Behind Red Wagon Creamery, there is a little known restaurant with a philosophy we can all agree on: partying is good for you. Party Downtown is celebrating one year in its permanent brick-and-mortar location this month and this is a cause for extra celebration for owners Tiffany Norton and Mark Kosmicki. 

Party Downtown started as Party Cart in April 2011 with the idea to provide mostly organic, creative and delicious burgers with a farm-to-table philosophy.

“Mark and I were at a point where we really wanted to work for ourselves,” co-owner Tiffany Norton said. “But of course we didn’t have any money. The cheapest way to start a food business is to start a food cart, so that’s what we did.”

Party Cart’s menu was, essentially, a smaller version of the menu at its current location. Focusing on supporting local farm owners Norton and Kosmicki were friends with, the menu eventually settled on burgers. With the help of Red Wagon Creamery, the two carts joined forces as well as funds to become one location in downtown Eugene.

The setup is truly different from anything I’ve experienced before. In the front, neighboring National Taphouse and Bijou Metro, is Red Wagon Creamery, a (seemingly) independent restaurant. During a visit, I had the pleasure of using the restroom with penny-lined flooring and suddenly realized I was in a completely different building. Different aesthetic, kitchen, and a full-blown bar. This is Party Downtown.

What is really quite exceptional about Party Downtown is the aesthetic that this unique little restaurant has conceptualized. The room is bright and airy with sky blue walls and a Mediterranean-blue floor. A chalkboard menu is posted on the wall because it changes too often to have a printed menu. Delicate terrariums decorate the walls and meals are served on intricate plates. In the back of the Party half of the building there’s a bar, equally aesthetically pleasing (but I’ll get to that later) but with dark wood and a chic vibe. I want to call it hipster, but it seems too truly authentic and lighthearted to be labeled as such.

But hip, indeed.

Party Downtown is an unusual name for a restaurant and apparently is often confused with a party-supply store, Kosmicki said. The name came from an inside joke while he worked on a farm, ultimately derived from a line from HBO show, “Mr. Show”: “Why did you take me, God? Is it because I party?” But it’s not only a joke, it’s a way of life.

“How serious can you get when your place is called ‘Party’?” Kosmicki asked me. “We like to replace it with any other word, nouns and adjectives.”

Party Downtown’s menu changes weekly and seasonally with very few permanent items such as the Son-In-Law Egg (hardboiled and fried egg) and a duck egg dish. The bar’s menu changes less frequently but still keeps with the seasons.

While Norton and Kosmicki are in creative control of the kitchen, the bar belongs to master mixer James West.

“James is like a mad scientist,” Thor Slaughter, a novice bartender, said. “He tinkers endlessly, finding the perfect balance and ingredients for things. The cocktails are amazing because he strives to make sure none of them are busy … James is all about extravagant minimalism.”

The bar provides homemade sodas (not a Pepsi or Coke in the building) and liqueurs, such as the Black Manhattan, made with homemade and aged nocino liqueur.

At Party Downtown, homemade, local and creative is a standard and expectation. Hoping to provide classy meals in a fun environment, the restaurant hopes to branch out to a younger, student community. But if we can all agree on something, it is to party.

As the families start pouring into Eugene for Commencement ceremonies, there’s a perilous decision to be made: Who is going to feed all of these people? Certainly not you, in your tiny off-campus apartment. Graduation weekend is more than just a weekend with your parents. There’s a layer of celebration that makes dining in Eugene especially difficult. Be sure to call several days in advance to reserve a table during this busy season. As long as your parents are paying, you might as well go the extra-classy route. The options are few and far between in Eugene, but they exist.

Ambrosia (174 E. Broadway) is an Italian restaurant that has been in Eugene for decades. Ambrosia’s bar has an extensive wine list with wines from Pacific Northwest, California, Italy, France and Spain. Specialty cocktails incorporate Northwest flavors to boast to your out-of-state parents, such as house-infused blackberry vodka. Not to mention, the food — everything from seafood pasta, pizza to simple salads are all excellent choices.

Beppe and Gianni’s Trattoria (1646 E. 19th St.) is another Italian favorite of Eugene, especially with its proximity to campus and its homey atmosphere. Beppe and Gianni’s specials, such as fresh, handmade ravioli made daily (the filling is seasonal and changes frequently). Beppe and Gianni’s does not take reservations for groups under eight.

“Graduation weekend we serve handmade lobster and crab ravioli, something that we only serve a couple of times a year for special occasions. But all year round our best is handmade pastas and grilled seafood,” said Brett Adamo, chef at Beppe and Gianni’s.

Sweet Cheeks Winery (27007 Briggs Hill Rd.) doesn’t serve much food besides small plates such as hummus, but that doesn’t mean you can’t celebrate with a few rounds of wine tasting. On Friday nights and Father’s Day, several food carts come to serve hot food to all the wine drinkers in front of the spectacular view of Lane County countryside, something that customers are always impressed, according to Casey Minnis, manager of Sweet Cheeks.

Belly Restaurant (30 E. Broadway) and Belly Taqueria (454 Willamette St.) are quickly becoming popular choices for modern dining in Eugene. Belly Restaurant provides unique, seasonal “farmhouse soul food,” a full bar and equally interesting cocktailslike the a moonshine sour. Both restaurants have an atmosphere that should be familiar to any Eugene veteran like yourself: intimate, hipster, mix-matched decor. Reservations available at Belly Restaurant for groups of six or more, between 5 p.m. and 6:30 p.m.

Though Ox & Fin (105 Oakway Center) is one of the lesser-known restaurants within the student community, the “steakhouse with Italian sensibilities” is a longtime favorite for special occasions. Everything from small plates such as fried hazelnuts, to oysters on the half shell, to its several choices of hearty steak dinners, the entire menu of Ox & Fin defines a celebratory meal.

“We have a lot of excellent dishes, of course,” said manager Josh Mitchell. “But really what makes us so great is our excellent customer service and hospitality.”

Grit (1080 W. 3rd St.) is a unique addition to the Eugene food scene. Grit is located in a restored historical restaurant built in the 1930s and most customers adore its ambiance and charm. Its menu features seasonal and local products in addition to a rotating fixed-price $35 four-course meal as well as seasonal cocktails and desserts.

Kombucha is not for everyone. Like many others, I initially rejected the concept of anything that calls itself “mushroom tea” and smells faintly of vinegar. And the homeopathic remedies it claims to have, ranging from simple indigestion to cancer, just make me all the more skeptical.

I’m still wary of the more serious health benefits, but I’ve found through my own, well-researched experimentation that kombucha is a pretty damn good hangover remedy. There are many scientifically unfounded curative elements to kombucha, but the aid to gastric distress is the most plausible. The drink is chock full of probiotics, a good-for-you bacteria also found in yogurt that keeps your intestines a-flowin’. GT’s Kombucha boasts about 2 billion probiotics per serving.

“I don’t really pay attention to that. I just drink it because it tastes good… I don’t really believe it until I look into it for myself,” said Adrian Robins, a senior in environmental science and avid kombucha-drinker.

The fermented tea has ancient roots in China, however it has just recently become commercially popular in the States. It’s made by keeping tea and sugar in a jar with a SCOBY, or symbiotic culture of bacteria and yeast, producing a fermented, fizzy beverage compared from to weak vinegar, sparkling apple cider or healthy “soda.”

I eased myself in the kombucha culture out of friends’ recommendations and for the sake of trying something new. GT’s Kombucha (better known as Synergy, one of the leading brands of kombucha) is an incredibly sweet variety of kombucha and comes with the added, textural fun of chia seeds.

“If someone likes sweeter tasting drinks or are big soda drinkers, the Love flavor [of Brew Dr.] is really good,” said said Mahala Ray, a Townshend’s Tea employee. Other good “beginner” Brew Dr. kombucha flavors are Nutritonic and Clear Mind.

However, kombucha can be a bit pricey. Depending on the store, bottles of the stuff are between $3.50 to $5; if you can find it on tap, it’ll be a bit cheaper. But like most things, DIY is cheapest — no fancy equipment, no hard-to-find ingredients. Simply water, tea, sugar, a few Mason jars and a SCOBY, which you can purchase online, acquire from a homebrewing friend, or make from a commercial kombucha.

Robins brews his own kombucha in his apartment, made from a SCOBY from his cousin’s own homemade batch.

“I was a big fan. Once you start (brewing) and you don’t have anyone to give your SCOBYs to, you just start asking everyone you know if they want to start brewing. She gave me one of her SCOBY babies and what I have now is the great-great-great grandmother SCOBY,” Robins said.

While fermenting, the SCOBY reproduces to form a “baby” SCOBY. These can be used to start a new batch of kombucha or to share with a friend.

“Mostly starting to make kombucha is the hard part. If you want some homemade kombucha, you can’t just brew yourself a cup. You have to plan a month ahead,” Robins said. For a quick kombucha fix, his favorite is Townshend’s Tea Brew Dr. brand.

“It’s a cool process to see the SCOBY grow and watch the mixture ferment,” said Jen Beard, a friend of Robins. “My favorite part of helping out Adrian was picking out tea flavors for the kombucha.”

Robins starts by brewing a large pot of Nilgiri FOP from Eugene-based Young Mountain Tea. After steeping for the recommended time, he adds sugar and allows the mixture to come to room temperature in a one-gallon mason jar. The sugar is absolutely necessary in order to promote the aerobic process of fermentation (where sugar is converted to carbon dioxide). The SCOBY and a bit of the last batch of kombucha is added to the mix to increase the acidity of the mixture and kick-start fermenting, then set in a cool, dark place to ferment for about two to four weeks.

We all have those days. Your midterm didn’t go as well as you expected. Your crush is interested in someone else. You slept through your class one too many times and just saw your grade drop a full letter.

When you have a bad day, all you really want to do is curl up in your bed at parent’s house. When you are a college student far from home, it can be more difficult. But everyone has a gastronomic equivalent to a favorite sweater, a nice pep talk from your mom or dad, a kiss on the forehead. It’s your comfort food. Maybe it’s Kraft Macaroni and Cheese, spaghetti or chicken noodle soup.

For international University of Oregon student, though, it’s a little more difficult to find these comfort foods.

According to a yearly survey done by UO Admissions, about 3,000 students are from another country — totaling 94 countries. Many of these students are here for four years working towards an undergraduate degree, only returning to their home country once a year or less.  

In a city as white as Eugene, authentic Chinese, Persian, African or South American cuisines (or even ingredients) are hard to come by. But students are finding a way to combat homesickness by cooking at home. For these three students, food is a way to remember their roots.

Behnaz Asadpour — Iran

In a period of youthful defiance, Behnaz Asadpour moved to Oregon from Khozestan, a western providence of Iran, to study business. Asadpour gets the chance to connect with other Persian international students by working in the Mills International Center.

Persian culture in Iran is focused on family and respect, with short work days, long lunches and meals surrounded by an extensive family. Hospitality is a several hours long event putting American Thanksgiving to shame. But the concept of a potlock — seemingly commonplace in an American setting — came as a bizarre culture shock.

“My first American party I went to, they asked me to bring something. I was so confused,” Asadpour said. “(In Iran) if they ask you to bring food, it’s very insulting. But I thought it was kind of cool … so I started it in the Persian community here.”

Just like Asadpour, many Persian students found the idea rude, but warmed up to the opportunity because of the chance to eat some authentic dishes, play cards and speak Farsi — something Asadpour admits she misses the most. Besides, the American potluck saved a bit of cash. Extravagant Persian parties are expected to be completely catered by the host, can cost up to $300 and take two days to prepare.

“When we go to other parts of the world, we say, ‘What the hell is wrong with these people? Why do they do this?’” Asadpour said. ”Here it is much more about taking care of yourself and then helping others.”

Asadpour’s comfort food is a Persian herb stew called ghormeh sabzi that differs slightly depending on what region of Iran you’re eating it in. If made the traditional way, it can take up to six hours to prepare.

“Spending the time to cook every night is very hard. Even though I really like Persian food, I don’t prepare it often because I work and go to school,” she said. In rural Iran, work days are only four or five hours long, leaving plenty of time to cook.

Surprisingly, Asadpour names Caspian as a good location for a tasty and accurate Persian meal, especially the kebab.

Yawei Zhang — China

The Chinese community at UO is one of the biggest — with around 2,000 students. Unlike the Persian student population, Chinese students are much more represented in restaurants and markets around Eugene (though the authenticity is questionable). Yawei Zhang, president of the Chinese Students and Scholars Association, takes advantage of this larger community by hosting loosely competitive potlucks with friends. Zhang is a senior in product design from Xin Xiang in the central providence Henan. 

“(The potlucks) are fun, you can taste everything each person made,” Zhang said. “It doesn’t take a lot of time but you can eat a lot of food … but if they don’t want to cook, I just cook for everyone. We share everything … It makes everyone friendly. It’s a family environment.”

Zhang’s potluck specialty is Coca-Cola chicken wings, which is surprisingly native to China considering its very American ingredient. However, one of his favorite foods from home are dumplings, abundantly made during Chinese New Year.

Zhang visits home only once a year (if not every two years) because the Chinese academic breaks are scheduled differently. For most Chinese students, UO breaks are spent stuck in their Eugene apartments, waiting for school to begin again.

“We’re trying to learn American culture here so we said, ‘Why don’t we do the Christmas thing?’” Zhang said. “My friends and I come together and we go to a cabin on the McKenzie river, about twenty of us. We tried to cook a turkey even though we didn’t know how.”

Zhang would rather cook Chinese food from home using ingredients from the Asian markets, though he says there is a new cook from China at East Meets West — so he expects the food to change in a positive way. Most Chinese food in Eugene, he claims, is very Americanized.

Nhi Dao — Vietnam

Though it’s traditional for mothers to teach everything they know about cooking to their daughters, economics graduate Nhi Dao wasn’t taught much before moving to America. It’s been two years since she moved into her own kitchen and Dao still feels like she hasn’t gotten the unique flavors of Vietnam figured out.

Dao grew up in the central part of Vietnam in a city about the size of  Washington, D.C. called Da Nang. Though the Vietnamese population at UO is much smaller than some international groups on campus (a mere 30 people), there’s always a good group of people for a dinner party.

“In Vietnamese culture, whenever friends gather there must be food. Food is a connector among everyone. Everyone eats, talks, shares their stories. It’s very communal, a family environment,” Dao said.

However, learning to cook Vietnamese has been a challenge for Dao. Eugene has a fair amount of Asian markets with the necessary ingredients, but she hasn’t learned the necessary skills. Often she’ll call home to Vietnam for help.

“I’m truly not at the level to satisfy my need for true Vietnamese food sometimes. When I do cook, it’s never where I want it or expect it to be to satisfy my need,” Dao said.

For a quick Vietnamese treatment, Dao heads to Noodle Head for a bowl of pho, a Vietnamese classic soup. Their pho, according to her, is “pretty decent.” Her other favorite from home is a French-Vietnamese dish, banh mi, a sandwich that is made often by parents for their children. Dao claims that the Eugene restaurant Mame has a fairly good banh mi. 

The desire for those familiar foods is a comfort that doesn’t know borders, though the flavors may be a little different. There’s an innate craving for all things homey and delicious, especially when living as far away from home as some students do. Though it’s a bit more difficult to find these flavors in little Eugene, there will always be a community willing to open their homes and kitchens for these international students.

Around this time of year 13th is clouded with the scents of barbecue and maple syrup, enticing students to spend their cash at one of the many street faire food vendors. It seems like every year there are more food options, with some carts disappearing and new ones popping up each time the faire rolls around.

Whether you’re unabashedly carnivorous, curious to try something new and ethnic or just want some delicious, greasy carnival food, there’s a vendor for you. No, actually, there are several vendors for you.

Two barbecue booths have their take on the classics and both stink the campus up with a smell that will make vegetarians reconsider life choices. Philyaw’s Cookout claims Carolina-style barbecue and is known for its smoked pork; Smoking Pig BBQ has its rights over Western-style barbecue with its dry rubs. 

Viva Vegetarian Grill provides a great, vegetarian alternative to the meaty American classics such as hot dogs and pulled pork sandwiches. The grill is appreciated by omnivores and vegetarians alike.

“I get so excited about Viva being on campus that I kind of forget about all the other food carts’ options,” said faire-goer Bianca Marino. Marino enjoyed her all-time Viva favorite, the Polish “Soy-sage” with sauerkraut and spicy mustard. I chose their Hickory BBQ sandwich, made with god-knows-what meat replacer but delicious to high heaven.

There seems to be an influx of Mediterranean restaurants, but don’t you dare think this is a bad thing. Even with three of them on the block, they all have falafel but provide lots of other phenomenal Mediterranean options. Captain Pat’s got gyros galore; Heady Medi Joint’s down with some veggie options such as spanakopita (spinach, feta and phyllo pie) and a simple Greek salad. 

Lots of carts at the Street Faire don’t have much of a specific culture tied to their food, instead going the “fusion” route. Sporks a la Cart and Three Forks both have such dishes, dipping into Filipino, Indian, Thai, Japanese and American cuisines to produce some tasty results.

Of course, there’s about a dozen I haven’t mentioned, all with their own unique and tasty additions to one of the most cheerful weeks of the spring quarter. Even if nothing intrigues your lunch appetite, surely one of the dessert carts will –elephant ears, Red Wagon Creamery, sweet crepes and chocolate-covered bananas are just the beginning of it.

Whether you fancy yourself a foodie, a fiendish food porn browser or are simply trying to impress a new boo with a home-cooked meal, social media is a great place to find recipe inspirations. Check out these food-focused social media accounts.

The Oregon Food Scene

Over the last few years, Eugene and Portland’s tourism industry has been heavily focused on the cuisine of the Pacific Northwest. We’re known for a lot of things when it comes to food —salmon, marionberries and hazelnuts are the first that come to mind— but now, more than ever, a growing microbrew scene.

Feast your eyes on some delicious-looking beer, burgers and pastrami. Check out the Instagram feeds of Ninkasi and Falling Sky Brewery for a good dose of bar and beer porn.

Portland’s Stumptown Coffee Roasters’ Instagram provides beautiful photography focused around their coffee. Stumptown is all about documenting perfectly-executed latte art accompanied by well-dressed hipsters in flannel — all perfectly lit and filtered.

If you’re the kind to call yourself a foodie, join up on the Facebook group Eugene Foodies. It’s a fairly popular and active group, posting pictures of food made at home and locally.

 Your Fill of Food Porn

You may feel a little ridiculous instagramming every meal you eat, but apparently none of these ‘grammers have much of a problem with it.

Live vicariously through the perfectly-lit lives of the writers and cooks at Bon Appetit Magazine. Their pictures are not only pretty to look at but their how-to videos are beautiful and informative.

Called “the darling of the slow food movement,” celebrity chef Jamie Oliver’s Instagram is packed full of images of his seemingly impossible-looking dishes and beautiful garden. If you can handle a promotional post every now and then, Oliver’s Instagram is worth subscribing to. Another celebrity chef’s Instagram, Tom Colicchio, is maybe less beautiful than Oliver’s — however, I feel it is much more accurate to the chef lifestyle and never self-promoting.

How-to’s & Recipes for Students

Cooking on your own is hard. It takes everything I have to not just make pasta every night. These accounts understand the mindset of the college student. Food for the nearly-broke? There’s a website for that. Short on time? One for that too. Think all food blogs are pretentious and annoying? Don’t worry, on the Internet, there’s something for everyone.

The recently started UO Spoon University is an online publication with a college student focus, covering all sorts of food-related topics such as restaurant reviews and food and cocktail recipes.

Just because you can’t spend a lot of money doesn’t mean it can’t be classy. Food blogs like Full Thyme Student and Budget Bytes are designed to help students that are on a strict budget and short on time. In addition to quick recipes, Full Thyme Student gives guides on how to manage a grocery budget and how to coupon.

Some food blogs are a run by superhero stay-at-home moms and overachievers that make being a home cook look glamorous. Silly food blogs such as WHAT THE FUCK SHOULD I MAKE FOR DINNER and Thug Kitchen bring a lighter side to the kitchen, giving damn good recipes with hilarious commentary and instructions.

It’s a damn shame to eat a meal indoors when the weather is perfect in Eugene. We have compiled a list of our favorite places to eat outside this spring.

Campus district & South Eugene

It’s difficult to talk about outdoor dining without an ode to the patios of Rennie’s and Taylor’s. It seems that most people on campus have a preference between the two. But when it comes to the patio, it’s hard to decide. Taylor’s is best for enjoying beer and bar food, while people-watching on the busiest street in town. Rennie’s more private patio is better for intimate (or rowdy) get-togethers with friends.

“I prefer Rennie’s,” said Frannie Gollnick, a senior in the political science department. “The vibe is a little more casual and you’re less exposed to 13th.”

Falling Sky (1334 Oak Alley) has been a runner up for Eugene Weekly’s “Best of Eugene” for best place to drink in the sun, best bar grub and best burger. Enjoy the seasonal rotating menu and a cold drink on the garden patio, made up of only three long tables.

“(The patio) is in beer hall style, so chances are you’ll probably sit with a couple of people you may not know,” said Sarah Thorpe, a Falling Sky Pub employee. Get ready to eat great food and make a new friend or two.

The McMenamin’s at 1243 High St. is a refurbished house with a hell of a garden. On top of that is a killer happy hour and Monday $10 burger and beer special. The patio is more of a backyard, with the intimacy and familiarity of a friend’s house.

For breakfast, the Hideaway Bakery patio is well worth the trip past Amazon Park. Outdoor seating is almost always full of children playing in the sandbox and dogs with their coffee-guzzling owners.

Whiteaker

Everyone loves Papa’s Soul Food, though good luck getting a seat outside. The restaurant is constantly packed, so you’d be lucky to get a seat at all. If you’re under 21, Papa’s provides a refreshing glass of Kool-Aid. For the legally drunk, try one of the many Southern themed cocktails, such as the Savannah Gimlet or Georgia Peach.

Didn’t think a beer could be paired with the weather? Think again. Goodbye to wintry oatmeal stouts, hello to Ninkasi Spring Reign. Ninkasi can’t offer much for food (beside a food truck and some light snacks), but the patio is designed for enjoying the sunshine (or a warm evening) with a hoppy beer.

Downtown

Though it’s a little exposed with all the downtown foot traffic, the shared sidewalk patio of The Barn Light and Sizzle Pie at Willamette Street and Broadway is a perfect place to people-watch and relax in the sun. In addition to their normal lunch and bar menu, Barn Light has a little-known coffee shop in the morning and afternoons. And leave it up to Sizzle Pie to develop a breakfast pizza, perfect for a hangover.

The Vintage (837 Lincoln St.) is another favorite of downtown Eugene, perfect for both a classy “last first date” or just dinner with friends. Drinking specialty cocktails and “mocktails” under a terrace of grapevines will have you swooning.

At Red Wagon Creamery, the ice cream flavors seem like they came straight from Willy Wonka. I’m not one to knock a classic ice cream flavor — because truly I do love the Prince Puckler classics — but this creamery is here to challenge everything you knew about the favorite frozen treat.

Red Wagon Creamery was a traveling ice cream cart before permanently settling in its current downtown location one year ago. At this much larger location, it is able to feature several rotating ice cream flavors on top of five signature “base” flavors. This time around the headline-buster is “Beet It,” a roasted beet and chocolate chip ice cream, and “All Hail the Bee,” a chocolate chip and candy honeycomb ice cream made with local Glorybee honey. Honey isn’t so strange, but beets?

“The earthiness of the beets pumps up the mouth’s receptiveness to chocolate. There are a good number of recipes for chocolate cakes that have a little beet in there for the flavor and the color,” said Stuart Phillips, the co-owner and husband of the chef. “I’ll admit, at first I was a little skeptical … but when I tried it, I was like, ‘Wow.’”

According to employee Joel Watson, there’s no shortage of skepticism when it comes to the stranger flavors.

“I’m not forcing ice cream on anyone, but usually all you have to do is ask if they want a sample,” Watson said. “It really is good, people are just put off by something like beets.”

Conceptualizing an alternative ice cream flavor isn’t as difficult as you might imagine. Co-owner Emily Phillips was a chef for 10 years before opening Red Wagon. At Red Wagon, she tries to take dishes she’s made in the past and translate them into ice cream.

There’s a trial and error period, much like all great creations.

“We test our creations on our family but… the dirty little secret in food business is that you test on your customers,” Stuart said. “You get it out there, they try it and either they like or they don’t. If they don’t you shrug and say, ‘Maybe we don’t make that one again.’”

Stuart is guilty of one such flavor, a twist on their popular Buttered Corn flavor and a hop onto the bacon-bandwagon — Breakfast Bacon and Grits. The bacon just didn’t work and the grits were too… well, gritty. The resulting taste and texture were less than desirable and the concoction didn’t even make it to the public.

Ellie Phillips, Stuart and Emily’s 13 year-old daughter, has some ideas of her own.

“I’ve thought of one… carrot and peanut butter. But it never made it out there, obviously,” Ellie said.

By looking at Red Wagon’s “Hall of Flavors,” it doesn’t don’t just stop at your typical dessert flavors either. There’s clearly no shortage of creativity when there are flavors like Olive Oil, Roasted Strawberry and Basil Jam. Buttered Corn (honey butter swirl with sweet corn), “Norm” (wheat beer, pretzels, chocolate and caramel) and Brieberry Almond Surprise (brie cheese, almonds and vodka-soaked cranberries).

Well damn, that’s a mouthful.

Countless medical marijuana prescribers have sought benefits through edible marijuana. Whether or not they’ve bought the baked goods through dispensaries themselves or simply bought the quantities necessary to make a homemade batch of marijuana-infused butter or oil, the effects of edibles are ideal for some.

What seems to be most attractive about the marijuana edible is the non-smoking element attractive to those with lung and asthma-related issues and concerns with carcinogenic effects.

The effect of a marijuana edible is, well, different from your everyday smoke. This might be why edibles are less popular among the recreational.

According to the Marijuana Growers Headquarters, THC must be absorbed through your intestines and liver before having any effect — but the effect is a long-lasting, full body, don’t-you-dare-make-me-leave-my-house high. Much like one’s tolerance levels with inhaled smoke, body mass and metabolism have much to do with how long the high takes to hit you — which could be 45 to 90 minutes.

Of course, you can’t really eat marijuana raw — so don’t get any ideas. THC is a molecule that needs heat in order to do its psychoactive business quickly. It’s also soluble in fats, usually butter or oil. Once you have a good amount of cannibutter, you can use that in virtually any baking recipe that calls for butter or oil.

So before starting, how much weed do you have or want to use?

Marijuana Growers Handbook suggests for every 1 pound of butter, you will want 1 ounce of trimmings. This is a pretty basic 1:1 ratio, so cut it down or add it as you see fit.

Clarify the butter by melting the butter in a pot, being careful not to burn it. Once it is completely liquid, take it off the heat and let it cool for five minutes. After cooling, the butter will separate and on the top will look like foam. Skim as much of this foam off. The clear liquid left in the pan is known as clarified butter.

Grind the weed. A regular grinder will work, but since it’s working with a fairly large amount a coffee grinder works much faster.

Heat the butter once again and add the ground up weed. Allow the mixture to simmer for two to five hours.

It will be very smelly and you’ll probably want to open the windows. A crock pot works well for this as well, but it will take longer.

After the simmering, strain it through a mesh strainer or a cheesecloth. Squeeze as much of the butter through the strainer. Pour the liquid cannibutter into a Tupperware or mason jar and let it set in the fridge.

Potency of edibles is really important and hard to measure. Let’s say you’re making batch of brownies that calls for 1 cup of cannibutter. If you want these to be really potent, use 1 cup of your homemade butter. If you want a medium to low potency, or just want to air on the side of caution and responsibility, use 1/2 cup of cannibutter and 1/2 cup of untainted butter.

Note: Please be careful when eating edibles! Cannabis foods can take up to two hours until being absorbed by your system and you begin to feel effects, so don’t eat more than one serving until you know the potency.

Want more weed? Here are other Emerald stories about the green.

Why a weed issue?

Let’s clear the smoke an introduction to the Emerald’s weed issue

What do you people actually think about pot?

Weed Diaries

Getting high:

The effects of marijuana on your brain

Eugene baker Sharon Cohen makes strides in hemp food market

More than smoke, edibles offer a different marijuana experience

What is your preferred method of flight?

Dank or Schwag: Do G13, Matanuska Thunder Fuck or Peter Danklage disappoint?

Anatomy of a bong

High activities:

Altered states transform ordinary games into memorable highs

Tichenor: You think ‘Harold and Kumar’ is about weed? Think again.

Playlist: Songs to get high to

This is what happens when you listen to Pink Floyd’s ‘Dark Side of the Moon’ while stoned

The legal stuff:

Is it time for Oregon to legalize marijuana?

Getting caught with marijuana on campus can have consequences

Medicinal use:

Eugene’s newest medical marijuana dispensary Oregon Medigreen brings patients relief

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“Why is tonight different from all other nights?”

If you were raised Jewish, you know the answer to this line, which is recited by the youngest person at the table during holiday meals. If you’re not, April 14 is different because sundown marks the beginning of Passover this year.

Oregon Hillel and the UO Jewish Student Union are expecting over 100 students to celebrate the centuries-old holiday in the most traditional ways — food, drinks (well, grape juice) and a celebration of Jewish community and heritage.

One of the biggest and most popular Jewish holidays of the year, Passover is an eight day holiday for people to remember their history and spend time with their family. However, taking more than a week out of a university schedule to go home isn’t ideal for students’ GPAs. That’s where Oregon Hillel comes in.

“I know lots of people who live close enough to Eugene to go home for Passover, but many students can’t. My family has lots of traditions that I’m sad to miss out on,” said Hallie Rosner, the co-president of the UO Jewish Student Foundation. 

Oregon Hillel works in partnership with the Jewish Student Foundation. They pride themselves on being a home away from home to Jewish students, especially during such a major holiday. During Passover, Oregon Hillel provides two seders (ceremonial dinners) as well as kosher lunches and dinners on the remaining six days.

“With Judaism, with every great celebration, we have to temper it a little bit with the memory that we had some pretty hard times to get to this celebratory mark,” said Amanda Weiss, the director of students at Oregon Hillel. Historically, the Israelites were enslaved in Egypt for more than 400 years. 

In these seders, a huge part of the ceremony revolves around food and its symbolism in regards to the Torah. Here are some of the most important dishes:

Karpas: A green vegetable, usually parsley — but sometimes celery — dipped in salt water. While the vegetable is a reminder of the beginning of spring, the salt water represents tears shed by the enslaved.

Maror and Chazeret: These two are bitter herbs that serve as a reminder of the bitterness of slavery in Egypt. The “bitter herb” is usually horseradish or romaine lettuce.

Charoset: A ground-up mixture of fruits, nuts and wine, the “sandy” combination represents the mortar used by Jewish slaves to build the pyramids.

Zeroa: The zeroa is usually a roasted lamb bone (though beets are the vegetarian equivalent) to represent the sacrificed lamb, which is traditionally eaten later that night or week.

Beitzah: A hard-boiled egg that represents the idea of spring and rebirth.

Matza: A unleavened bread that is an integral part of the seder meal and the rest of the week of Passover, connected to the bread baked and eaten during the Jewish exodus. Throughout the entire week, those who celebrate aren’t allowed to touch leavened bread.

“The idea is that you’re supposed to clean out your entire house of anything chametz, or leavening. People talk about how we also have our own chametz, our personal ‘puff,’ like ego, pride, jealousy, even ambition. As we rid our house of chametz, we also rid ourselves of chametz,” said Weiss.

Weiss and Oregon Hillel invite all students, Jewish and non-Jewish, to attend their Passover Seder.

The First Night Seder will be held on Monday, April 14 at Global Scholars Hall in the Great Room beginning at 6:30 p.m., and the Second Night Seder will be Tuesday, April 15 at Oregon Hillel beginning at 6 p.m.

Reservations can be purchased for $18 in advance and $20 at the door.