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Outdoors:
New
Girl in Town Burrito
Girl There's a new kid on the playground this summer. In a town full of Burrito Boys, a Burrito Girl is hanging her shingle and cooking up some great Mexican food. Actually, this little food cart right across from Taco Loco isn't really new. It's been on the corner for about a year under the name Pupusas Chavalitas — named for the owner's daughter, Chavalita, and for the wonderful handmade pupusas. However, since re-naming to Burrito Girl, the place is much busier. A rose by any other name would be harder to remember, I guess. The food is simple and wonderful. The burritos ($3 each) are generous, full of cilantro, spicy salsa and sour cream. Also available are tacos, drinks and pupusas. This was my first pupusas, so honestly I can't really make any comparisons. Suffice it to say I wish I'd ordered three. It's made of a homemade corn tortilla with a thin layer of filling (your choice of beans, pork, cheese or a mix) and fried till it's crispy and golden. It is accompanied by a tangy, carrot-rich coleslaw and sour cream. The textures and flavors mix well, and for $2 you can get a handful for a filling and tasty meal. 12-7 pm M-F, 12-6 pm Sa. $.
CityView
Deli This spot on 8th Avenue is one of my favorite spaces. It's seen more than a few businesses come and go, the present being a panini deli with soup and sandwiches for the lunch crowd. This incarnation features, of all the wonderful confections, fresh-made beignets. Nothing speaks the Big Easy for me like a mountain of powdered sugar with some tender fried dough under it all and a café au lait to wash it down. Now, CityView doesn't offer café au lait on its drink menu, but a good latte did the trick of cutting the sweet rich pastry flavors. The beignets come three for $1.75, fresh, hot and so tender you can eat them with a fork. Regular donuts always seem like a good idea until that leaden feeling hits your stomach; but these beignets are light and fresh. It really makes a difference. The deli sells mountains of them on Saturday Market mornings, though you can order them anytime. 8 am-3 pm M-F, 8 am-4 pm Sa. $.
Leftovers: The West Brother's BBQ downtown is indeed a thing of the past. The restaurant has been consolidated into the River Ranch Steakhouse out Franklin, and Mike West will hopefully be starting something new in the space on Olive Street soon. Mona Lizza stays put, thankfully. Speaking of, the other West brothers won't actually be opening a new Mucho Gusto in the old U-Lane-O/Oregon Community Credit Union building on Willamette. They sold the lease to another bank, and will continue looking for a good location for a Mucho Gusto in the area. In raw food news, the poster-family for active raw and vegan living, the Boutenkos, will be in Eugene cooking and sharing raw and vegan recipes on Wednesday, July 23, from 6 to 8 pm at Conquering Lion Restaurant, 1436 Willamette. The cost per person, including food, is $15 for seniors and student, $25 regular. Tickets are available at the Conquering Lion. For more information, call Phyllis at 463-0800. A couple notable finds at the Saturday Market: Barbara's Pies makes homemade fruit pies in the $10 range. Barbara makes dozens of pies every Friday at her home in Grants Pass and drives them up here Saturday mornings. The sugar-free versions, especially marionberry and apple, are my favorites, sweetened with stevia and fruit juice. Katrina's Salsa is another of my latest infatuations. You can buy it at Market of Choice, or fresh from Katrina's daughter at the Saturday Market. The texture is juicier than Emerald Valley and saltier than Tu Casa (my other favorites). The roasted garlic is really something special.
The
Upper Half Nobody has ever died of boredom on the McKenzie River Trail. Until very recently, in geologic time anyway, things might have been considerably less interesting on the upper McKenzie. But around 2,000 years ago a series of lava flows from craters near the Three Sisters flowed across the river channel. Today, a series of waterfalls plunges over the lips of these flows. The lava also partially dammed the river, creating Clear Lake, where 3,000-year-old tree stumps are still preserved at the bottom of the frigid spring-fed waters.
Two months ago (see June 5 Summer Guide archives at www.eugeneweekly.com)I described the lower half of the 27-mile long McKenzie River Trail. The upper half is a truly fascinating landscape full of surprises — far too interesting to describe thoroughly in this short space, but I'll get to some of the highlights. You can begin at the very end of the trail just about 2 miles south of the junction of Hwy 126 and Hwy 20. Here, Fish Lake Creek flows from an eerie pool in the middle of a red cinder lava field for a mile into Clear Lake, the source of the McKenzie. A loop trail, much of it paved and heavily used, surrounds Clear Lake. From the southern tip of the lake, it's about a mile to Sahalie Falls, one of the most stunning and easily accessible waterfalls in Oregon. To put in at the falls, drive Hwy 126 from Springfield about 19 miles east of McKenzie Bridge. Near milepost 5, take a left at a sign for Sahalie Falls viewpoint. Sahalie Falls is just a short walk from the parking area. Another thundering cascade, Koosah Falls, is another half mile downstream. If you only make one day-hike on the McKenzie River trail, go to Tamolitch Pool, probably the most bizarre segment of the entire trail. Directions: Drive Hwy. 126 east from Springfield for approximately 55 miles. About 2 miles east of Olallie Campground, about 14 miles east of McKenzie Bridge, take a left at the upper end of Trailbridge Reservoir (one of the many fixtures of EWEB's effort to turn the wild McKenzie into a giant plumbing system). The turnoff used to be signed, but is now marked only by a bare signpost. In less than a hundred yards, you'll cross a bridge, and then bear right on FS Road 655, past a fenced compound. The McKenzie River trail crosses the 655 road in a little less than a half a mile. You will want to head upstream (the trailhead on your right). It's a little more than a four-mile hike to Tamolitch Pool and back. The first mile of trail follows the fast and frothy McKenzie River through a fabulous old-growth forest. Then the trail climbs slightly through a rocky lava flow dotted with gnarled Douglas fir and incense cedar, with good views over the lip of a narrow ravine down to the river. Two miles from the trailhead, you'll reach Tamolitch Pool, a breathtaking turquoise blue basin. When you reach the head of the pool, you'll be surprised to find … nothing, except a dry riverbed. A lava flow 1,500 years ago buried three miles of the river, leaving water to percolate through the porous volcanic material and flow underground until it erupts into Tamolitch Pool. From here it's another five miles to Sahalie Falls, past hundreds of other fascinating sights.
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