Barry's Espresso Bakery & Deli — Restaurant in Eugene

Let me tell you... many years ago, I was a college student working a crummy job when I first visited Barry's. This must have been around 1997 when he first opened. Barry himself served me. I would get a bialy and coffee or a sandwich on challah, and it was just heaven. I knew that Barry, who was the nicest guy and had the best food, would do well. I left Eugene after college and lived my life, but I never forgot Barry's. Last year, I made my first trip back to Eugene in a long time. It's changed so much! I saw that Barry's was still open, in a larger location in the same neighborhood. Did Barry's change? Well, yeah, it's bigger. There's a nice painting of Barry on the wall. There's more people working there and a larger menu. BUT!!! What hasn't changed is that the food is still amazing, the service is so friendly and kind, and it really makes me feel that same sort of happy from back in the day. Like going home! So, while life changes, often for the better, it's so nice to know that some good things just get better with age. Whenever I am in Eugene, I am always scheming for a side trip to Barry's. Maybe to sit down with a sandwich and soup, or maybe to grab a bialy and coffee on the way home. I did that this morning, and I know I'll be doing...

I've been going to Barry's for over 20 years and the food has always been amazing. Unfortunately in the past few years the quality and customer service have gone down. I picked up a slice of chocolate cheesecake this week and there were large rubbery chunks of something inside the chocolate portion of the cheesecake. In addition to this, every time I have been there for the last two years I have watched the employees sweeping up, taking out the garbage or washing floor mats and then turn around and serve a customer without washing their hands. The cashiers regularly handle money and then pick up pastry from the display case without gloves or washing their hands. The first couple times this happened I said nothing, but didn't leave a tip and the cashiers went from being superficially nice to very rude in an instant. I finally had to ask one of the employees who I had just seen handling garbage to wash her hands before she proceeded to make my sandwich order. If the employees had better customer service and washed their hands they would get better tips. I am never...

A uniquely different Jewish deli. Their bialys aren't really bagels, it's like a very light and flaky bagel. But I did like it. I got an onion bialy with cream cheese. I also got the matzo ball soup. Not what you get out of a manischewitz box. It tasted homemade. The matzo ball had seasoning in it. It was nutritious with real carrots and celery. I also got the mousse cheesecake. I have to say that was the best cheesecake I've had. They really know how to make it right. It's light and fluffy and not too sour, the mousse was very very good. The crust was super hard, I couldn't break it with the fork or even bite into it and it was at room temperature. Not sure what that was about, but you get a really decent size for the price. I would come back again for the cheesecake, and the Bialy with cream cheese because it was so light, it doesn't weigh heavy in your stomach. I also got a coffee with amaretto syrup just to try it. It was good. Neighborhood was safe, plenty of outdoor seating. The people customers and staff seemed very nice. Just friendly...