Keptman's Best of Corvallis

Let's face it: for a mere two week period, I ate and drank a lot of what Corvallis had to offer. Here's a recap of restaurants and bars:


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Mexican
Bombs Away Cafe -- The most un-Mexican Mexican I have ever had. Blah.
La Conga -- Fantastic. And as far as I can tell right now I ate four burritos and I didn't get worms as is apparently feared by some of the locals. Not as far from real Mexican as some would like to think. The Oregon Burrito is a good pick but the chorizo and egg was a close second. It's rumored that the health department shut these guys down and they opened under a new name. These are things of little concern at 2AM. If a worm can survive in that environment, maybe Darwin is working his magick.
La Rockita -- A solid runner-up to La Conga. The lengua burrito tasted a lot like a Taco Bell 7-Layer and that's not a bad thing.
El Sol del Mexico -- This is your typical Americanized Mexican joint with the cheese-drowned combination platters warmed in a microwave. OK for what it was.

Pubs, Bars, and Brew Pubs
Downward Dog - Upscale drinks and an attention to booze details, combined with a great late night menu borrowing from Cloud 9 made this a favorite. Watch out for the chicken wings when ordered 'as hot as you can make them.'
Crowbar - The fancy infusion drinks could step aside and make room for more Pabst. The pizza from American Dream was the big winner at this stop. I am still thinking about that pizza.
McMenamins - A solid choice when the crew can't make up its mind -- they even have two locations in town. Great microbrews, solid burgers (loved the daily special 'stuffed' burger), and much, much more. It's hard to tell you are in a chain restaurant! Oh, and gotta have the cajun tots. Service was sketchy at the downtown location.
Clodfelters -- Stinky college dive with a sub-par burger.
Jamie's -- No beer here but a top-notch burger with lots of options. Classic diner atmosphere was a surprise for a strip mall eatery. Odd but our waitress looked like a few chocolate shakes had blown up on her. Wash those clothes, darlin'.
Sahalie - Wine bar where we had sangria of both the white (huh?) and red varieties. Very tasty and creative fondues -- really just lots of bits of things with sauces -- are worth a repeat trip.
Block 15 -- Best beer in town but the over-ambitious kitchen needs to catch up. Good ideas but just not all that memorable. Very good service. Try the beer sampler.

Fine Dining (or close to it) Stregas - Crap service spoiled what should have been a great meal. Never made it back to try again but the kobe flank steak showed some promise. If Corvallis has a great view, it might be from this place in the highest building in town (6 whole stories.)
AQUA - A mouth-watering dining experience. Creative food that gets just about everything right. Upscale tastes (truffles, fish eggs, rich cream and egg sauces) paired with a great selection of seafood. The Asian flare seems so integral to the food. The drinks are more of the same good ideas (shiso mojito!) that aren't just for show -- they really do taste good. Service to match. My vote for best restaurant in Corvallis.
Le Bistro - I can't complain about the food (my veal chop was perfect), but it was too stuffy for our group. It's hard to pair wine with the La Conga you are going to be eating later. If my wife had been there, it would have been a first choice.
Cloud 9 - We only tried the tapas menu but we tried ALL of it. Three of us gorged ourselves to avoid feeling guilty about leaving food that good behind. The habanero fritters (not spicy!) were what I wish hush puppies were everywhere. Great portions, nice heat and tang. This where I would go to get my chillie fix. I'd get the clams again, fersure.
Mc Grath's Fish House - Just had a lunch here, but this chain seafood place should take over the Red Lobsters of the world. Unfortunately, like the Lobsters, there may have been some butter abuse going on. I liked it, but it had mixed reviews from our huge table of people and our waiter seemed a bit frazzled.
Big River - The menu and atmosphere has good potential but I found the bulk of it disappointing and over-priced. Bland! Recommended for grannies.

Odds and Ends
Baguette - A tiny little Vietnamese sandwich shop serving up the best sammy I had on the trip. Cheap, tasty, and too bad we found it on my last day! Great bread!
Crystal Cafe - We were drawn in by a rough sign claiming that this was the 'King of Falafel'. The place was empty but shouldn't be. I had a falafel salad that was decent enough. Again, we found it late in my trip and needed another visit to get a better feel for it. Nice change of pace. Look out for the fresh squeezed rose lemonade: I went into sugar shock.
Stadium Grill - Last but not least, this was our home away from home. This is the lounge of the Hilton. The specials and some of the appetizers were good with a handful of Fat Tires and a martini or two. I was told to avoid the roast beef sandwich -- I never did find out why. The chicken cordon bleu bites were masterful achievements in food engineering.

Well, Oregon, I guess that's it. Cheers!