Portland food news and views
Passover 2025 is just around the corner in Portland! Passover, or Pesach, is a major Jewish holiday that celebrates the Israelites’ escape and liberation from slavery in Egypt, as told in the book of Exodus. This is the second book of the Old Testament and part of the Torah.
This year it starts the evening of Saturday, April 12 and ends on Sunday, April 20. The final day is also the date of Easter this year.
Continue reading “Passover 2025 in Portland”
A new cocktail bar from Kachka is coming this summer. The Portland Business Journal reports that Kachka will open a “full bar concept” in what was the Aimsir Distilling space. Aimsir closed in early January; you may be aware of the tension between them and Jade Rabbit, who are now operating on SE Belmont and 23rd.
Anyway, the article indicates that “[Owner Bonnie] Morales had already leased 2,100 square feet in the same building for a production facility. Half of that space was earmarked for distilling Kachka’s horseradish vodka. The vodka production started in the new space in February, Morales said. By taking over the Aimsir lease, Kachka is adding another 1,500 square feet, but more importantly, the space comes with a fully built out kitchen and distilling equipment.” No name for the bar yet, but I’ll keep an eye on it. 2117 NE Oregon Street, Portland
Continue reading “Small Bites: Kachka, Bar Nouveau, Mayor Millie, and More”
Dumpling Week 2025 is almost here! I’ve said it before and I’ll say it now: Dumpling Week is one of the best food weeks in Portland. This is the 11th year that The Oregonian has put it together, and it takes place from Friday, February 7 to Saturday, February 15.
Continue reading “Dumpling Week 2025 Returns in Portland”
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.
Continue reading “Hanukkah 2024 in Portland”It’s National Donut Day today! Here’s a map of donut shops in Portland.
OX is closed until July. A Bridgetown Bites tipster sent me this note earlier this week: “OX is closed until Jul 1st. They cancelled all reservations. We drove past it last night and it is fenced off.” The website says, “Ox Restaurant is currently closed for repairs.” Back in March, OX had a fire that “started in the flue of the grill in the first level and extended into the roof structure.” There are a bunch of permits filed with the city for repairs, including work on the roof, ductwork, exhaust, piping, and a new kitchen fire suppression system. We wish them only the best as they work on fixes in order to reopen in a few weeks. 2225 NE Martin Luther King Jr. Blvd, Portland
Ranch Pizza and LoRo Coffee are open in Montavilla. They opened their doors yesterday, Thursday, June 6. Taking residence in the former Hungry Heart location, Ranch and LoRo are splitting the space, with coffee in the mornings and pizza later in the day. I stopped in this morning and had a really nice iced latte with almond milk and a piece of their bacon-cheese-potato focaccia. This is a nice addition to the neighborhood. Bonus: I noticed that a beacon light crosswalk is in process of being installed there at Stark and SE 80th Avenue! 7940 SE Stark Street, Portland
Check out the pre-Father’s Day artisan market at STEELPORT Knives this weekend. This is the fourth year they’ve done this event and the place will be full of knives for sale, vendors, music, free custom engravings, a raffle, and more. On the edible side of things look for Flying Fish Co, Jacobsen Salt Co, Kachka, Olympia Provisions, Puff Coffee, Smith Teamaker, The Flavor Society, Vorfruede Dairy Beef, Westward Whiskey, and Wilderton. 1pm to 4pm at their space on NE Sandy Blvd. More details on their Facebook event page. 3602 NE Sandy Blvd, Suite B, Portland
The final countdown is on for JaCiva’s Bakery. Their final day will be Saturday, June 29. About nine months ago the word came out that they were going to close. They continued going, but time is up. They posted on Instagram, “Our building is still for sale but we can no longer realistically operate in a way that is beneficial to both our staff and our customers.”
They added: “Thank you so much for nearly 40 beautiful years. Thank you for allowing us to be apart of your most cherished memories as you celebrated birthdays, anniversaries, weddings, and all of life’s milestones. We have loved making your lives a little sweeter. We are not taking any preorders at this time. All items are first come first served. Please stay tuned on our social media accounts and our website for any updates as we navigate these final weeks. We love you!” 4733 SE Hawthorne Blvd, Portland
Stories you may have missed this week on Bridgetown Bites:
Ole Frijole Has Closed
Strawberry Shortcake Week Is Coming
Nate’s Oatmeal Cookies Opens June 7 on SE Belmont
