Portland vs. Eugene

I went to Portland over the weekend and boy, do I like that town. Every time I go up there I think about how fun it would be to live there. Perhaps it’s a case of the grass is greener and I’m certainly not unhappy with Eugene, but as I wandered around Portland with my local guide, ex-Eugeneian Tiffany, we had some fun comparing the two places.

Saturday Market
One of Eugene’s main attractions, the Saturday market is a great place to hang out, watch hippies, eat good food and check out locally made crafts. P’land’s Saturday market is probably 3 times bigger, with more variety of stalls and food vendors. It also runs on Sunday. Some of my favourite stalls were Wire People Here (say it slowly, Chris, and you’ll get the intended pun) and the Spoonman. Oh, and I’ll be back to purchase a pair of those fleece lined underwear.
Advantage: Portland

Sushi
It seems like there are a ton of sushi places in Eugene. I could rattle off 5 places from memory without trying. Surely for a town that loves sushi so much, there has to be a place for Todai. This is the seafood buffet to end all seafood buffets. All the sushi you can eat, plus a bunch of other Asian food favourites. You might pay a little more than most buffets, but hey, if you like sushi as much as I do (or eat like Anthony), you’ll get your money’s worth.
Advantage: Portland

Cool pubs and music venues
It’s no surprise that Portland kicks butt here. It’s just a case of sheer size meaning more choices and variety of places to kick back with any beer of your choice or see live music of any type, any night of the week.

Breakfast
Granted I’ve only been out for breakfast a few times in P’town and I’m sure I could find plenty of places to rave about given time. But I have to remain loyal to the Glenwood here in Eugene. For value, portion size and comfortable atmosphere, the Glenwood has yet to be beat.
Advantage: Eugene

Good coffee
I’m not talking about cool java shacks or Star$$ here. I’m talking about places that roast their own beans. Eugene has Full City and Allan Brothers and Tiffany introduced me to Stumptown in Portland.
Advantage: Tie

That’ll do for now. Suffice to say that I had a good time in Portland once again.