Everyone needs a couple of restaurant ideas to keep in their back pocket for a rainy day. Or a boring, money-less or stressful day. The type of place where one can relax, show up in jeans and have some finger food, but still expect a quality dining experience.
The Wild Duck Brewery, a traditional college hang-out that boasts a bar, restaurant, brewery and music hall, is nestled in the heart of Eugene at 169 W. 6th Ave. and seemed like it would fit in my back pocket nicely.
Intrigued by constantly hearing about musical events at the spot, and being the entertainment editor, I wondered if the food was as good as their performing guests.
Expecting regular bar food, I was pleasantly surprised by the quality of the meal. My dining companion and I ordered three dishes to share: the daily special of baby-back ribs with steamed vegetables and a twice-baked potato, an order of chicken strips and an appetizer order of house fries.
As a Texan native and thus a barbecue expert, I can say that the half-rack of ribs were an interesting take on the traditional barbecue that I normally see, dripping with sauce. These ribs were prepared with a dry-rub of various spices in place of barbecue sauce, and this was a tasty variation.
My sidekick is a self-proclaimed chicken strips connoisseur, and he determined that these chickies were average, as far as chicken strips go. The breading fell off very easily and the flavor was average.
Finally, the french fries were a big hit at our table. These potatoes were served with both ranch and ketchup and prepared in the thick, moist, steak-fry style, which is hard to find in Eugene.
For drinks we tried both the regular lemonade and the strawberry lemonade, which were about as average as the chicken strips. I would recommend the strawberry over the regular for the extra-added excitement to your taste-buds.
Overall, The Wild Duck Brewery not only offers great musical acts, brews several different beers and is a friendly spot to party on the weekends, but also an easy option for a casual dinner date to keep stress levels low.
And then after your date goes amazingly well, you can come back Saturday night and party like the wild Duck you are.