You might have eyed the Mountain Tees, and maybe you thought about buying a piece of jewelry for Mother’s Day, but let’s be honest — you spent most of your time and a painful amount of money at the Street Faire’s food carts.
Some of you might still be savoring the barbecue flavors, while others might be praying gastrointestinal discomfort doesn’t settle in and keel you over for the rest of the week. Let’s take a look at your choices and break down the best and the worst of the Street Faire food.
The logical place to start is with the barbecues. Long lines, full plates and greedy odors make these carts staples of the faire; while most are delicious, not all are fair to their price tag. Philyaw’s Cookout, for example, lures in customers by being the first cart on the strip. Its hefty servings, aesthetically-pleasing cart and friendly staff make it tough to pass — but $11 and $12 for pulled pork? Philyaw’s isn’t worth your stop.
Bates Steakhouse, on the other hand, is. Not only does Bates take the cake here, its mouthwatering tri-tip sandwich at a respectable $8.50 runs away with it. If you weren’t fortunate enough to stop here, it might be worth swinging by their Broadway location downtown.
If you didn’t get barbecue, you probably (and hopefully) got teriyaki. Oriental Village, Taste Korea and Aloha Grill make it hard to go wrong — but Aloha Grill is clearly the fan favorite. With incredible dishes around $6 across the board, the Hawaiian teriyaki joint is one of the faire’s most popular eateries.
When it comes to Mexican food, the line isn’t so blurred: Between Saritza’s Mexican Food and Java Oasis, I hope you can discern whose Mexican is more authentic from the names; Saritza’s is affordable and popular. Java Oasis’s nachos will strike a painful resemblance to those you regrettably bought at Autzen Stadium, and though the name implies coffee, its fare will make you wonder if a stadium concession stand relocated to East 13th Avenue for the weekend.
But maybe you weren’t so hungry and decided to enjoy the weather and ambiance with something cold. Between ice creams, shaved ices and frozen bananas, Red Wagon Creamery’s artisan ice cream drew lines much longer than Larson’s Fine Candies or its other competitors. It continues to be one of Eugene’s finest hot-weather pit stops.
On the snack end of things, Larsen’s Fine Candies’ caramel apples, The Divine Cupcake and Le Crepe made things tough on potential buyers and, quite honestly, it would’ve been hard to go wrong depending on your mood. For me though, the fresh fruit and irresistible Nutella made Le Crepe my snack stop of choice.
Though the Street Faire came and went, each of these carts has a permanent location around Eugene, so look them up and give them a try if you weren’t able to during the past week.