It’s always nice to visit some place new. (I can say that with confidence because I’ve already visited Newark, NJ.) Right now I’m in Eugene, Oregon for a couple of days of speaking with the nicest, most socially committed people imaginable, helping them look at new ways to get out their message about what they do. This is my first visit to Oregon, birthplace of my good friend the writer EM Lewis and, for all I know, many other people as well. I have found a lot to like. Principally among them:  crisp clean air that reminds me of my birthplace in the Pine Barrens in the late autumn; friendly service; and good beer.

The Bier Stein, above, presents one perfectly valid reason to visit Eugene, Oregon. Within, one can find billions of biers from which to choose, as well as fine kraut and sausages to accompany them. What I did not expect was this:  a cream of portabello mushroom soup with smoked gouda, roasted red peppers, and spinach, that was so slam-bang good that you would swear off all competing soups for the rest of your life. Look, I know:  That soup sounds a) like a cliched Oregon soup gone bad, and b) like something I would not only never eat but would also gladly mock. Too fey, too hippie, too something. But I asked the bartender or whatever they’re called around here what was good, and I drank the bier he recommended and it was good, and I asked him what was good to eat, and he recommended that soup and he was absolutely right. Here’s a tip:  Whenever you’re someplace new, ask the locals, or the bartender or whatever, what’s good. And then order that. As a general tip for living, this is a good one to follow. I wish I had taken a photo of this soup to help cement it into my memory, but I inhaled it faster than any digital camera could have captured it.

As is unfortunately all too often the case, I won’t get to see too much of this city. Last year I did a lot of traveling around the country, and when my wife would ask me how, say, Castle Rock, Colorado was, I would say, “Do you mean the airport, or the hotel?” ‘Cause usually that’s about what I get to see. I hope I get to come back to Eugene and spend some more time with the fine people here, and if I do, I’m ordering that soup again.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, February 1st, 2011 at 10:48 pm and is filed under Thoughts. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.