For the second straight year, American Express is running its Small Business Saturday campaign, which encourages Americans to shop at small businesses on the Saturday after Thanksgiving (11/26/11) – sandwiched between Black Friday the day before, and 2 days later with Cyber Monday.

Amex is offering incentives for people who have an American Express card to use it on that day at basically any small business (non-chain store) and receive a $25 credit on their monthly statement (when you spend $25 or more). [I believe this is only available in the U.S.]

While I’m obviously not endorsing us to go shopping on Shabbat, we will have plenty of time to take advantage of this Motzei Shabbat as it gets dark early. Last year, I took advantage of this and basically got a free / subsidized dinner. You can use this credit at nearly all kosher restaurants – except perhaps the remaining kosher Subways which may be considered a chain restaurant despite being a franchise.

In order to take advantage of this promotion, you’ll need to sync your AMEX card (any card) by clicking here. It’s a very quick process and well worth it. You don’t need to print anything out or show any coupons. The credit is automatically placed on your statement.

Who is going to argue against a free dinner?

Comment below and let us know what you plan on doing with the $25 credit!

[Full Disclosure: I am an employee at American Express. All views published here are my own and do not necessarily reflect that of the company.]

Contributed by: Michelle Szpilzinger | Last Visited: January 2009

Kosher Info: This site has a good list of the kosher resources in Brussels. There is not much to find in the old historic center, but there are currently two kosher restaurants in the EU area, which is not a major tourist destination but is fairly simple to get to by metro. I would check to see if they are open on evenings and weekends as I know for a fact that the EU area is deserted at night. I can not vouch for them as I did not eat at either one. Unfortunately, it seems that the one kosher place in Brussels I actually visited (Pilpel) is now closed, which is a shame as it was a nice little restaurant with an adjacent kosher shop that was open in the evenings. We bought our food for Shabbos there.

For Shabbat Hospitality, contact Chabad. They offered to host us for meals and accommodation, but we opted instead to stay in the city center. They were really nice and I had good communication with them by e-mail.

If you’re staying in the city center, the kosher shops are not terribly convenient by public transportation. We opted to stay in an apartment-hotel with a kitchen rather than a regular hotel and brought a small pot and pan and some food from home so we could save money and time by making our own food. We also figured it would mean avoiding the annoying key-card issue, and we almost did — the only problem was that our flat was above a shop and when the shop was closed you had to use the key from the outside or a button on the inside to open the electric door shutter. This meant we were stuck inside Friday night (though we didn’t mind, as it was cold) and on Shabbos day had to make sure the shop was open. It was annoying but I’d still highly recommend the company, Apartments Apart, as the flat was really comfortable and nice, cheaper than most hotels, and even provided free wifi. You also get to feel more like a local for your stay.

Another option is to head over to Antwerp where kosher food abounds. It’s only 45 minutes or so from Brussels by train, and many kosher shops and restaurants are right near the Antwerp train station.  If you’re staying in Brussels for more than a day or two, Antwerp is a must-visit whether you need the food or not.

Chocolate is, of course, a Belgian specialty; but the only brand we were told is definitely kosher is Guylian, which you can also buy internationally. We did manage to find some obscure kosher chocolate in a tiny store in Bruges that happened to have an Israeli hechsher on it, but we never saw it in Brussels.

Another Belgian specialty is beer, including many types of flavored beers. We were never given a definitive answer on the kashruth of these beers, so we stuck to regular, plain beer.

As for the ubiquitous Belgian waffles (sold in stands on nearly every street)…good luck finding kosher ones. Let me know if you do. They smelled incredible — it was torture.

Tourist Info: Once a major medieval city, now the de facto capital of Europe, Brussels has a great mix of old and new with some amazing Art Nouveau thrown into the mix. A first stop for any visitor would be the Grand Place, a stunning square surrounded by the city hall and the glittering former guild houses of medieval merchants, where you can also find the tourist office. Every other summer the square is filled with a giant Carpet of Flowers. If I ever go to Brussels again, it’ll be a summer when I can see it. Nearby is the famous “Mannekin Pis,” a hilarious symbol of Brussels as it’s a fountain with a center sculpture of a tiny boy putting out a fire by rather unusual methods. (The title is a hint.)

Up a hill is Place Royal, home of the King’s Palace (open only in summer) and the Royal Museum of Fine Arts, which houses both the Museum of Ancient Art and a Modern Art museum.

For Elegant Shopping you can visit the Sablon Squares and Avenue Louise. If you have children with you, you might want to visit Mini-Europe.

One unique museum is the Center for Comic-Strip Art. Belgium is the home of the famous Tintin, and it’s a fun museum housed in a gorgeous Art Nouveau building. Art Nouveau lovers will also love the Museum of Musical Instruments and the Musee Horta.

Jewish Info: The Jewish community of Brussels is much smaller than the one in nearby Antwerp, much of it outside the historic center. We did not encounter a lot of it, but there are a few sites in the city center. The Great Synagogue is a lovely Neo-Romanesque structure on Rue de la Regence between the Palais de Justice and the Place Royal. There are also a couple of memorials to the Holocaust and Jewish martyrs. For more information on Jewish life in Brussels, check out the Jewish Virtual History Tour.

Contributed by Mirie Wiesenberg

You can be kosher and travel anywhere… it just takes a little planning and a lot of creativity.

Packing light can be a challenge with all the extra Jewish things you are going to need: tfillin, Shabbat clothes, spare food, but no worries you can do it, but one Shabbat outfit may be all you can squeeze in for all those weeks. I hope these tips are helpful.

• 1. Bring kosher cooking utensils: Bring a small travel saucepan, a set of basic camping cutlery, a decent knife and a Tupperware will suffice. Do not get carried away. There is not a lot of room in a backpack, so think pareve. If you are in a far off place with no or sparse kosher products, you are going to have to do lots of cooking.
• 2. Expect to eat a lot of foods that can be bought raw: Raw fruits, vegetables and grains are kosher anywhere and can be bought anywhere. Yes, you will have to do the normal preparation stuff (checking for bugs, etc.), but you can eat very well and healthfully on these items… since you can buy them locally – less weight on your back!
• 3. Stay in hostels with cooking facilities: Many hostels have cooking facilities. Call in advance and ask if they do… that way you don’t have to worry and can prepare your own food.
• 4. Bring some quick food: There will be days where you can’t or do not feel like cooking. Bring foods like Peanut butter, flat packs of tuna fish, Cliff bars and instant food such as couscous, these are a few examples of food that pack in a lot of energy in small amounts of space. If there are Jewish communities around or kashrut authorities where you are traveling, you can replenish your stash when you run out.
• 5. Plan your trip around Shabbat: After figuring out the approximate route of your trip figure out where would be the best/nicest place to stay for Shabbat along route. If possible a place with a Jewish community, or just a nice place. Try to get set up with local families for Shabbat and feel ahavat yisroel in action. Chabad.org is a great resource for finding a place for Shabbat. If there is no Jewish presence Shabbat can still be an extremely holy experience, think Shabbat in the rain forest.
• 6. Travel with someone who understands: At the very least travel with someone who understands and can tolerate your situation, ideally travel with someone who loves or is dedicated to Shabbat and kashrut. This will make everything easier and with two you can really create a strong Shabbat atmosphere.
• 7. Bring a Shabbat kit: Put all essential Shabbat items in a large zip lock bag, include, matches, tea lights, a box of matzah crackers, and a small grape juice.
• 8. Little things make Shabbat feel like Shabbat: Bring some instant food that will add to the Shabbat feel such as matzah ball mix, soup cubes and instant rice pilaf and think about buying a disposable table cloth to cover that sticky youth hostel table as you make Shabbat. If you pass through a city with kosher bread, pick up some challah for Shabbat. Seal Shabbat clothes in a zip lock bag so that they take up the smallest amount of space and retain their freshness. (Agricultural regulations prevent you from bringing meat products into many countries so lugging a salami roll around is not such a good idea unless you can buy it locally)
• 9. Learn the halachot of kashrut: Knowing your kashrut halachot can make your eating options wider (or sometimes slimmer). Ask your local rabbi what you need to do to buy fish anywhere. Being able to have fish on Shabbat can definitely make it nicer.
• 10. Make a Kiddush Hashem: In your travels you are sure to meet people who have never met a Jew before and most definitely not a frum (religious) Jew. All eyes are on you. Show the world how beautiful and wonderful it is to be a Jew serving Hashem.