, but I probably wouldn't get it again.

For the main meals we got the osso buco (veal shank), ravioli aragosta (lobster ravioli with vodka sauce), aio oio (spaghetti with garlic, parsley, olive oil, anchovies, chili flakes, capers), trenette norcina (homemade italian sausage, onions, mushrooms).

Osso Buco [$26.00]

Aio Oio [$12.00]

Ravioli Aragosta 

Trenette Norcina

I cannot remember the prices of the ravioli and the trenette norcina, and there isn't an updated menu on the internet, so my apologies! However, I know they were between $15 and $20. The osso buco was as amazing as everyone had said, definitely worth it and would highly recommend it to anyone that can afford it. The aio oio is definitely the thing to get if you are on a budget. It is probably the cheapest main dish on the menu, but it packed with lots of flavor. Simple but delicious. The ravioli sauce was great for dipping the complimentary bread in..mmm... The homemade sausage in the trenette norcina was amazing, and I don't even like sausage! Overall, we got a good variety of dishes. All homemade from scratch.

Because it was my birthday, my mom arranged for them to have a little birthday candle atop their famous creme brulee cheesecake! It was amazing! We also got their tiramisu which was also amazing. I am not necessarily a fan of cheesecake or tiramisu, but both desserts really impressed me and I had to stop myself from eating it all. The torched sugar on top of the cheesecake perfectly replicated the texture of real creme brulee.

Creme Brulee Cheesecake [$8.00]

Tiramisu [$8.00]

I apologize that the pictures DO NOT do this place justice. The dim lighting made for poor pictures, but you can get the idea of my experience. If you can afford this place, I highly recommend it. Prices are kind of high, but it is definitely fair. I loved it, my family loved it, and we will definitely be coming back. Thank you so much to La Cucina for making my birthday memorable for all of us.

5th Street Public Market

While living in Eugene, my friend Debbi and I would ENJOY riding our bikes to 5th Street Market. It is a little upscale shopping area with an international food court. On my recent trip, I knew I wanted to eat at the food court because it was either never open, or I wasn't hungry, whenever I would be walking by.

There are five restaurants in the food court: Bricks (sandwiches and burgers), El Pato Cafe (Mexican), Cafe Glendi (Greek), Casablanca (Middle Eastern), and Dukko's Eatery (Italian).

Casablanca was under renovations when we went, so I immediately ruled that one out. It was a tough decision between Dukko's Eatery and Cafe Glendi, but alas, Italian food always wins my heart and stomach over.

Bricks: The (Double) Smokey [$9.45]
Smokey Pablano pepper, grilled onions, bacon, Gouda Cheese,
field greens, chipotle aioli

Dukko's Eatery: Carbonara [$10.00] 

Dukko's Eatery: Pesto Fettuccine [$8.00]

I ordered the pesto fettuccine which was fairly priced. It was freshly made and the quality was unmatched for a food court. The pesto sauce was creamy and the shaved parmesan added another texture that really added to this dish. The pasta came with two free slices of garlic bread, which was as amazing as it looks. It was nice and toasty, the only thing that could have made it better is if it had a stronger garlic taste.

Now, as I said, this was actually my first time eating at 5th Street Public Market, so you're probably wondering, "how could she have possibly been in love with it already?" The atmosphere. The simple answer is that the atmosphere is so peaceful and amazing. You won't find many college students here.

The Rooster Fountain
The market stands on top of what used to be a chicken processing plant.
The rooster was adopted as the logo of the market as a homage
to condemned birds.

Another cute addition to the 5th Street Market is the candy store known as Goody's. It sells everything from popcorn to candies from ANYONE'S childhood. I don't even care for candy, but there is something about the retro vibe that makes me so happy! Whenever I enter this store "The Candy Man Can" song from Willy Wonka and the Charlie Factory plays in my head. I felt like I wanted to reach out and grab my Wonka bar!

Goody's

The two highlights of the 5th Street Public Market are all things I haven't actually experienced, because they are too expensive. One is the Inn at the 5th, a 70-room, boutique style hotel. Apparently, each room is uniquely designed! One room has a Bach festival theme after the annual classical music festival that takes places in Eugene.  The other is the Marche restaurant. This restaurant is known for their elegant dining atmosphere and delicious French cuisine.

Visiting this place could be as cheap or as expensive as you want. You can just walk around (which doesn't cost a dime), or you can splurge and eat at Marche. It all depends. I would recommend just getting something small at Marche Provisions or the food court, and just people watching.