Here are the food events happening this week from submitted news releases and websites:
Block 15 and Barley Brown’s tap takeover at Lardo: From Dec. 2 – 9, Lardo West will host a Block 15 tap takeover and Lardo East will host Barley Brown’s for a tap takeover to kick off the Holiday Ale fest. The breweries will rebrand each location with signage, merchandise and more to help make it seem like their own tap house. Block 15 will be tapping all 9 handles at Lardo West and Barley Brown’s will have 13 handles at Lardo East. The breweries will sell a special shirts.
Sweater Weather party at Townshend’s Alberta: On Dec. 3 from 6 – 10 p.m., Townshend’s Alberta Street Teahouse will host a Sweater Weather cocktail party with four bartenders — Joel Westrom of Rum Club, Mindy Kucan of Hale Pele, Tyler Hauptman of Fenrir and Seth O’Malley of Thomas Sons — for an evening of warm drinks. Proceeds will benefit four nonprofits.
Holiday Cookbook Social at Imperial: Imperial’s Vitaly Paley and the Portland Culinary Alliance will host the third Holiday Cookbook Social on Dec. 6 from 1 – 3 p.m. in the Hotel Lucia’s Pettygrove Room. Chefs and authors from the Northwest will gather to sign and talk about their books. The free event will feature complimentary bites from most authors and wine will be available for purchase from Imperial’s bar. Attending authors include Megan Scott and John Becker (Joy of Cooking), Elias Cairo (Olympia Provisions), John Gorham (Toro Bravo), Jim Meehan (The PDT Cocktail Book), Gabriel Rucker (Le Pigeon) and more.
“A Very Murray Christmas” screening at Dig a Pony: On Dec. 6 at 7:30 p.m., Dig a Pony will host a free screening of “A Very Murray Christmas” with food and drink specials.
Fourth Annual Aquavit Week: The week-long celebration of the signature spirit of the Nordics returns to Portland (and now Seattle) Dec. 6 – 12 for its biggest year yet. Events this year include an opening party at Broder Nord with Christer Olsen of Linie, a Norwegian aquavit barrel aged at sea in sherry casks; seven days of Aquavit at bars across the city; aquavit and beer pairings at Hop and Vine and more. Find the full list of events and aquavit brands available across the country at www.aquavitweek.com.
Brooks Wines dinner at Marmo Deli Bar: 12 guests will be able to join winemaker Chris Williams of Brooks Wines for a four-course Italian dinner paired with six wines on Dec. 7. Dinner is $68/person. Email info@marmopdx.com to reserve.
Holiday open house at Pastaworks: The S.E. Hawthorne Pastaworks will stay open later on Dec. 8, from 5 – 8 p.m., for Pasta Festa, a shopping event with complimentary Pastaworks ravioli and freshly-baked focaccia, as well as samples of Pastaworks’ custom-blend, limited edition Bon Naso Pinot Noir blended by Pastaworks’ Kevin de Garmo and Jay Somers of J. Christopher Wines. Some of Pastaworks’ local purveyors will be on site to sample their products, including Elias Cairo (Olympia Provisions), Dylan Meyers (Pok Pok Som) and Jay and Ronda Somers of J. Christopher Wines.
Lunch at Le Vieux: Starting Dec. 2, Northwest Portland’s Le Vieux will be adding lunch service. Dishes include chermoula fried chicken sandwich, the restaurant’s beloved lamb burger, roasted steelhead and more. Brunch and dinner hours will remain the same. Lunch hours are 11:30 a.m. – 2 p.m., Wednesday – Friday.
Peking Duck at Departure Restaurant + Lounge: For all of December, Departure will bring back chef Gregory Gourdet’s Peking duck. Each is served with Mandarin pancakes, cucumbers, sliced scallions and pickled kumquats as well as housemade plum and hoisin sauces. Leftovers are made into duck meat and duck fat fried rice to be served as a final course. The Peking duck serves two to four, and is $92 including all accompaniments. The ducks are prepared in limited quantity nightly and the restaurant suggests guests pre-order the duck at least 24 hours in advance when making reservations.
New Holiday Cocktail menu fundraiser at Fireside: Fireside’s new holiday cocktail menu is now available. A portion of the proceeds will be donated to the West Women’s Children’s Shelter run by Salvation Army. Cocktails include “Jolly Old Elf,” made with flambeed, boozy marshmallows, dark chocolate hot chocolate, tequila, Ancho Reyes and habanero tincture, and Julenisse, mixed from Gamle Aquavit, rye whiskey, Bonal, allspice liqueur and Chinese five spice bitters. Visit the bar to see the full list of drinks.
Brunch and Monday Italian Supper Club at Bellino: Bellino, located in the former Fratelli space in Portland’s Pearl District, will now offer brunch on the weekends, as well as a Monday night supper club. Brunch dishes include frittata di petralia, seared halibut and more. The Monday evening supper club, Francesco’s Festa Italiana, will be from 4 – 10 p.m. and will celebrate the unique cuisine from all over Italy with a rotating weekly menu. Reservations are recommended but walk-ins are welcome.
Wings at Smokehouse Tavern for Monday Night football: Smokehouse Tavern is offering $1 wings from 5 – 10 p.m. every Monday Night Football. Wings come with six sauce options, classic, hot, vinagar, mustard, buffalo and smoked honey. Other snacks like little smokies and pimento cheese will also be available.
Upcoming events:
Portland’s first cricket cook-off: On Dec. 9 from 6 – 9 p.m., Food Bytes along with Poda Foods, Thinksect and Cricket Flours will host Portland’s first cricket cook-off at WeWork. Participating chefs include Michael Madigan (Bowery Bagels), Emily Philips (Red Wagon Creamery), Todd Radcliffe (Chicken Guns) and Kyra Bussanich (Kyra’s Bake Shop). Tickets are $5 to attend and can bepurchased online.
“Beer Bites” pairing event at The Commons: Local authors Christian DeBenedetti and Andrea Slonecker, along with Steve Jones of the Cheese Annex will host a beer and food pairing party at The Commons Brewery on Dec. 10 from 5 – 7 p.m. DeBenedetti and Slonecker will be on hant to chat with guests and sign copies of their newly-released cookbook, Beer Bites: Tasty Recipes and Perfect Pairings for Beer Lovers. For $12, the brewery will offer a tasting flight of four beers paired with four tastes of recipes from Beer Bites.
Bow Arrow Wine Tasting at Renata: On Dec. 10 starting at 5:30 p.m., Renata will be hosting Scott Frank of Bow Arrow Wines. Scott, along with Renata wine director Chris Wright, will pour all of Bow Arrow’s latest offerings alongside the wines that inspired each of them. Renata’s full menu will be available in addition to a few specialized pairings from chef Matt Sigler.
New Deal Distillery’s Season’s Eatings 2015: On Dec. 12 from noon – 6 p.m., Southeast Portland’s New Deal Distillery will host their 2015 Season’s Eatings market featuring food, beverages and spirits. New Deal’s tasting room and bottle shop will be open during the event, featuring spirit samples, bottle sales and holiday gifts. New Deal has also added a heated, outdoor cocktail lounge with warm cocktails, like hot toddies, hot cocoa, and more. Admission is one can of non-perishable food for the Oregon Food Bank.
A Bubbly Spectacular at Pix Pâtisserie: Taste 60 sparking wines from across the globe on Dec. 13 from 4 – 7 p.m. at Pix. In addition to tasting sparklers, Pix will also give a $50 gift certificate to the best dressed, offer a chance to win a Champagne saber, serve freshly-shucked oysters from the raw bar and more. Premier Cru passes are $25 and include tastes of 40 wines. Grand Cru passes are $35 and include access to all 60 wines. Call or stop by to purchase.
Bees Beans’ 4th Annual Buying Party: On Dec. 15 from 5 – 9 p.m., North Portland’s New American will host a Bees Beans buying party. The full line of handmade confections, including the honey bar, mint bar and malt bar plus “woodland”-themed treats like the Sitka Spruce Tip Caramels and Cascade mint creme fondants, will be available. Everything is 20 percent off and complimentary savory bites and deals on beer, wine and cocktails will be available from the bar.
Morgan St Theater at Handsome Pizza: Morgan St Theater will be launching its first season of “dessert theatre” in 2016 from January – May. MST will take over Handsome Pizza on Wednesday nights to host weekly events that will pair live performance with dessert. Tickets will be $40/person and include dessert, live entertainment, coffee or tea and gratuity. Wine pairings may also be available.
11 annual Oregon Truffle Festival: The Pacific Northwest’s premier truffle appreciation and education event, is returning for three weekends in January (Jan. 16-17; Jan. 22-24 and Jan. 29-31). Look for local, national and international chefs, including Jackie Kai Ellis (Beaucoup Bakery Café, Vancouver BC), Rachel Yang (Joule/Trove, Seattle), Chad Colby (formerly Chi Spacca, LA), Adam Sappington (Country Cat), Elias Cairo (Olympia Provisions) and more. See the full list here. Tickets and the full lineup of events and classes can be found at oregontrufflefestival.com.
Want your event listed? Email me with details.
— Samantha Bakall
sbakall@oregonian.com
Follow @sambakall