The real last call of the night — before it slips into the drunken oblivion — comes to most of us wrapped in aluminum foil. The cashier doesn’t eye us up and threaten to cut us off, and as long as you’ve got a couple bucks you can’t strike out. Wipe those stubborn tears away, gargle at your friends excitedly and bask in the unconditional love that is the late-night burrito, a tradition for some that should be adopted by more.
There are many options on the menu that is Eugene’s after-hours restaurants, but I haven’t visited many of them — maybe just most of them. However, here are a handful of popular places, for better or worse.
13th Avenue and Kincaid Street, 13th Avenue and Olive Street
Often seen kitty-corner from Taylor’s, it has become a local favorite destination after crawling off a barstool near campus. The cart has the Spanish food on standby for a couple bucks. The workers carve through lines happily and this may be the quickest place on the list to grab a bite to eat. Tacos ring up for $2.50 and burritos hover around $6.
1484 Willamette St.
Rivas has been a bastion of after hours eating for being open 24 hours for those of us on the western edges of West University. From tacos to nachos to chili, there’s a larger gamut of Hispanic foods here than the other places listed, though a skeleton crew at 3 a.m. may take some time. However, it’s been maligned for poor quality foods. A January inspection from the Lane County Health Department dropped their health inspection score from 89 to 51 (out of 100). Their biggest deduction came from not separating raw foods from ready-to-eat foods in storage.
863 E. 13th Ave.
Mediterranean food (though the menu is not limited to it) and serves until 2:30 a.m on weekends and Wednesdays. This a solid place for gyros, burgers and burritos. The food is usually great quality, while sacrificing both time and money compared to the rest of places on this list. It’s worth mentioning that, in early March, Caspian was hit with the same raw food-handling penalty that smacked Rivas, but its overall score is still 85 out of 100.
1337 Hilyard St.
A great option if you’d rather get home quick and have your food delivered. Despite some hiccups in service, mainly a logjam of late-night calls that land you with a busy signal for the remainder of time, Dough Co. practically monopolizes the afterhours delivery game. As long as you have a couple bucks, retain the wherewithal to dial and speak coherently, you can pick from a variety of calzones. The phone lines are open until 3 a.m.
510 E. Broadway
This location, just northwest of the bookstore, is open 24-hours a day. It can be packed late at night because of the name recognition (there are six locations in Eugene), but the food is delivered timely. True to its name, the taqueria provides pretty delicious tacos and burritos.