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QuickTake:
Felicia and Garrett Kirsch, formerly of Northwest Burgers, spun the gastropub fare of their subsequent brewery-based restaurant, Seasoned, into a fine dining destination in downtown Eugene.
Of everything I ate during my first dinner at Seasoned, I remember the carrots the most.
The potato puree was so plump and luxurious and smooth I swore it contained at least 50% butter.
And the duck breast — its meat made succulent and juicy under the control of sous vide, skin crisped beautifully in a pan — had the comforts of a Sunday roast with a tart-sweet Bing cherry demi-glace.
The vegetarian risotto sang, too: silky, firm arborio rice, tender and earthy chanterelles, slightly sweet from a splash of wine.
But it was the carrots, served with the duck, that I kept guiding my fork back to.
When I spoke with Felicia and Garrett Kirsch, the couple behind Seasoned, they told me they peppered those root veggies with a “fall seasoning” of cinnamon and garlic and other spices, cooked till tender but not at all mushy, and finished with hot honey.
It’s one of many dishes that define Seasoned’s approach: zhuzhing up carrots and fish and steak and other naturally delicious things by way of seasoning, sous vide, searing and slicing, all under the eye of a precise chef who clearly loves good food.
As Felicia Kirsch put it, Seasoned is “fine dining without it being stuffy.”
Nearly seven weeks have passed since the Kirsches launched their standalone restaurant in downtown Eugene, at the former Bo & Vine location on Pearl Street. The couple first opened Seasoned inside Claim 52 Brewing in 2025, after a decade at Northwest Burgers, their 5th Street Public Market eatery.
The move to Claim 52 was a step toward the seasonal, rotating menus Garrett Kirsch dreamed of creating as a chef. He served charcuterie, seared halibut and wagyu steak alongside gourmet burgers, and he planned multicourse pop-up dinners, while honoring Taco Tuesdays.
While grateful for their brewpub residency, the large space and demands of Claim 52, which has about 200 seats, limited what the Kirsches could do creatively. It wasn’t the right scale.
The new, intimate restaurant I found myself in that evening was, Garrett Kirsch told me, the “first location where we had no limitations on our menu.”
“We were able to start from scratch,” he said.
Six days after they secured the Pearl Street lease, the Kirsches launched the second chapter of Seasoned.
The ‘try something new’ spot
The bleu cheese dip, a family recipe Garrett Kirsch elevated for a Seasoned starter, is an ideal second-date dish.
Second only because I prefer a more casual (read: escapable) first date to determine whether you even like the person enough for a one- to two-hour dinner commitment.
While I understand the appetite-suppressing butterflies of dining with someone new and exciting, I’m not a fan of uptight dates. As in, if my date can’t stand a kiss tinged with shallots and cheese and other pungent delights, I don’t want them.
The bleu cheese is vibrant and salty, almost feta-like, with just the slightest funk. I had to stop myself from filling up before the main course, the dip’s allium zeal and creaminess are especially alluring when slathered on grilled locally baked bread.
I also recommend the bleu cheese dip for people who don’t like bleu cheese (such as my date). And the halibut crudo, cured with beet juice, for people who don’t like beets (such as myself).
The Kirsches, I discovered, are whizzes at turning your most despised food into your favorite dish of the night.
That trick bleeds into Seasoned’s cocktail program, too. Take the Yellow Rose, a cocktail with two floral notes: St. Germain and housemade rose syrup. Its bouquet lingers lightly on the tongue, balanced by lemon, making for a delicate yet bright sip.
When I brought this up, Garrett Kirsch said, “That’s one of my favorite things to do.”
“We get that a lot,” Felicia Kirsch added.
‘It’s so worth it’
Seasoned’s menu has a lot of “du jour” (that’s “of the day” for those of us who have long since forgotten our high school French).
The next time I dine there, it’s very possible the duck dish won’t be accompanied by those carrots, but instead another seasonal veggie. Same goes for the potatoes.
It’s one of the bittersweet pleasures of dining at a place such as Seasoned, where the dishes largely depend on the current harvest.
Right now, that looks like the Kirsches’ first pop-up dinner at their new location. The dinner, happening Nov. 3, celebrates autumnal mushrooms with a cream of lobster mushroom soup, followed by a wild mushroom demi-glace poured over 60-day dry-aged New York steak, and even ice cream glazed with chanterelle caramel.
Expect more themed dinners from the couple in the coming months.
Buying local for a 40-seat restaurant — constant emails and text messages and changes of plans with 15 or so local farmers, ranchers, fishers, winemakers and brewers — is a monumental task. It’s also a necessary one for Seasoned.
“I would never do anything differently,” Garrett Kirsch said. “It’s so worth it.”
The prices are fair, especially with such a commitment to the local food economy. The duck breast I ordered was $35, the risotto $28. Their least expensive main, the NorthWest Burger, is both an ode to their previous eatery and an effort to eliminate financial barriers. At $23, you get a half-pound of Wagyu blend meat and melty 16-month-aged Gouda on a sesame bun.
“The people deserve to eat that kind of food,” Felicia Kirsch said.
Oh, and it comes with fries. Handcut, of course.
If you go
Seasoned is at 941 Pearl St., Eugene, and is open 5 to 9 p.m. Wednesday to Sunday.
Vegan and gluten-free options are available, and certain dishes can be adjusted to suit dietary restrictions.
