Being away from Eugene for the summer means craving the classics from all the delicious eateries in Lane County. Don’t fear! Classic flavors and concoctions can be crafted from the comfort of your own home, too.
Tacovore: To recreate Tacovore’s Crispy Tofu taco, you will need to start with warm corn tortillas. For your tofu seasoning, mix cornmeal, chili powder, cumin, salt, garlic powder, and pepper in a bowl then generously coat the tofu in the seasoning. Cook your tofu on a skillet on medium heat. To go along with the tofu, you can make a sauce with scallions, cilantro, and yogurt in a food processor. Once that is done, you can start building your tacos. Start with the tortilla, then add the sauce and tofu on top. Then, you can add toppings to your liking; cheese, lime juice, salsa, and avocado are delicious additions. These crispy tacos will make your mouth water. Not only is Tacovore loved for their delicious tacos, but also for their drink menu. A drink inspired by Tacovore that you can make right at home is a Agua de Jamaica, which is a refreshing hibiscus tea. You’ll need to start by boiling water with sugar, cinnamon, ginger slices, and a few allspice berries. Once boiled, steep the dried hibiscus flowers and let sit for 20 minutes. Then, you strain into a pitcher removing the used spices. Add more water to the pitcher until you fill it to the top. Add some lime juice for a punch-like flavor, then serve over ice with a slice of orange or lime.
Sweet Basil: Sweet Basil’s Pad Thai are pan fried noodles tossed with egg, bean sprouts, green onion, and ground peanuts. To recreate this dish, you’ll need to start by whisking fish sauce, brown sugar, soy sauce, lime juice, and crushed red pepper flakes until blended. After you mix your sauce, you will want to start cooking your noodles. Heat a skillet over high heat, add oil, then cook your choice of protein. Then, add and cook any veggies if you choose, broccoli and jalapenos are a tasty addition. Push your vegetables to the side of the pan and cook the egg on the other. Scramble the egg. Then you’ll want to add everything which includes the bean sprouts, green onion, noodles, and sauce together. On top, sprinkle grounded peanuts, lime juice and extra red pepper flakes if desired.
Coffee Plant Roasters: Coffee Plant Roasters has a must-try house made chai tea which is served hot or cold with milk. Place cardamom pods, black peppercorns, whole cloves, ginger, water, cinnamon sticks, allspice, brown sugar, anise, vanilla bean, and nutmeg into a saucepan over medium heat and boil. Reduce heat and let simmer for 15 minutes. Then, add black tea bags and let steep for 5 minutes. Let the concentrate cool. Mix equal parts chai concentrate with water or milk to make a chai tea. I recommend using oat milk because it’s healthy and makes your chai thick. On their breakfast menu, their avocado toast is a fan favorite. Start by toasting a piece of sourdough bread. Then mix together whipped ricotta, lemon oil, chili, grated yolk, everything spice, radish, and herbs in a bowl. Once the toast is done, spread smashed avocado onto the slices. Then place the mixture on top and enjoy!
