Dining at the 5th Street Public Market

Published September 17, 2009 at 11:21 am |

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In addition to Skinner Butte Park, the other must-do attraction in Eugene, Oregon is the 5th Street Public Market. For a Tuesday night, the market was understandably quiet. I enjoyed the peacefulness and solitude, as if I had the place to myself, but I could picture the place when it is busy buzzing with energy too. Either way, you’re sure to win.

The Public Market used to be an old chicken factory. Today it’s a place full of shops and restaurants. My purpose was to enjoy dinner. There are several restaurants in the surrounding area, both along the street and inside the market. On the corner is the main eatery with several dining options.

Some of the menu items were less than appealing…

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Others caught my attention right away like Cafe Marche. It serves French, cafe-style food. For me, that translated to a Croque Monsieur and Tomato and Mozzarella Salad. Those are some of my favorite foods. I’ve written about tomato and mozzarella before in Chicago. So quick tip, if I end up at your house for dinner, you know what to serve.

In college there were rules about dining alone. During Breakfast it was okay to eat alone since most college students sleep late into the morning. During lunch it was also okay, because your schedule was probably different than your friends and so you had no choice but to eat alone. Come dinner time though, there really was no excuse to eat solo. Only friendless people ate alone.

Now that I travel on the road, I eat alone a lot. Sometimes I bring a magazine to read, other times I have my computer and many times I just sit, relax and enjoy the atmosphere. And I’m okay with that. The key to enjoying your solo dining experience is to choose a restaurant that has character. Chain restaurants are not a good choice. They are usually bland. The 5th Street Public Market is not. It’s a great place to eat by yourself. They also offer free Internet!

Quaint spots like these also are a haven for specialty desserts. My favorite? Chocolate Mousse.

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Before I left for the evening I stumbled across a local festival that classical music fans may be interested in.

The final stop I had for the night was at an African Store. If there was anyplace I could be right now, it would be South Africa. My experience there two years ago was so memorable and fantastic I have become a big fan. Whenever I see an African Store somewhere I always pop-in to “have a moment”.

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This store had great African artifacts. Overpriced, but very traditional. I spoke to the owner who was from Kenya. We spoke about Mount Kilimanjaro, which as I learned, used to be part of Kenya, but due to a sneaky deal, was lost to Tanzania when the country’s borders were changed. My stop into this store was quite timely since I have a business trip to South Africa coming up in October. I’ll be there for 3 weeks and I am very excited. Of course you can follow my adventures in South Africa and the rest of my travels through the United States until then here at adventureswithben.com.

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