The festival of lights is almost here and it’s time to celebrate accordingly in New York City. With food, of course. And Hanukkah’s all about the fried treats — latkes, stuffed doughnuts and more will pop up on menus around the city to celebrate the eight night holiday.
Hanukkah starts the night of Thursday, December 7 and runs through Friday, December 15. Here’s where to dig into celebratory treats:
Mesiba
For their first Hanukkah celebration, Tel-Aviv inspired restaurant Mesiba is kicking off a latke cart, available all eight nights. Chef Eli Buli’s latkes are topped tableside to order with the following selections: Lox and Crème Fraiche $20; with Caviar $32; with Roasted Lamb Neck $25; with Labneh and Zatar $17. Each order comes with three latkes and applesauce. Beverage Director Christine Wiseman has also crafted Hanukkah specials. Her six new cocktails include: Gelt Negroni: White chocolate infused Negroni with homemade gelt on top; Hot Latke: Woody Creek Potato Vodka, hot apple cider; Mensch Old Fashioned: Whisky Old Fashioned with mole bitters and jelly demerara; 8 Crazy Nights: (also offered as large format) blue Margarita with poached pear and toasted hazelnut and gold glitter; Meshuggeneh: Rum, walnut liqueur, olive oil ice cream, vanilla, whipped cream; and Schvitz it out: hot toddy with orange blossom honey.
Caviar Russe
Caviar Russe’s Hanukkah latke
Head to Madison Avenue for an elevated twist to traditional Hanukkah latkes. To celebrate the holiday, Chef Edgar ‘Teddy’ Panchernikov is creating a super-sized potato latke topped with 1oz of classic osetra caviar, topped with Crème fraîche and egg jam for an indulgent bite. The latke costs $95 and is available in limited quantities by pre-ordering within 24 hours via email: jgergeos@caviarrusse.com.
Kubeh
Sufganiyot at Kubeh
Latkes will be offered for breakfast, lunch and dinner at this The Middle Eastern restaurant in Greenwich Village. Chef Melanie Shurka’s childhood recipes are transformed into dishes like a shareable super-sized Spinach Latke (gluten free) and traditional Latkes served with labneh and zaatar and a side of spiced apple A Latkes Trio is topped with labneh, dill and salmon roe, and brunch brings a Latke Mediterranean topped with poached eggs, halloumi, avocado, oven roasted tomato and hollandaise. For dessert, guests can enjoy homemade Sufganiyot – Hanukkah doughnuts filled with nutella or raspberry jam, available through the month of December. To wash-it-down, guests can order the winterized Old Fashion L’Chaim.
Hawksmoor
Zoe’s Doughy Hawky Ribbon
Dessert at Hawksmoor is getting an upgrade for Hanukkah thanks to pastry chef Zoë Kanan in collaboration with the restaurant’s resident pastry chef, Carla Henriques. Zoë’s Doughy Hawky Ribbon is made with Graft Farm Cider directly from the Hudson Valley, apple brandy caramel, and buckwheat praline. The buckwheat is caramelized, then crushed, and folded through the brandy-cider glazer before it’s fried in beef tallow and served with lashings of spiced custard. In true Zoë’s Doughies fashion, the doughnuts are squiggly shaped and served on skewers. Each bite is a little crunchy, a little boozy, delightfully sweet and savory, and very much a timely treat for lunch and dinner between December 4 and December 15.
Shalom Japan
Shalom Japan, the Japanese-Jewish mashup restaurant in Williamsburg will serve an Okonomi-Latke for December. It’s the restaurant’s version of okonomiyaki, a savory Japanese pancake with cabbage, onions and bean sprouts. For Hanukkah, grated potatoes are added and the pancake is fried like a latke. Finally, it’s toped with creme fraiche and ikura (salmon roe) for $24.
12 Chairs Cafe
Latkes with salmon at 12 Chairs
With a warm and welcoming atmosphere, this Tel Aviv inspired restaurant serves a new latke dish each year to riff on holiday tradition. This year, 12 Chairs’ latkes trio will be served alongside smoked salmon from Acme and sour cream for dipping. The restaurant will serve sweet potato latkes, their annual tradition as a homage to a well-known neighborhood restaurant that closed in Israel, served with soy sauce and served with a housemade condiments. Both latkes are available throughout the holiday at the Manhattan and Brooklyn locations.
Breads Bakery
Chocolate Sufganiyot at Breads Bakery
The beloved New York City bakery is back with its annual Hanukkah menu. Sufganiyot will be 1 for $3.75 or $37 for twelve, in flavors including chocolate, strawberry, vanille and a new tiramisu. Potato latkes are also made in-house and accompanied by sour cream and Breads’ own apple sauce. The pancakes are sold for $3 each, 5 for $13 or 12 for $30.