Our second restaurant stop in Oregon was in Eugene. We stopped there to visit a friend that had just relocated. Out to lunch we went, heading past the University of Oregon to the 5th Street Market.

Upstairs, there is a pleasant, roomy eating area, much like a ritzy food court, where several different eateries are located: Greek (Café Glendi), an Italian (Noli Italian Café), Middle-Eastern (Casablanca), and fish ‘n’ chips (Go Fish),

There is also the Marché Café, which we all ended up choosing; I was deliberating between that and Casablanca. Marché Café’s steak baguette reeled me in.

From the menu, I could only assume that the place was a French-styled eatery, specializing in soups and sandwiches. If you look at their menu online, you’ll see that the steak baguette is a sandwich with marinated flank steak, caramelized onions, gruyere, and aioli for $8.50. The menu at the café, however, omitted the gruyere and included sweet peppers along with the caramelized onions.

The sandwich was made with a toasted baguette that held the ingredients like a sub, meaning the bread formed the sides of the sandwich, as opposed to being on the top and bottom like a “flat” sandwich. The caramelized onions and peppers were set on top of the sandwich along with a few leaves of arugula, which I took off and added to my accompanied mix of spring greens. Why? I assumed they were supposed to take the place of the traditional sandwich lettuce, except that the arugula actually sat on top and was not included inside. I didn’t feel like opening up my sandwich so that I might bite into the arugula along with the steak, so I added it to my salad.

The sandwich tasted good, but the bread was toasted too much to eat comfortably. Also, because it was a sub-styled sandwich, and the caramelized onions and peppers sat on top, it was a little difficult to eat; the onions and peppers threatened to spill out and I was also unable to have some with every bite (ever have that problem with a taco?). The steak itself was tasty if not a bit over-cooked, making it, of course, less tender than it could have been. The aioli went nicely with the steak.

The accompanying salad was drizzled with a vinaigrette that was light on the vinegar. It was a nice compliment to the otherwise heavy sandwich. The flavor of the greens stood out and the vinaigrette did not overpower.

Being that I had a steak sandwich on baguette, the price was not too bad. However, my wife had a grilled Tillamook cheese sandwich and fruit (the Croque Bébé) for $5.00. I assume that was some spectacular fruit.

I cannot speak to what my wife and friends had, as I did not taste their dishes (well, I stole a French fry – tasty). I do know they did enjoy their food, although the burger was not medium rare like my friends had requested.

That said, here is this review’s rating scale:

	Is this Heaven?
	I crave. Must have more.
	Really good!
	Good enough.
	I do not enjoy eating vomit.

I give Marché Café 3 1/2 stars. The sandwich was very tasty, just a little difficult to eat. The prices aren’t too bad. I think if the meat had not been over-cooked and the sandwich easier to eat, I’d bump up the rating.

During the last week of July, my wife and I set out to Oregon with her sister and brother-in-law. The plan was to hit Ashland and stay in a motel, drive up to the Rogue Valley State Park to camp out, trek up to Eugene to visit a friend, make our way to Salem to visit my wife and sister-in-law’s brother, head out to the Beachside State Park to camp again, then drive on home.

Whew.

On vacation, I like to eat at local places. Even though most of the time you may not get “local cuisine” – because, let’s face it: you’ll find similar dishes all around this here U.S. of A. – you will get to try local ingredients a lot of the time. You might also find that local restaurants make your favorite dish differently from place to place.

So, even though the plan was to make our own food at the camp sites, there were times when we’d eat out. And our first stop was in Ashland at a place called Louie’s Bar and Grill.

Louie’s claims to make Ashland’s best burger. I forget how long they’ve made that claim (11 years?), but suffice it to say, we all had some sort of burger. Not necessarily because of this claim, but because they advertised what they call “The Recession Burger”. By another name, it’s called a “cheeseburger”. That’s right. As a promotion, they’d labeled their standard cheeseburger The Recession Burger because they were pricing it at $4.99 instead of the regular price (which was $6.95, I think). This, of course, appealed to the four of us that were looking for good, cheap, eats.

My wife and her sister had a Recession Burger. The sister’s hubby had a Jack Daniel’s Burger at regular price.

I would have gone for the Recession Burger as well, but I’d had a huge sandwich from a Nugget that was still lasting me (the Nugget was in Woodland, CA, and it was merely average, atypical for Nugget. But that’s another story). I therefore opted for the more-expensive-yet-I-don’t-know-why patty melt.

Overall, the patty melt was very good. The meat was tasty, but the patty was a bit too small for the bread, meaning that the ends of my sandwich was basically buttery toast with some grilled onions. Speaking of onions, they were indeed grilled, but not to the point of ultra-softness. They still had a very slight firmness, which I liked because in this state they retain a bit of bite. There was enough American cheese to make the sandwich moist but not overly gooey. My patty melt was accompanied by a chipotle coleslaw, which was slightly spicy but not necessarily amazing. It was good, and I enjoyed it as a side dish, but it wasn’t anything I would yearn for.

When traveling I also like to try the local beers and wines, to see what the local breweries and wineries are up to. So, while I knew I wanted a local beer, I couldn’t decide between the two light beers on the menu. The server couldn’t really describe either too me, nor make a recommendation (perhaps he was too young to drink). Therefore, I had him surprise me. He brought me a Mirror Pond, which was hoppy, light, and refreshing.

Overall, the meal was very good. The price was a bit much for a patty melt, especially compared to the regular prices of the other burgers, and I don’t really understand this. Is it the grilling of the onions that jacks up the price? The special bread? I don’t know.

While I did not taste the other meals at the table, I can tell you that everyone enjoyed their burgers. The brother-in-law seemed enthusiastic about his time spent with the Jack Daniel’s Burger and wanted another. I did have a taste of their French fries, which were crispy on the outside, mealy on the inside, and very, very lightly salted. It was a French fry certainly meant for dipping.

The service was pleasant. The servers and hostess were easy to talk to and helpful.

All in all, I would recommend a visit to Louie’s Bar and Grill. The food was very enjoyable, the prices were decent, and the service was pleasant. If only someone could explain the high price of a patty melt, then I’d be even happier.

In conclusion, I present this review’s rating scale:

	I must return. The food calls to me.
	Very good. I can still taste it.
	Good. When in Ashland, it’ll be one of the choices.
	It was edible and made my hunger pangs go away.
	If I die from this food, I’ll be sure to let them know.

I give Louie’s 3 1/2 stars. I think if I’d closed my eyes out of ecstasy during that first bite I’d bump it up to 4.

For those of you visiting Ashland, definitely check out Louie’s Bar and Grill.