Posts Tagged ‘deli’

8 Delicious Places to Enjoy a Hanukkah Meal in Brooklyn and Manhattan

Hanukkah is right around the corner, from December 18-26, and there are eight glorious days to nosh. Here are eight delicious options to help you celebrate this holiday which recalls the miracle of the oil.

Katz’s

Courtesy Katz’s

Allow Katz’s to do the cooking this year and enjoy the ambiance of a homemade dinner celebration without the cooking hassle. The iconic New York City deli in the Lower East Side lets you bring the feast to your home. With Katz’s Deli Hanukkah Dinner Package you’ll get homemade matzoh ball soup, crispy mini latkes, knishes and noodle kugel. The package, which serves four, includes Katz’s famous hand-carved pastrami and juicy brisket, plus all the fixings to make their classic Reuben and legendary pastrami on rye sandwiches. Order a delicious chocolate babka for dessert. Local delivery and free nationwide shipping will make this a true Festival of Lights. Should you decide to eat in, the famous (“I’ll have what she’s having”)    deli will add pickles and other goodies to your meal….free of charge.

Balaboosta

Courtesy Balaboosta

The West Village restaurant is a favorite for Middle Eastern dining. For Chanukah, you can indulge in a special holiday meal with Chef Einat Admony’s quinoa and potato latkes, sfinge donuts, and restaurant favorites like fried olives with homemade labneh and Yemenite Soup. Balaboosta’s new location makes it easier than ever to book a table at the popuar eatery.

12 Chairs and Sherry Herring

Courtesy Sherry Herring

Israeli cuisine is featured at the two sibling restaurants, both with a pedigree from Tel Aviv. For the holiday, you’ll feawst on ltakes, served with sour cream, onion, scallions and chili (if you like), smoked tuna with harissa flakes, and the restaurant’s special white fish salad. Sherry Herring is located on the Upper West Side and serves all-kosher food, while 12 Chairs will appeal to those in Brooklyn or Greenwich Village. We thank this group for taking care of all our disparate geography!

Agi’s Counter

Courtesy Agi’s Counter

Cozy Agi’s Counter in Crown Heights specializes in Jewish and Eastern European foods and is the perfect place to enjoy a holiday meal – you have eight nights to choose when. Try the café’s potato pancakes, topped with applesauce and sour cream, or upscale it with caviar or white anchovies. Chef Jeremy Salamon takes inspiration from his Hungarian grandmother, Agi, 96 years old and still providing guidance.

Breads Bakery

Courtesy Breads Bakery

Popular Breads Bakery knows how to make chocolate babka and other Jewish treats. But, for Chanukah, they’re all about sufganiyot, the special jelly-filled, fried donut that symbolizes the unexpected lasting of the oil. Try their variety of flavors including traditional strawberry, passionfruit, vanilla and chocolate. The bakery’s five locations in Union Square, Lincoln Center, Rockefeller Center, and Bryant Park and on the Upper East Side have you covered.

Mile End Delicatessen

Courtesy Mile End Delicatessen

A favorite in Boerum Hill (Brooklyn) for their Montreal-style bagels, Mile End features latkes during Chanukah. Available for in-house dining, local delivery, and pick-up, the latkes come in basic latke form, on bagels, and as a complete meal such as the Mont Royal with latkes, smoked salmon, sour cream and tobiko. You can also order Hanukkah catering from the deli with dishes such as braised brisket, caramelized onion kugel, chicken schnitzel, and, of course, latkes.

Veselka

Courtesy Veselka

Ukrainian all-nighter, Veselka, is popular among the out-and-about set not only for their borscht and pierogis but also for their super non-oily latkes. With just the right potato punch, these latkes will become your favorite all year long, any time you’re hungry. Order ahead so you don’t lose out if you’d like to have these at home, too – they freeze well until you want to eat.

Chanukah Events in New York City

If you’re planning to be in New York City this week, you can join in the Chanukah celebration that’s a fitting part of the city’s winter comeback.

Chanukah, the “Festival of Lights,” commemorates the victory of the Maccabees against the Sellucid Greeks and the miracle of oil that lasted eight nights during the re-sanctification of the Temple in Jerusalem. Remembering this miracle, a menorah (or Hanukkiah) is lit for eight nights with one candle added each nights until all eight (plus the “helper” Shamash candle) glow brightly.

Chanukah Dining

Courtesy Empellon Taqueria

New York has a wealth of culinary experiences designed for celebrating Chanukah. Many restaurants offer special menus or add latkes, brisket, sufganiyot and traditional matzoh ball soup to their menus. Some of the most notable are The Ribbon, Empellon Taqueria, Barney Greengrass, Veselka, Russ & Daughters, Zou Zou’s, Who’s Jac W.? and Dagon.

The Ribbon © Meryl Pearlstein

Newcomer Breads Bakery has treats to add to the festivities while delis PJ Bernstein, Katz’s Deli, Second Ave. Deli and Zabar’s offer Chanukah dishes year-round.

Light the Menorah

Grand Army Plaza Holiday Menorah © Julienne Schaer NYC & Co.

In addition, two of the United States’ largest menorahs stand tall in the city and are lit each of the eight nights of Chanukah, one in Manhattan at the southern edge of Central Park at Grand Army Plaza and the other in Brooklyn at its own Grand Army Plaza. Each menorah is 32-feet-tall and is made of 4000 pounds of steel.

Museums

Courtesy Hanukkah Hunt Gallery at The Jewish Museum

Two museums celebrate the holiday with fun activities:

Hanukkah Hunt Gallery at The Jewish Museum – On December 5, families can explore the Manhattan museum’s collection of menorahs from around the world. Children are encouraged to hunt through the collection, draw their discoveries in a sketchbook, and learn about the history of holiday through the years. In observance of health requirements, timed tickets are required.

11th Annual Latke Festival at the Brooklyn Museum © Hechler Photographers

11th Annual Latke Festival at the Brooklyn Museum – One of NYC’s most distinctive holiday tastings, the Latke Festival on December 6 is a charity event that celebrates the most delicious and most creative potato pancakes. Past winners have included Chef Dima Martseniuk of Veselka for “Best Vegetarian Latke” and Chef David Burke for “Best Newcomer Latke.”

Drink Up!

Courtesy Dekō Cocktails

Lest you think that Chanukah isn’t celebrated with some bubbly or other special libation, Dekō Cocktails is a new, certified kosher bottled cocktail company out of Long Island, New York with two beverages introduced just in time for the holiday. The ready-to-drink Bee’s Knees and Gold Rush cocktails use the fresh produce of the North Fork to create classic cocktails with a Long Island twist. Order these online for shipping anywhere or for delivery in NYC and Long Island. They also make a perfect hostess gift with their opulent Art Deco design bottles.

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