Its rainbow-colored mural blends this café into Eugene’s prevailing hippie style. But Morning Glory Café, located at 450 Willamette St., marks itself as one of the most sumptuous, hearty breakfast/lunch joints in town.
This vegetarian nook caters to just about everyone. Twenty-somethings, older couples and even professors dine on organic salads, omelets and soy sausage, savoring Morning Glory’s eclectic, funky ambiance. The bright yellow walls are adorned with paintings of local artists, and loud music plays overhead.
But the eatery’s vegetarian, organic dishes don’t discriminate against omnivores. Though no breakfast dishes offer meat, eggs aplenty are on the menu, including a special omelet offering that changes daily and features wholesome veggies like kale and red pepper. Several dishes can also substitute eggs instead of tempeh and tofu. All eggs are antibiotic-free.
For customers who are in the mood for inventive dishes, Morning Glory is the spot. Little Bear’s Vegan Omelet is just one of the meals that replaces a traditional egg-based omelet with a shredded potato shell. Stuffed inside the crusted shell are broccoli, zucchini, carrots and onions, topped with fresh tomatoes and the café’s signature herbed tofu sour cream. The sour cream has a much thicker and drier consistency than the regular product, but is a healthier, delicious vegan option. Another vegan dish, Three Sisters, reinvents the typical egg scramble by replacing egg with a mountain of potatoes and veggies.
The Happy Morning Sandwich is another great breakfast choice. A variation on traditional biscuits and gravy, the sandwich has a soy sausage patty with spinach, tomato, a tofu patty and tofu sour cream. Vegetables and yummy fake sausage, which tastes a tad sweet like cinnamon, offer a fresh, delicious alternative to this normally fattening meal.
Overall, prices range from $4.50 to $8.
Aside from breakfast, which is served all day (7:30 a.m. to 3:30 p.m.), Morning Glory serves salads, soups and sandwiches. The Cajun Tempeh, which costs $7.75, is an organic tempeh patty grilled in Cajun spices topped with green onions and served on toasted whole wheat bread with jalapeño aioli and veggies.
And then there’s the bakery items. Home-made vegan pastries like banana bread, carrot cake with cream cheese frosting (fantastic), and apple muffins. The bread that complements most breakfast dishes is also made in-house. I highly recommend the cinnamon raisin toast.
With Morning Glory’s appetizing menu and eccentric atmosphere, everyone will leave here more than satisfied.
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