Random Musings on the Steel City
- Litter is a much bigger problem here. I’ve seen people just tossing trash on the ground—if you did that in Eugene you’d most likely get shivved by a hippie.
- It’s easy to see why, though—there are very few trash cans along the sidewalks. I had to carry an empty coffee cup several blocks before I could dispose of it properly.
- The bus system is weird. Sometimes you pay when you get on, sometimes you pay when you get off, and the system for deciding when or where you do so seems nondeterministic.
- Coffee shops are much more scarce than in Eugene, and it’s even harder to find a good one.
- Cigars are a lot more popular—I’ve seen several people smoking them outdoors, in public, which is a rarity in Eugene. I’ve also seen several cigar bars, and one cigar/coffee shop combo in the Strip District (at which I made a purchase).
- There’s no beer! Or rather, there’s no “craft” beer or microbrews. I guess I’m spoiled by the fact that Eugene has no less than 3 breweries, but seriously, it’s not hard to do better than Bud Light and Coors. To their credit, though, the place at which I ate lunch had Hoegaarden on tap, which isn’t bad (especially on a warm day).
Get out of downtown, preferably east, and most of those problems disappear, except for the weird bus fare thing but it’s far easier to understand. If I remember correctly, it’s determined by if the bus is going towards or away from downtown.
And no microbrews? Here’s a list of a few. Pay special attention to the first two. If you’re looking for good beer in general, make sure you check out Sharp Edge or Fat Heads, each has over 40 beers on tap. If you’re looking just to go out, Carson St on the southside has a pretty good stretch of places.
I highly recommend checking out Fuel and Fuddle and Mad Mex in Oakland. If you go after 11pm or 10pm, respectively, on any night all the food is half price. You will not see this fact advertised anywhere. My favorite lunch place is easily Uncle Sam’s Subs. There’s one in Oakland and one in Squirrel Hill. I prefer the one in Squirrel Hill but they’re pretty much the same.
