(upbeat music) - Today on "All Across Oregon", we're heading to the second most populous city in the state of Oregon, Eugene.

We're gonna just scratch the surface on the two days that we're spending here in this super cool town.

Great food, great drinks, scenery, and a chicken parm wedge to go.

Come with us as we go all across Oregon.

(upbeat music continues) This episode of "All Across Oregon" is made possible in part by John Warekois, CPA, tax professional, and profit builder in southern Oregon and northern California, Superior Athletic Club, owned and operated for over 40 years with three convenient locations and Travel Southern Oregon.

Travel Southern Oregon supports a diverse, thriving, and sustainable visitor economy to create a better life for all our region's residents.

Visit Southern Oregon, do something great.

Eugene, Oregon.

Located at the southern end of the beautiful Willamette Valley and just 50 miles east of the Oregon coast, sits a beautiful, busy town known for its natural environment, recreational opportunities, arts, and a matter of fact, its official slogan is just that, "A great city for the arts and outdoors".

Now I'm a big fan of Eugene, Portland as well.

But Eugene, for a day trip or even for a weekend trip, the food, the fun, the places to go, the excitement while you're there.

There's so much to do.

We're just gonna show you a little bit on these next two episodes.

But first, a quick stop at my place for some road trip food.

My friend said it perfect the other day, and like any east coaster would agree, "Sometimes you just need a good chicken parm".

All right, so we're getting ready to head to Eugene, but the first thing we're gonna do is we're here at my restaurant, we're gonna make some chicken parm sandwiches for the trip.

So we have our nice seasoned chicken breast.

We already beat the breast.

We got a nice breadcrumb with seasoning and we're just gonna give it a little fry here.

(upbeat techno music) And remember.

I'm just itching to get up to Eugene.

We have so much stuff lined up.

I mean, we have breakfast, we have lunch, we have dinner, everything.

We're even gonna visit a museum again.

Who doesn't like going to the museum?

Oh man.

Oh!

Some fried chicken.

That smells good.

And that's nice.

That's olive oil, extra virgin.

I'm gonna cut this.

Now what I did is I got some San Marzano tomatoes for you, okay.

We'll put a little bit more of the San Marzanos.

After the San Marzano, next we're gonna add some of our homemade ricotta mix.

Let's top it with some buffalo mozzarella.

I love buffalo mozzarella.

It just got the whole different, like, flavor profile to it.

So this is like a mixture of regular mozz and buffalo mozz.

We're gonna put it in the oven for a little bit.

Okie doke, that's in there.

I did some hurry up bread here.

I baked up some bread.

So I'm just gonna filet that for us here.

Do you want a little olive oil on your bread?

So this is a nice mix that I kinda put together here.

Got a lot of spices, lots of garlic, and I'm gonna paint your bread here.

You are going to love this.

And if you guys want me to make you a chicken parm, even though it's not on the menu here, it would be my pleasure.

Alright, so now I'm gonna finish the bread.

We got our olive oil and now a little Parmesan and a little bit of Romano cheese on there.

Take your chicken parm to the next level!

We'll let this bake just for a couple seconds here, right next to Mr. Chicken Parm, there we go.

Alright, let's give it a couple minutes.

Look at that sizzling.

Okay, there it is.

Ooh!

Put one here.

Now we're gonna garnish it now.

Oh man!

Because sometimes you just have to have a good?

- [Cameraman] Chicken parm.

- Chicken farm.

Now off to Eugene.

(moody rock music) Come meet some of the people and the places that make Eugene so special, like Doug, owner of the Agate Alley Bistro.

This place is so cool.

It's like being in someone's grandma's house from the 70's.

Here we are, Agate Alley Bistro.

This place is food, it's atmosphere, and drinks are all top-notch and super creative.

- Well, welcome.

This is Agate Alley Bistro.

- This place has so much charm.

It's like everywhere you look.

So I'm just curious, how many years has it been?

- 15 years.

- So 15 years.

This kinda stuff, is this all you, your wife?

What is all this?

- It is, it is all me.

I have an affinity for mid-century 70's art.

It's kind of a museum.

Over the 15 years we've been, I've been collecting and collecting and throwing 'em up on every single open space in the wall.

It feels like home for people when they come here.

At least, older people who remember either their grandparents or their mother's parents in the 70's.

- Like this!

And this is, like, in every corner of the restaurant.

- [Doug] Everyone who comes in here and sees the owls everywhere must think that I must have an owl fetish.

Owls are fine, they're great.

But here's the deal.

The artwork back in the mid-century 70's it was all produced, was all owls.

So it's everywhere.

- [Vinny] I did not know that.

- Yeah, so there's owls on all the walls because that's what the artists back then liked.

- Well, you definitely have done a great job.

- Thank you.

- The atmosphere is just good.

I can't wait to taste the food.

- Yeah, we got something special for you.

- Let's see.

(upbeat country music) - Coffee first.

Do you want coffee?

- I have to have a coffee.

- All right, here we go.

- It took us three hours to get here.

So, 15 years ago?

- 15 years ago, you and your beautiful wife, Addie, started this.

- We did.

Addie came along a couple years later.

But my dad and I originally started this.

It was a Vietnamese restaurant before.

I used to work two doors down with my good friend, Tony.

- Tony!

- And I had this crazy idea to start my own place and Tony rolled the dice and decided that he was gonna come with me and 15 years later, we're rolling.

- [Vinny] And now you got, like, I heard one of, like, the coolest places in Eugene.

And it is, it's super cool.

- That's what I like to hear.

- [Vinny] So, I think I hear something in here sizzling.

Yo!

- Yep.

Oh, we're getting close.

- Let's go see what he's doing.

- This is our sopas el pastor.

We change our menu up seasonally and just to kind of keep our guests on their toes.

And this is, we introduced this a couple months ago and it's been a hit.

Nate comes up with everything on the menu.

It's a northwest bistro, but we also try to inject different cuisines from around the world into what we do here, using our ingredients from the northwest.

- Nate, these flavors are off the chart over here!

- [Nate] Thank you!

- [Vinny] What is the spice I'm tasting?

Can you tell me?

- [Nate] Top secret.

- Okay, don't tell me.

I'll just enjoy it.

- It's a nice salsa verde.

- This is a must.

- This is our vegetarian version of our hamburgers that we have.

This is a falafel burger.

Exactly what it sounds like.

It's a falafel that we shape into a patty served on a bun that is local from a bakery here called Reality Kitchen.

Supplies all of our bread.

Kinda one of the things that also sets us apart.

And dig in!

- Dig it.

- Have a bite.

- Mhm.

- Yep.

- [Vinny] Oh, love the avocado.

There's avocado in there.

- Avocado, got the pepperoncinis, got a nice crispy texture.

- Oh, I love that fried falafel.

The spices in the chickpea are just right.

- Like I was saying, we always have the vegetarian burger option.

When Chef Nate approached me about this idea to switch it up, a little, not sure, apprehensive about it, but hit it outta the park.

It's a rockstar, it's been super popular.

Everyone you know, comes in and asks for the vegetarian option, gets this.

I think it's great.

- I love the dressing.

The dressing doesn't overpower at all.

And you taste the onions, the spices, and the chickpeas.

Oh man!

And I'm an avocado fan, so-- - Good job, Chef!

- That's off the hook.

- Good.

- Oh dude, what do you got going now?

- All right, so here is our quintessential northwest salmon dish.

We're doing a grilled salmon and we serve it over our garlic mashed potatoes.

Pretty classic.

The secret's in the sauce.

Can't tell you what's in there, but it's a roasted red belled pepper coulis.

- Ooh!

- And then micro greens on top and sauteed vegetables on the side.

- Look at this!

- So dig in, enjoy!

- I will!

(calming country music) So I'm gonna come back up and I wanna see you, I'll say hi to you, but I'm gonna ask to see Nate.

- Yep.

- I'm gonna say, "Nate, hook me up."

Nate, you got talent, son, you got talent, oh man!

- Yes he does, yep.

- Man, I need a hug in the kitchen.

Yeah, because I wanna- - There's love.

- I wanna remember this moment here in this kitchen, because this was a special meal.

You know what I really appreciated about it, honestly, is coming out of the same kitchen, three completely different profiles, like night and day.

(peaceful country music continues) Tony, you ready?

I'm gonna throw you one, Tony.

Oh, Tony!

(cheers) Okay, that's all the entertainment today, folks.

Tony, what are we making?

- Well, today we're gonna feature the Marionberry Mint Margarita.

It's been on our menu since we opened, features, what, Oregon marionberries and tequila and triple sec and our house-made sour mix.

- Ooh, marionberries, my favorite!

(shaker rumbles) Woo!

Man, that was exhausting, okay.

What I really wanna do, Tony, is I want to share it with you.

(laughs) - Let's get on, let's do it.

- Here, Tony, go ahead, drink, come on, man.

Oh my goodness!

Wait, this is-- - Hook me up with a few more of those before work.

- Wow!

That is the one of the most flavorful drinks I have ever had.

Gotta have, what is it, a Marionberry Rita?

- Marionberry Mint Margarita.

- Mint, that's what it was.

I shared a drink with Tony from Agate Alley Bistro.

Coffee drink.

You know, I want a coffee drink!

- Well, we're in the northwest.

Cold brew coffee, vanilla vodka, bit of Kaluha, a honey molasses syrup we're gonna add into there.

- Oh, we're shaking that too?

(shaker rumbles) - Get it nice and frothy.

This is house-made whipped cream.

- Oh, it's not supposed to do that!

- [Vinny] That's okay, it actually looks great, are you kidding?

That's exactly what we wanted to do!

- [Tony] Yeah, just go for it.

- Mmm, oh my goodness!

That's so sweet, that's so good.

And that's your homemade whipped cream?

Do I got a mustache?

Your balance in your margarita, your balance on the coffee.

It's beautiful!

Thank you so much.

What you got, chef?

- All right, here is our weekly flavor of chocolate mousse, and we're doing a espresso chocolate mousse this week.

- You just keep the espresso coming in all its forms today, in all its forms.

- Gotta keep you awake.

- I just want to say to both of you, and to Nate and to Tony over there in the bar and to everyone else, thank you for a special morning.

This was every bit worth of the three hours it took to get here this morning.

What a way to start our day.

I can't, I hope the rest of the day goes the same way.

So thank you very much.

And now I'm looking forward to trying this with you guys.

- Dig in!

- Come on Addie.

- I'm going for it, yep.

- Big one, big one.

Come on, Doug.

- Delicious, Nate.

- And thank you and thank you.

That was a great time at Agate Alley Bistro.

Now, just across town, you're gonna meet someone very special.

I want you to meet my new friend, Ibrahim, owner and chef of Cafe Soriah.

- I will cook a steak Diane and I'll cook some shrimp here.

So you will see me in action here in a second.

- Ib, where are you from?

- [Ibrahim] A little town in Bethlehem on the West Bank of the Jordan River, yeah, Palestine.

- And how old were you when you came here to the States?

- I came here, I was just two weeks after I turned 19.

I came to the university, that's what brought me to Eugene.

This has been home and I worked for big corporations, but this is labor of love.

- This is your labor of love.

- This is labor of love, yeah.

- Show me something-- - Absolutely.

- What do you call it, steak Diane, we're gonna make?

- Yeah, I will go bring the steaks and the shrimp and it gets started.

So we're gonna crank the fire on under this, and we're gonna do salt and white pepper on both sides of the steak.

So we start out with butter.

- This is such a treat.

I'm so, this is like, this is taking us back to a different country right here.

- You know, exactly.

Then we baste both sides of the steak.

So in here, there's shallots, there's green onions, and mushrooms.

And so we're going to do that, add that to the mix and then a little garlic.

Now one side has some color and now we're gonna douse it with red wine so they can saute.

- How many of these you make a night out here?

- Oh my goodness.

That's a really good question.

On a busy night, I probably do about 80.

- 80?

- Yeah.

- Wait, 80 of these?

Let me see your hands.

Yep, yep, that right there.

That's what 80 steaks a night looks like.

- Those are working hands.

- You have beautiful hands, my friend, beautiful hands.

- You know, I learned from people like your family, guys that were in the kitchen that would chase me with a frying pan trying to hurt me because I did something stupid.

(laughs) School of hard knocks, that's what they called it.

And you know, it's something you learn and you learn once.

- So tell me a little bit more about your hometown, though.

I wanna know 'cause that's so interesting.

- My hometown is, obviously, the Church of Nativity, where Christ was born, at least reputably, is a draw for Christians from around the world, so Europeans, Latin Americans, Americans.

So I used to go down to the major square where tourists would come around and-- - Hustle 'em.

- No, I used to just love learning English.

So I would would say, "I can take a picture of you," and they'd go, "Really?

You can?

Oh, you speak English?"

"Not very good."

- Did you charge for the pictures?

- No, no, I was an idiot.

- Ah, man, Ib!

Ib!

- I was not-- - It could have been a cash cow for you.

- I know!

- Learn English and big money for taking pictures!

- You see, I was not-- - Oh, Ib!

- I was born on a farm and therefore, money didn't have much of a meaning to me.

- Oh, that's so amazing.

- Yeah, yeah, it really was.

So there, eight shrimp, deveined shrimp.

Then we're gonna add shiitake mushrooms and green onions.

- I want you to smell this.

This is just one dish and it already took over the whole restaurant.

- With a cream sherry.

- Okay, cream sherry, yeah.

Go fire, come on fire!

There we go!

We gotta have that!

- Yep, now I'm gonna add some veal stock, which we make here.

It takes about three days to make.

- [Vinny] Whoa, look at the texture on that!

- Yeah, I know, and then mellow it out with some cream, because it's pretty pungent.

- So when you're in here and you're doing this, there's no-- - There's customers here and they smell it and they go, "Oh my God, this smells so good.

Can I have whatever he's cooking?"

- Yeah, I'll wait an hour.

I'll wait another hour.

Cancel my order, give me that stuff.

- Yeah, now what I'm gonna do is bring those plates out.

You guys are gonna suffer by devouring this.

(plucky music) - I will remember this day for a long time.

Not just meeting you, but watching what you're doing.

This is a special, it's a special treat.

- It's an art that's, you know, that used to be ubiquitous and it's no longer that way.

- Where do you find this?

It's Cafe Soriah!

- [Ibrahim] Cafe Soriah.

- Can I ask you what Soriah is?

Or can I ask you a question?

- Soriah is my daughter.

No, she is my lovely daughter that's a clinical psychologist up in Portland and she's my true love.

- Oh, that's beautiful.

- It's Arabic for the Milky Way is what her name stands for.

So you guys sit down and start, enjoy it.

(playful music) It's such an institution and people tell me that.

And part of the stuff that does not show up on the P&L statements, if you will-- - I got you.

- Is the smiles that you put on peoples' faces and the relationships that you cultivate.

And I have cultivated so many of them because I literally would marry a couple and then marry their, so I would cater the wedding for a couple then, now, their sons or their daughters are asking me to cater their wedding because that was 30 years ago.

That's what motivates me.

I mean, they, sure, I have to put food on my table, too.

But, in truth, that's really the, I came from a land of hospitality like you did-- - Of course.

- And that's what people, they gathered around a meal 'cause they didn't have TVs.

That was their entertainment is the meal and that's how they showed their love to their loved ones, whether they're guests or family.

I lived in Switzerland for a short time and I, next door was a family, Italian family.

And they, I mean, every lunch they would invite me.

(laughs) Every single lunch-- - That's so cool!

Very neat!

- They would send one of their kids after, they'd go, "Come on, come on, come have lunch with us!"

It was, I couldn't speak Italian and they couldn't speak English, but guess what?

We-- - The food talked!

- Exactly, the food talked.

It brings smiles to my face even now and that was when I was 18.

I still remember it very vividly.

- 30 years ago!

- Yeah, thank you!

Don't wait, yeah.

- Let's do this, yeah.

I saw this done from start to finish and so.

Oh, the steak's like butter.

- It should cut.

It's the most tender.

So we use a tenderloin and it's the filet mignon, basically the same cut as a filet mignon.

And if I stay out of its way it turns out usually very, very good, so.

- Make me cry.

- Thank you.

- And the cream and the veal stock?

- Yeah, just, yeah.

- It just mellows it out, it is.

- Perfect, yeah, it adds the perfect touch to it.

(calming music) We're gonna do one dessert that's also on my cart.

Bananas Foster, which you probably, it's so classic, so classic.

- Like caramel and banana?

- Yeah, exactly.

- And cinnamon?

- Yeah, yeah.

So it takes brown sugar-- - Brown sugar.

- And macadamia nuts and rum and, of course, creme de banana and butter, of course.

Yeah, it's ready.

- You ready?

- Yeah.

- Okay.

- Ready?

- Now tilt, yeah, there you go.

- Oh, my little-- - There you go.

- [Vinny] I'm trying to get it for the camera.

- Yeah, so again, a little bit of butter.

- All right.

- We're not gonna caramelize, but we're gonna make a sauce that is...

Triple sec is what is gonna water down that, and that's the triple sec here.

- Ooh!

- And it'll have a fire, but it's a lot less proof than the rum.

So this is a little macadamia nuts.

- Oh wow!

- And then we'll make another fire with the rum.

- Wow, more rum!

- And toss that a couple of times, make sure it's all coated.

And then last thing we do is creme de banana and just a teeny bit.

You fire any and then we go grab the ice cream.

I will give you a spoon and you're welcome to try it while you're-- - While it's super hot?

- Yeah, and you guys-- - And it's a chilled plate with hot alcohol.

- Yeah, exactly.

- [Vinny] And ice cream.

How delightful!

- I think my wife says that's her favorite all time dessert.

And she's got not a sweet tooth, but all her teeth are sweet.

- All of them?

Me and your wife will get in trouble together.

- Yeah, yeah, yeah.

- Ib, this is so incredibly flavorful and tasty.

Guys, you gotta try yours, you gotta try yours!

When we left Cafe Soriah, it left me with so many different emotions.

Ibrahim reminded me of my family growing up and being from an immigrant household, my hardworking father, my hardworking uncles, hours and hours in the kitchen.

And he was so genuine, he was so special.

His swollen hands from working all those years, it's a beautiful culture.

It's so easy to become stagnant, especially in the place where we live, in the Pacific Northwest, and not travel and experience these other different cultures and the beauty they have to offer.

So if you want to experience Palestine, you wanna experience Israel, you wanna experience their culture, please, please go visit Ibrahim, go say hello for me.

You'll have a very special time.

Wow, wow, what a day!

Food, wine, family.

We visited a great neighborhood bistro and got to experience a table-side tradition that we just don't see anymore.

And that's just our first day in Eugene.

We'll see you next time as we go all across Oregon.

(upbeat music) This episode of "All Across Oregon" is made possible in part by John Warekois, CPA, tax professional, and profit builder in southern Oregon and Northern California.

Superior Athletic Club, owned and operated for over 40 years with three convenient locations, and Travel Southern Oregon.

Travel Southern Oregon supports a diverse, thriving, and sustainable visitor economy to create a better life for all our region's residents.

Visit Southern Oregon.

Do something great.

(calming folk music) (keyboard clacks) (mouse clicks) (mouse clicks) (mouse clicks) (camera whirs)