Corvallis catch-up

Eastside Road, April 27, 2015—

AS SOME OF YOU know, and others have perhaps suspected, I was on the road last week. In fact I was working, something I rarely do; and the effort left me too exhausted to maintain this blog.

Furthermore, I was in Corvallis, Oregon. This seems to be a very nice small city, a college town (home of Oregon State); and I was comfortable there, working alongside a new friend. But — with apologies to anyone who may be offended — Corvallis is not much of a restaurant town. So here is a very quick survey of what we found:

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Corvallis, Oregon, April 22, 2015—

Lunch with two friends at a local ordinary. I ordered the bucatini with meatballs, primarily because I'm looking forward to eating for a month in Italy. Surprise! The pasta was really quite nice, tasting almost as if it might have been made fresh on site, and cooked quite al dente. The meatballs could have been better — the taste of the filler was undefined, and the shredded cheese seemed more a bland provolone than an interesting pecorino. Good flavor in the sauce, though: on the whole, no complaints.

a glass of house red; some local Pinot noir

• Big River Restaurant and Bar, 101 NW Jackson Avenue, Corvallis; 541-757-0694

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Corvallis, Oregon, April 23, 2015—

Early supper with my working partner at what various iPhone researches led me to believe would be the best place in town, a pleasant Indian restaurant in the heart of the city.

From the quite long menu — which always suggests a steam table with lots of pre-prepared items waiting to be assembled into one or another configuration — I chose the lamb vindaloo on the dinner option, which means accompanied by small stainless-steel cups filled with dal, raita, and other things my expertise does not approach, let alone recognize.

The lamb with its potatoes was very nice, the flavors clean and bright. Dessert was, I believe, a sort of falooja. I'd go back, if I ever need to dine in Corvallis again.

Another local Pinot noir

• Evergreen Indian Restaurant, 136 SW Thrid Street, Corvallis; 541-754-7944

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Corvallis, Oregon, April 24, 2015—

Day Three: We visited another downtown place thought to be worth trying, but it turned out to be open only at dinnertime, and it was two o'clock in the afternoon… Why not simply step into the brew pub next door?

Here we all ordered hamburgers of various types. Mine was basic; I don't like cheese on my hamburger, and I like them rare. It came medium rare, tasty grass-fed beef, quite juicy, on a ciabattalike bun, with a small salad. I forgot to take a photo.

Another local Pinot noir

• Block 15 Brewing Company, 300 SW Jefferson Avenue, Corvallis; 541-758-2077
☛Restaurants visited in 2015 are listed at Eatingday's Restaurants