Welcome! This is the “Going Out” edition of Riley’s Recs, where I review a restaurant, bar, or activity here in Portland. Every Sunday, I also share “Staying In” recipe recommendations for your week. What should I write about next? Feel free to leave a comment on this post or submit your idea here. And don’t forget to check out pdxrecs.com for even more recommendations and follow RR on Instagram at @rileysrecs. Enjoy!
Dates: Oct 4, 5, & 6
Address: 3131 NE Glisan St.
What to order: lamb, souvlaki, loukoumades, baklava sundae, and beer.
Cost: $5 admission (good for all three days). Expect to spend about $25-35 on food for a full meal and $7-8 per beer. Must be purchased using a pre-paid wristband that can be bought onsite or online here.
Parking: free neighborhood street parking. But easily accessible via transit or bike.
I have a strict “no travel” rule the first weekend of October. That’s because it’s Greek Fest weekend, baby.
Since 1952, the Greek Orthodox Church on NE Glisan has turned its brick building into one of the city’s most exciting food festivals, complete with baklava, roasted lamb on a spit, and traditional dances. What began as a fundraiser to pay off the church’s mortgage is now a beloved Northeast Portland tradition, attracting more than 15,000 people per year.
In addition to the thousands of guests, this year you’ll also likely see thousands of migratory swifts that have set up camp in the church’s steeple.
Word’s out: Greek fest is where it’s at.
Sure, I go to Greek Fest for the food. But really I go for the social scene. If you went to high school in Northeast Portland, see you next weekend. If not, you should know that attending Greek Fest was a right of passage for us local teens. If you were cooler than me, you pre-gamed in Oregon Park a few blocks away. “Juicers” as the Grant High School kids called them. If you were more straight-edge, you just went to get high on the adrenaline of crowds, loud music, and running into every person you know.
One year, I skipped homecoming to go to Greek Fest. That’s how dedicated I am (or maybe I just didn’t want to pay $50 to go to the Wonder Ballroom and slow dance to “I Swear”).
But, what can I say? Even at 32, I love Greek Fest. They’ve created this little tented world filled with food and every person you don’t feel like running into at the grocery store, but do raise a beer and shout “Opa!” at when you make eye contact with them across the lot.
Is it possible to go to Greek Fest and not make a Windex joke? Or say the words “bundt cake”? Both references to My Big Fat Greek Wedding, of course.
I don’t know. But it’s certainly impossible to go and not eat loukoumades. You’re about to slam these golden, fried donut holes like there’s no tomorrow. They are warm and dusted in cinnamon, and the experience of popping a loukamade into your mouth and biting into its airy, honeyed texture is unrivaled.
The loukamades are made fresh on site. As you wait in line, you can watch one of the volunteer cooks plop the little dough balls into a vat of hot oil and deep fry until golden brown. The loukamades are then tossed in honey, scooped into a paper tray, and passed to a teen who dusts them in cinnamon and hands them to you in exchange for $7. You can then eat the entire container and get back in line just in time for the next batch to be ready.
Along with loukamades, there are dozens of baked goods, which volunteers have spent weeks preparing to make. The lineup of pastries includes baklava, of course, the honey soaked phyllo dough filled with chopped nuts. Want to take it to the next level? Try a baklava sundae, which is just as good as it sounds.
I prefer to eat hot foods at the festival and take the pre-made baked goods home for later so the spirit of Greek Fest can live on into the week. Kind of like getting a belated birthday gift.
I skipped straight to dessert, but that’s not to detract from the real star of the show: the lamb. Every year, whole lambs are roasted on a spit over charcoal, chopped up, and served throughout the evening. You’ll need to buy a “lamb ticket” when you arrive, and then wait for the announcement that it’s time to claim your plate. Fair warning: the wait can take up to two hours. If you’re hungry, you can always tide yourself over with gyros or souvlaki, a Greek-style skewered meat. Or more loukamades.
With the exception of the lamb ticket (which has its own booth near the front entrance and can sell out), everything else can be purchased on-the-spot using a bracelet you’ll buy as part of the admission process. You can pre-pay online and go straight to the front to pick up your bracelet, skipping the famously long line that can wrap around the block.
You can also “top up” your funds online. My suggestion is to add more than you think you’ll need, since you can always cash out online at the end and pay yourself back for whatever you didn’t use. This is a welcome change from the old system, which involved buying “talents,” or plastic coins named after Greece’s currency, that I’m sure are still jammed in between the seat cushions of my car.
You won’t want to miss the dancing. There are a variety of dance troupes, ranging from five-year-olds to adults. Each offers its own spectacle. The little kids are….adorable. The teens make you think about what it would be like to grow up practicing traditional Greek dances on the weekend as a 16-year-old. Plus, it’s so endearing when you see a kid clearly wearing his dad’s dress shoes for the event. And the adult troupe is FUN. Dances happen throughout the day (schedule here) but it’s at night, when people are a little buzzed and shouting and clapping along to the music, that you really feel the magic of Greek fest.
I love Greek Fest because it’s one of those things that people do that’s fun for the sake of fun. Like the Irvington St. Patrick’s Day parade or the Tualatin Pumpkin Regatta. It’s a reminder of how important it is to find and nurture our communities in a city as big as Portland.
While I certainly won’t know all 15,000 attendees, I will see a familiar face or two. And in a city of 800,000, that’s a really great feeling.
Speaking of which, if you’re going…hit me up!
After Party
There is an Oktoberfest happening at Stammtisch a few blocks away that same weekend. Grab a stein and a pretzel if you’re feeling like a festival double header.
If you aren’t into Greek food, you’re near restaurant row so there are plenty of choices. But honestly, you can’t go wrong with Pollo Norte down the street for rotisserie chicken style tacos.
If you’re into live music, Laurelthirst down the block will have shows around 9 pm all weekend (check their schedule).
If you just want to grab a beer that’s not served in a plastic cup, go to Migration Brewing for their patio and/or darts. Do not order food. It’s meh.
*Note: all photos are from a wonderful photo series shot by Aidan Barbar for Willamette Week.