Best Oregon Brewpub: Falling Sky Pour House & Delicatessen
Three year old Falling Sky Brewing in Eugene, Oregon's 2nd location – Falling Sky Pour House & Delicatessen raises the bar to become the best brewpub in Oregon. I don't throw around the term "Best of" anything lightly but I truly cannot think of another spot with the game of Falling Sky's Pour House. There are many factors into determining the best brewpub but the top two are beer and food, they must do both exceptionally. While most brewpubs try to please a wider audience with American pub grub like burgers and pizza Falling Sky has upped the ante with their 2nd location offering a menu made up of all house baked, cured, smoked, fermented and brined food running the gamut from Jewish deli classics to American BBQ and Middle Eastern.
I stopped into Falling Sky Pourhouse & Delicatessen, opened in July of 2013, expecting more of a sports bar-esque vibe based on my knowledge they had added liquor to this location as well as bar games. While the new spot does have those things it is most certainly not sports bar or really pub like at all but has the vibe of a upscale diner bright and with everything on display. Lots of colors, communal beer hall-style seating and a kitchen open to onlookers from outside the building.
In just a few years Falling Sky has really integrated themselves into the community. For example their Bike Here, Bike Share program that allows you to borrow one of their bikes, a lock and a helmet for up to 24 hours in exchange for simply sharing the program by posting and tagging a pic on social media.
Imagine a local diner style bright pleasant and warmly lit with bicycle and vehicle parking and a locally sourced food menu where everything was made in house from the smoked pastrami and brisket to the beers and even sodas like Maple Cream and Carrot Ginger, terrific on their own but even better in a house cocktail.
The taplist is so extensive they have 15 of their own beers on draft plus 4 wines, a Mead and 3 ciders. You gotta respect a brewery that puts out such a variety of special beers never adhering to one style all from a 7-bbl system. I was there for brunch and really appreciated they had 2 beers under 4% abv and 8! under 5% and we are talking a rang that includes Lagers, English-style bitter, India Session Ale and the ultimate breakfast beer – 3% Coffee Table Beer.
If your lucky enough to get a nice day out the Falling Sky Delicatessen has a small but lovely wood framed patio with lots of green vegetation and quiet neighborhood watching.
I would be crazy not to share some pictures about the food at Falling Sky Pour House & Delicatessen because even though I might be a beer guy I am always looking for the next great food and beer combo. On this challenge Falling Sky delivers in spades...
Not every brewpub has to fill every nook and cranny of their menu with grilled and fried food like Burgers and Fries to greasy Pizzas. How about some deli-style cured meats and fresh and pickled veggies? How about a menu that gives equal play time to vegetarian and vegan options as too hand cut slices of meat? The Falling Sky Pour House & Delicatessen menu takes equal influence from BBQ, middle eastern and jewish items and does them all well without committing entirely to any of them. We started our meal off with a refreshingly crisp pickle plate of pickled onions, cucumbers and green beans with crispy and spicy curry cauliflower and heirloom carrots for only $5! Perhaps you want something warmer and richer but still light and fluffy and meat free? How about the perfectly crispy Summer Squash Latke's with saffron creme fraiche and brown ale apple sauce for just $6.
My companion opted for a more balanced meal and finished solid with another veggie option – Golden Beet Borsch topped with creme fraiche. Although already full on a delicious Bloody Mary, pickle plate and stolen bites of Latke's I could not refuse a Beef Brisket Pastrami sandwich with a side of Potato Salad for $13.
The Falling Sky Pour House menu is full of delicious sounding items I wish my time in Eugene was longer, on my must try list includes their many varieties of house cured pastrami sandwiches in addition to the Beef Brisket Pastrami I had they also have Pulled Lamb Pastrami, Duck Breast Pastrami and of course Corned Beef. Bubbe's Chicken & Latkes is a smoked then fried quarter chicken with summer latkes, fried kale, apple sauce, and roasted baby carrots for $14. A BBQ Brisket Platter includes all the fixins with cole slaw, baked beans and a spent grain roll for $15. Mix it up a bit with the Lamb Matzoroccan Bowl of moroccan spiced ground lamb, zucchini, kale and spiced couscous even a Ragout or Favalafel Fritters.
Vegetarians can go for a houe smoked Portobello Reuben or the housemade Whitaburger with a barley-veggie patty, kale, hummus, fried chickpeas and a cucumber salad.
Of course your going to need to wash down this hearty pub grub with a brew of some kind and I chose the refreshingly crisp Maris Lager that was light but full bodied. The 3% Abv Coffee Table Beer and Hey Hay ISA were also calling my name. Hopheads and traditional English beer buffs would also not be disappointed by the large rotating taplist.
Sure Oregon has some great brewpubs like Double Mountain, Burnside and Laurelwood but I havent found the variety of food and drink brought to the same level of excellence and inviting atmosphere to boot.
FALLING SKY POUR HOUSE & DELICATESSEN
790 Blair Blvd, Eugene, OR 97402
Hours
Sunday-Wednesday 11am-12am
Thursday- Saturday 11am-1am
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