Holidays Archives - Page 2 of 3

December 17, 2024December 22, 2024

Hanukkah 2024 in Portland

Latkes from Lepage Food & Drink. — Latkes! Photo credit: Lepage Food & Drink

Hanukkah is one of the “big four” holidays in winter, along with Christmas, Kwanzaa, and Yule/Solstice. And this year it starts the evening of December 25, an unusual timing with Christmas. We also know it as the Festival of Lights (read more about its origins), with the menorah that is lit for eight nights, and its accompaniments: the dreidel (on which its four sides is written “a great miracle happened there”), gelt (chocolate money), and foods cooked in oil, like latkes and sufganiyot (jelly donuts).

Here are places where you can enjoy Hanukkah food, drink, and celebration in Portland.

December 3, 2024December 2, 2024

Top 5 Posts on Bridgetown Bites, November 2024

Welcome to another edition of our monthly top 5 posts list—November 2024 was another good month for Bridgetown Bites. Over 22,600 unique visitors generated almost 30,000 page views. Popular posts included our list of Thanksgiving resources at the top of the heap. Interestingly enough, our article on Fancy Baby was also in the top 5, along with a long-time restaurant closing, a far-future opening of a new public market, and some pizza.

As always, thanks to you for reading, sharing, and commenting—and for your tips!

5. Fancy Baby Will Bring “The Craziest Champagne List” to NW Portland

Thanks to a Bridgetown Bites tipster, I’ve learned that new wine and Japanese-inspired listening bar called Fancy Baby is going to open in the Pearl District. This location on NW Glisan used to be home to CULT, a store that sold art, collectibles, ephemera, and more. Update: They are now open.

November 27, 2024December 7, 2024

Win Big: Shop Small This Holiday Season in Portland

You may have heard of Small Business Saturday, which is one of the three big shopping days of the early holiday season (the others being Black Friday and Cyber Monday). But here in Portland, there’s a local effort to encourage shopping at small businesses in Portland for a month, from November 14 to December 15! And that would be the Win Big campaign from Small Shops Big Hearts, part of Bricks Need Mortar, which supports Oregon’s independent retailers.

October 7, 2024October 27, 2024

Halloween 2024: Food and Drink in Portland

Spooky season is upon us! Halloween 2024 in Portland offers plenty of things to do: decorate your home, trick-or-treat, tour a haunted house, go to a costume party. But for us, we are focused on the spooky food and drink treats for this time of the year. There’s plenty out there to enjoy, too!

I’ll continue to update this post over the month of October as new treats make themselves known.

Caseus Diem

Through the end of October, Caseus Diem presents the Boo-Brie: President-brand Brie with Divina sour cherry spread for $13.

3320 SE Division Street, Portland. Caseus Diem website.

September 25, 2024October 29, 2024

Rosh Hashanah 2024—New Year 5785—in Portland

Honey cake from Bakery & Spice for Rosh Hashanah 2024 (Year 5785). — Honey cake. Photo credit: Baker & Spice

Rosh Hashanah, the Jewish new year, is almost upon us! It’s the start of the High Holy Days, and a joyful time punctuated with delicious food and drink, celebrated by Jews around the world, from the US, to Argentina, to Ethiopia. And while in Portland we’ve lost a number of Jewish food outlets over the past few years—e.g., Kenny & Zuke’s, Kornblatt’s, Sweet Lorraine’s, and the one that still crushes me, the modern Jewish deli and market Beetroot—there are still some great options. Here are places that both Jews and gentiles can go to enjoy the foods of the holiday.

Rosh Hashanah starts after sundown on Wednesday, October 2, 2024 and lasts until nightfall on October 4, 2024.