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.
Marché Café
296 E 5th Ave
Eugene, OR 97401
(541) 342-3612
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