mark bittman visits eugene, fills belly

A friend pointed out that minimalist Mark Bittman of cookbook and New York Times food column fame passed through Eugene a couple of weeks ago, like a food-critical ship in the night.  He logged his West Coast meals on his book tour trip, and reported what he ate in an entry for his NYT blog.

Of the restaurants he reported on the trip, guess which one he really liked?

Why, that would be Belly, Eugene’s best restaurant.  Hoo-ya.  And I quote:

Dinner: Belly, a popular new Eugene restaurant run by a lovely young couple doing honest, straightforward food and doing it well. (Among other things, I ate tripe and pig’s foot stew, and a braised lamb shank.)

YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!  I’m so glad Belly is getting the recognition it deserves.

The comments are pretty funny, especially the ones about the amount of fruit he eats.  If you see one gushing about the fresh local produce in Eugene, well, I think you know who wrote that.  :)