Ngo: Best Corvallis Restaurants, According to Students

WRITER: DAVID NGO, ILLUSTRATOR: CYAN PERRY

Many restaurants in Oregon have been heavily impacted by the outbreak of COVID-19. According to the National Restaurant Association, the restaurant industry ended 2020 $240 billion below pre-pandemic earnings, with 110,000 food places either temporarily or permanently closed. Corvallis is no exception and many local restaurants, which have served the Oregon State University student body for years, have been impacted. In light of this, I reached out to students on the OSU Reddit community page and compiled their recommendations for the top restaurants in Corvallis. Check out the full review on our website!

The first place was Local Boyz Hawaiian Cafe on Monroe Avenue, stationed on the second floor of the Cobblestone Square. The restaurant offers traditional Hawaiian dishes, including its signature sweet shoyu chicken, sweet short ribs and much more, all of which come in three sizes: menehune (dwarf), regular and blalah (large). All meals also come with a side of Macaroni salad and fresh white rice. If you are looking for the best brunch spot in Corvallis, you might want to try the Wise Cracks Cafe on Third St. The cafe offers traditional comfort foods like Country Road, which is a gravy-smothered chicken-fried steak along with a side of two eggs and hashbrowns. If you’re not feeling like having a chickenfried steak, you might want to check out their omelettes. Possibly the most massive item is the El Juapo, an eight-egg omelette stuffed with bacon, ham, sausage, mozzarella and basically everything under the sun. The next popular recommendation is Bo & Vine Burger Bar on Third St. They offer an assortment of chicken and beef burgers alongside seven special fries called “piles.” The last time I went to Bo & Vine I got Dante’s Inferno fries. They were seasoned in a cajun dry blend and topped with housemade Pepper Jack beer cheese, fresh jalapeños and a ranch Sriracha drizzle.