Lacking Noodles

I mentioned long ago that our Eugene, Oregon experience wasn’t the most amazing…in fact, I wasn’t even sure it was worth posting about.  But I figured a restaurant review, whether good or bad, is still something others can benefit from.  So here’s the quick and dirty on our one night in Track Town, USA.

Despite Tiff’s helpful research (including Yelp! print-outs for vegan friendly restaurants), the dining options in Eugene were beyond minimal.  Each place we went to was closed.  One after another.  In fact, the entire town seemed completely deserted!  It was weird and a bit eerie. 

After 20 minutes of driving in circles (during which we covered the entire downtown area more than once) we finally came upon a restaurant that appeared to be open.  At this point neither of us cared what kind of food it was, as long as it was open and served food, it was a done deal.  Not quite the foodie dining philosophy, huh? 

And so we found ourselves at Cafe Lucky Noodle. 

Upon entering, this was the view we had.  I took a photo because we were standing there for nearly five minutes with no greeting or even acknowledgement of our presence by the staff.  If it weren’t for another large group waiting, I would have assumed they were closed.  Seriously.  Nobody in sight.  I refrained from wandering into the main seating area to search for someone, but it was pretty pathetic that we stood there for so long.

Finally, someone came over and told us they would be right back…and just a short while after that we were seated.  The restaurant was only moderately busy, which led me to believe that (a) Eugene’s dining population is MIA in the summer months, (b) the restaurant competition is minimal if places like this can stay in business with such poor service, (c) their wait staff is clueless, and (d) Kyle and I are restaurant snobs [apparently our fortunate dining history has spoiled us]. 

Kyle noted that it would be prudent to get our orders in asap given the crappy service factor, so we began tearing through the menu to get our orders placed as quickly as possible.  Surprisingly, the waitress arrived with bread and an oil/vinegar mix within seconds of seating us.  Hmmm…maybe we were unnecessarily jumping to conclusions?  We decided to put our (hunger-induced) whining on hold, give them the benefit of the doubt, and practice patience.  So we ordered some iced teas and our meals and waited. 

Five…ten…fifteen minutes went by…and we were still without beverages…

Unless they were brewing the tea in the meantime, I have no idea why it would take so long to get our drinks.  And then, almost as soon as the drinks came, our entrees arrived!  What?!? 

We waited 15 minutes for drinks from a pitcher, but our noodle dishes were ready in under 20 minutes?  Very confusing.

I ordered the glass noodle stir-fry with tempeh.  The portion was incredibly ridiculous, even for my appetite.  You can’t tell from the photo, but the plate was actually one massive noodle mountain.  No complaints on my end, but there’s NO WAY any human could finish this serving.  I’m usually the exception to such statements, and I could barely get half-way through before my stomach felt like it was going to burst.  Rather than charge $13.50 (weird pricing much?) for a portion of which 50% inevitably ends up being wasted, why not charge half that and give a realistic sized meal?  Something to think about Lucky Noodle.

The part I did like (yes, I have at least one positive thing to say about my meal) was that they offered two vegetarian protein options, chicken, tofu, or tempeh.  How cool that there were actually more non-meats available than meats.  I know I should think of this as progress for vegetarians, but I actually just think it’s another random factor that makes this restaurant one of the most bizarre places I have ever dined. 

And if you hadn’t gotten enough of the random yet, here’s Kyle’s spaghetti with meatballs entree. 

Talk about a confused restaurant theme! 

If noodles were the common food item, around which the entire menu revolved, that would have made semi-sense.  But there were fish dishes too!  And the most diverse random selection of appetizers, ranging from mozzarella sticks to asian spring rolls.  I’m not joking, the menu actually offers calamari, tempura, and satay right next to steamed clams, prosciutto and asparagus, and fried cheese curds.  So SO so bizarre.  If you want a laugh, look at this menu.  It’s lack of focus makes it seem like a joke!  Weirder than weird. 

My meal was good, but greasy.  The carrots and tempeh were the best part, and although the glass noodles were good, I felt pretty blah after eating them. 

And if you didn’t believe me about the obscenely large portions, this photo was taken over half-way through the dish when I was starting to feel full. 

Not to tear the place apart, because I do feel a little bad about this review, but Kyle and I had to ask the waitress 3 times for sugar for our iced teas.  I was so thirsty, I finally gave up mid-meal and went to the bar to grab some myself.  C’mon, that’s waitressing 101 stuff.  And yet, she came out to check on us multiple times throughout the meal.  Clearly I was perplexed by these accidentally prompt moments of service. 

In conclusion, Cafe Lucky Noodle has a few things to work on (in my humble opinion), the main being the theme of the restaurant.  Asian?  Italian?  Thai?  Seafood?  Whatever, just pick one.  Having a menu all over the place makes me feel iffy when ordering.  Editing is crucial, and often times less is more.  Also, the pricing has to go.  This is Eugene, not New York.  Paying $15 for noodles is insane, no matter where you are.  Even if I were in NYC, with perks of the location, I’d still call this a rip off.  Joya’s thai food in Brooklyn cost $5 and it was far tastier and within walking distance of the Brooklyn Bridge and scenic promenade area.  And finally, the service.  Maybe Eugene doesn’t have much of a dining population to serve when school is out.  Maybe hiring a decent staff is more difficult in the slower months.  Although I had a job in college, it’s probably more common practical to focus on your studies…  Still, isn’t summer when students take time off to make money and enjoy the weather without worrying about schoolwork.  I would have thought the city would be a little busier. 

Sadly, all these factors made Eugene’s first impression on me most likely the last.