A Bite in Review

Saturday, we braved the heat -- at least briefly -- to attend the second Bite of Eugene. There were more people in attendance than I would have expected, given the heat and that the event seemed to sneak up on me with almost no pre-event press. Booths from wine vendors, food vendors, and dessert companies made a neat little J-shaped line of goodness right near the river. Desserts -- including coffee (hard sell on a summer day? Not in Eugene ), Kailua Shaved Ice, Lochmead Dairy Farms ice cream, and Coconut Bliss ice cream from Luna & Larry's -- started things off by the main stage, and then slid easily into a trio of tasty baked goods purveyors: The Divine Cupcake and Holy Donuts! were out for the vegan crowd while The Sassy Cupcake was there for the rest of us.

The Sassy Cupcake may be my number-one favorite discovery of The Bite. They served five flavors of mini cupcake, at $1 a piece, and I went back for seconds. A friend of mine sampled the Peanut Butter Fudge cupcake, which had a fudgy cake base and peanut butter frosting: he called it "intense." I tried, in order, the The Sassy Cupcake -- a buttery, almost pie-crust textured cupcake base with cream cheese frosting/filling and a raspberry on top; the Pink Lemonade Cupcake, which had a lemon cake base and a topping that tasted exactly like the bright, canned pink lemonade of my childhood (in a good way!); and the Smores Cupcake, a graham cracker cupcake with marshmallow filling and a chocolate/fudge icing. C tried the Maple Bacon Cupcake, which was pancake cake with maple frosting and, yes, bacon on top, and said, "I could eat many of these."

It's a commercial/catering only bakery, so there's no danger (yet) of my going on an in-store binge, but through the Sassy Cupcake Facebook Page, I do hear rumors of a cupcakes-by-the-dozen sale. I will be there with bells on, and possibly with Kristen at my side, since she's very good at stabbing others in the name of food defense.

Other tasty nibbles:

• Belly made an appearance, with a small stand selling $2 pork or veggie tacos, watermelon dusted with chili powder, and strawberry agua fresca. I went with the latter two and was extremely pleased -- will have to duplicate the watermelon trick at home.
  
  
• Cornbread Cafe was also there, next to Belly, in a beautiful fusion of pork smoke hovering over your favorite vegan comfort food stand. The flavor of my southern-fried tofu didn't need that embellishment, though C's cornbread -- a cakey mess that looked more like sweet baked polenta than anything in the bread family -- could have stood a little help.
  
  
• Bates Steakhouse made true believers out of two friends with what looked like a juicy, well-sauced tri-tip sandwich.
  
  
• The line at Kailua Shaved Ice, plus the rapturous faces of those who got a cone, makes me believe that they're doing something very good in there. I can't wait to catch them (with no line!) soon.
  
  
• One culinary oddity: There was a booth promoting pickled potatoes. I have to admit, those little things were surprisingly tasty -- like potato salad on a stick! I realized after typing that sentence that few people in the world have the enthusiasm I do for potato salad, but -- what can I say, world, I love it.

Anyone else make it out there? What do you recommend? What makes it worth the trip next year (or what could be better)?