Happy Adventuring: beergarden

You want to know what amazes me every single day? The fact that my family expects to eat, each evening, right around 5:30, an entire and complete meal. This is AFTER I have fed them two other entire and complete meals each day, not to mention the numerous snack I provide to stave off any unwelcome bouts of the hangries. 

Now, some weeks I really have my act together, and I have meal planned like a rockstar, and I have grocery shopped and prepped and just been altogether super impressive. 

And then there are other weeks when I desperately throw open the fridge around 5:15 and shout into the barren emptiness "Make me a meal!" just in the hopes that the kitchen fairies will show up and do me a solid. In the event that they don't, I typically arrange some cheese slices, apple wedges, and salami artfully on a plate, dump some crackers in a bowl, and call it a night. (Seriously though, if you cut things into fancy shapes and give them whimsical names your people will eat them and be happy. You just have to sell it. It's all in the presentation.)

But some nights, and you know the nights, I just don't think I can handle preparing one. more. meal. On nights like that, I want to pay SOMEONE ELSE to do it. Please, for the love! Feed my people their supper! Recently I heard about a new place in Eugene called beergarden. So we went to check it out.

You know where Gray's Garden Center is on West 6th? Well beergarden shares a space with them. We ate there on a Wednesday night, and it was busy. We were still able to get a table right away (hooray for no wait!!) and after we claimed our space by leaving a high chair and a diaper bag at the table (an important step) we made a loop of the food trucks. 

There were four (I think?) food trucks to choose from that night. This changes from time to time, but their current lineup is listed on their website. What's awesome about food trucks is that everyone can choose different stuff. There is literally something for everyone. My husband grabbed a burger and I went for a Costa Rican chicken dish. A few trucks even had menus for kiddos or smaller appetite plates. My four year old chose a plate of mini corn dogs and fries, and he ate every last bite. All of the food we ordered was really yummy. 

While we were waiting for food we grabbed some drinks from the bar inside. They've got an extensive selection of beer and wine and cider on tap, including some non-alcoholic choices if you're looking for something fancy to impress your littles. 

We really didn't wait long for our food at all, but here's where beergarden wins a ton of points: there is so much for kids to do while they're waiting. There is a concrete wall that you can draw on with chalk. There are a whole bunch of games and coloring books and puzzles inside. Plus, since if you sit outside...you're outside. I feel like there's just a different expectation for noise level and activity when you eat outside. Just a little more freedom and relaxation, amirite?  
I seriously can't say enough good things about our family's experience there. We were celebrating a birthday, and everyone (both fellow customers and employees) were super friendly. They may have just been jealous of our festive party attire. Whatever. They were nice to my kids and that's all that matters.

The Essentials:
Parking: A free lot as well as free street parkingResting Spots: Lots of tables 
Food: Hooray for options! 
Cost: Honestly, we found everything at beergarden to be pretty spendy. Their prices on pints of beer were more (sometimes considerably more, like a buck more) than other places in town. The food wasn't cheap either. So...keep that in mind.  
Push/Wear: They had high chairs. Nice!
Restrooms: Yep
Time Frame: We were in and out in about an hour. If you have kids that can sit still longer, you could linger longer. I don't think you could eat and drink any faster than an hour.

a beergarden giveaway!
tell us what you love about outdoor dining with kids
& you're entered to win a $25 gift card to beergarden!
Awesome!