Bite of Eugene

The Bite of Eugene just had its fifth annual occurrence. I’ve been to the last three.
It takes place in an awkward open space in Alton Baker Park, with very little shade and a lot of hot sun. A decent-​sized crowd but still felt empty.
In my head I was multiplying the people by the $ 5 admission fee, and thinking the charity that benefits probably felt okay about the event. After three years attending, I still can’t tell you which charity it is, or even if it is the same charity each year. This is illustrative of the ongoing marketing/​publicity issues this event has had.
Every year I’ve gone I’ve found fewer food and drink options than I remember seeing mentioned in what publicity I have read in advance of the event.
They had some things for little kids to play and a stage with live music. Like Dawn said in her review, the Iron Chef/​demonstration stage is quiet and seems kinda boring. It’s been this way each year.
In a group, sitting in the shade, it was leisurely and kind of fun. I’d recommend it for meeting up with a large group of friends and socializing.
It’s definitely an odd event. Each time I’ve gone, I’ve wondered if it would happen again the following year. It qualifies as «Meh. I’ve experienced better» and, for me, two stars normally means I wouldn’t return. But, there isn’t that much going on in Eugene in July (or ever), so I suppose I’ll keep going so long as it continues and I happen to hear about it.

Third year for me at the Bite of Eugene, and I have to say it was OK but not fabu. My compatriots and I headed down for dinner on Saturday night and felt like the whole shindig was a ghost down. The music was shutting down as we arrived (7:00), Party! was out of food, Ring of Fire was giving away mangoes (no one wanted their sticky rice), and there were several empty booths. Another bummer: no wine or beer tasting, just direct pours – with several beers already tapped out.
We did find some food gems, though. The stand-​outs? Delicata (dungeness crab hush puppies = brilliant) and Soubise! Soubise was making what they termed their «staff meal» and it was So Good. Pork carnitas with all the fixins, and mexi-​corn with lots of lime. The bites we had here were so fantastic that they made me want Chef Gil to tire of this French nonsense and go full-​on south of the border (remember those Party! Cart take-​overs last summer?).
But I digress. After finding our faves, we tried to sit down and watch the finale of the Iron Chef competition. Unfortunately, the announcers (save the faux-​auctioneer) were so quiet (not holding the mic appropriately – either for themselves or for the interviewees), insipid, and self-​centered, we just had to leave. After three years of trying to watch this competition it’s become clear that there is really no producer involved, and one is needed desperately.
Desserts were located on the other side of the venue, ostensibly due to its shadier nature. Vanilla Jill’s disappointed ($ 4.25 for an icy, runny, small cup of chocolate fro yo), Lochmead thrilled ($ 2.00 for an ice cream!). The demonstration booths were fun, and something I’d like to see more of.
All in all, I think this festival still has a lot to learn. And the lackadaisical nature of the promoters makes me wonder if that will ever happen.

I never have been Bite of Eugene before, I didn’t even know it existed till we rode by on our bikes and since the admission was free– we decided to stop and see what it was all about.
They had Valet Bicycle Parking! Yea– I said it! VALET BICYCLE PARKING!!! So cool! Every where should have this!
The music was okay– some jazzy smooth band, not my favorite but it was still ok.
There were kids running around everywhere. It was really fun to see them playing at the bottle rocket booth.
There were about 5 or 6 wine vineyards booth there. Tasters where $ 1 – 3 and glasses where $ 5 – 8.
There were 4 different cupcake stands! I thought this to be a wonderful pairing; wine and cupcakes! It made me happy!
There were a few food booths and 2 or 3 Insurance booths.
It was nothing to exciting for crazy, but it was a nice/​fun surprise on our bike ride today.