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. 

Cart de Frisco

I regret that I didn't have a blog when I ate at this little cart because I wish that I could have posted my initial feelings. The story behind Cart de Frisco is that it is a little food cart (literally a cart, not a truck) that is parked outside of the University of Oregon gate near the Duck Store on 13th. When I attended the UO during my freshmen year, I had always noticed that this little cart was either closed or had a line. They would also participate in the ASUO Street Fair! Sadly, I never had the opportunity to try this deliciously messy food of the heavens until my most recent trip to the good ol' Eug.

So you're probably wondering "why Frisco?" Apparently frisco sauce is made red wine, olive oil, butter, thyme, and salmon bones! I am sure that everyone makes their sauce different, so I am not exactly sure how this specific cart makes theirs.

I went with my friend Carmen, so I knew we had to do the split technique so that we could try more things. I ordered the Chicken Sandwich and Carmen ordered the Frisco Noodle. You can customize how spicy you want your dish to be so I chose spicy and Carmen chose mild.

Chicken Sandwich [$6.50] 

Frisco Noodle [$6.50]

The prices were phenomenal! As you can see, both of the dishes were $6.50! Carmen and I only ate about half of everything! That's ridiculous, if you ask me. Everything was super tasty and hardy. My favorite dish would have to be the sandwich. I'm sorry, but nothing compares to the euphoric feeling of sinking your teeth into a delicious burger/sandwich and having the sauces just get all of your face and drip down your elbows. There wasn't THAT big of a difference between mild and spicy, but that can change daily. The only thing that could be improved is the flavoring of the noodles in the Frisco Noodle. The container that the food was in was so small that there was no way I could have mixed the sauce from the chicken onto the noodles without it getting everywhere. But that is just my first world rant, I should be happy that they gave me such a large portion!

Anyway, would highly recommend this place, especially if you are on a budget. It is superb as far as campus food carts go!

Little Big Burger

Currently, I am in Eugene, Oregon visiting my old friend. If you didn't know, last year (2011-2012) I attended the University of Oregon! I missed my friends so much that I HAD to come back and visit them. Slowly but surely I have been meeting up with all of the friends and we partake in my favorite activity, eating. On this particular day, my friend Keith and I went to "Little Big Burger." Now this place prides itself on it's fresh ingredients and slider sized burgers.

Burger flippin' goodness

As you can see in the background, the menu is extremely simple. You can either have a cheese burger (with Tillamook cheddar, bleu, chèvre, or swiss), hamburger, or veggie burger.

Menu

I got the cheese burger with chèvre, and it was amazing! I never had chèvre in a burger before, so I knew I HAD to try it. Apparently, you can request to get your burger "pink" or else they just prepare it well done, but I forgot to mention it because I was too excited about getting my burger. Nonetheless, it was still deliciously juicy and just the right size for me.

Cheese Burger with Chevre [$3.25]

Some may think that it is really expensive for what you get, but I believe it is fair priced. It's true you can probably get a bigger burger at McDonald's for cheaper, but would you really want to? I'll take quality over quantity any day. Plus, when you think about it, gourmet burgers usually run about $6-$9! This burger is more than half the size of a gourmet burger and still about half the price. I'd say it's a good deal.

Now arguably the most exciting part about eating at "Little Big Burger" are the truffle oil fries. Even if people don't like the burgers here, they definitely cannot resist the beautiful aroma and taste of the fries!

Truffle Oil Fries [$2.75]

I really enjoyed my experience at "Little Big Burger," but I had a feeling I would. The owners (or employees, not sure what they were) were SUPER nice! They let us sit and talk for like a good 2 and a half hours. While I was waiting for my friend I even just sat in their restaurant without buying anything for a good 20 minutes and they never bothered me. I would definitely recommend this spot if you are craving a good little burger and are near the University of Oregon campus! Don't forget the fries!

Oh yeah, they have their own special brand of ketchup they use too! It is a little tangier than regular ketchup. It's not for everyone, but you should try it!

Available for sale, too!