Festival of Lights...and bites
From knishes to babka: an eight-day food trek of our fave Jewish eats
- Metromix.com
- Jacqui Gal
Katz's has been open since 1988
Read this article on Metromix.com
In honor of Hanukkah, we’ve pounded the pavement for our eight favorite Jewish treats. Herewith, our day-to-day gastronomic guide. Happy schlepping…
First night: knishes
Head to the Yonah Schimmel Knishery (137 E. Houston St., 212-477-2858) and nab a table to sample some hearty, fluffy knishes in a family-run atmosphere. The classic version is a simple mound of spiced mashed potato wrapped in pastry, but variations (all baked on-site since 1910) include broccoli, mushroom and kasha. While the savory knishes are all potato-based, the sweet options are based on a cheese filling, with the addition of apple, blueberry, cherry or chocolate. Think cheesecake wrapped in dough.
Second night: pastrami sandwich
Jewish delicatessens have been pickling, brining and curing meat and vegetables since it was a necessity—before the advent of refrigerators. The oldest among them is Katz’s (205 E. Houston St., 212-254-2246), which has been open since 1888 and boasts a long service counter where you can watch your pastrami being pulled out of the steamer and speedily sliced. As every movie buff knows, the barn-like dining hall was made famous by Meg Ryan faking pleasure in “When Harry Met Sally.”
Third night: matzo ball soup
It’s true, you can find a bowl of matzo ball soup on almost every diner menu in town, but few manage to reach the perfection (and purported medicinal power) seen in a true Yiddisher mama’s kitchen. The matzo ball soup at Zabar’s (2245 Broadway, 212-496-1234) comes very close to the ideal. Crucially, it includes the customary pieces of cooked carrot and onion within the broth, and large, smooth, not-too-heavy matzo balls. If you prefer a smaller, more rustic matzo ball, this isn’t the soup for you.
Fourth night: bagels with lox
The bagel with lox (Yiddish for brined and smoked salmon) is no rare beast on the NYC food landscape, but why let the chance of stringy fish and dried out roll turn you off it for life? In business for a century now, Barney Greengrass (541 Amsterdam Ave.. 212-724-4707) earned the title “The Sturgeon King” by consistently providing high-quality smoked fish, atop fresh squishy bagels. The traditional choice is a toasted bagel with cream cheese, Nova Scotia Salmon, sliced tomato and white onion.
Fifth night: chopped liver
It may not be much to look at, but chopped liver has found its way onto many a Friday Shabbat dinner table, week after week, so there must be something to it. Sample the combination of sautéed chicken livers, caramelized onions and hard-boiled egg at Russ & Daughters (179 E. Houston St., 212-475-4880). First-timers are advised to try the chopped liver in a thin layer, spread on crusty bread topped with sliced pickles. Which brings us to…
Sixth night: pickles
At Guss’ Pickles (85 Orchard St., 212-334-3616), it almost seems like old times, when the Lower East Side was home to dozens of kosher pickle stores. Here, your choice of full sour, half sour, quarter sour, hot or new pickles, is still plucked straight from the barrel, just as the original owner Izzy Guss would have done when he opened the business in 1920.
Seventh night: cheese blintzes
How can the simple combination of a crepe wrapper and cream-cheese filling be so darn good? Although raisins and fruit are sometimes added, you will find a tempting and simple version, served with sour cream and apple butter, at three Sarabeth’s locations in Manhattan (40 Central Park S., 212-826-5959; 1295 Madison Ave., 212-410-7335; and 423 Amsterdam Ave., 212-496-6280).
Eighth night: babka
While a fruit-filled babka has roots in Polish Christian tradition, the chocolate and cinnamon versions are decidedly Jewish. And although many can honestly say they’ve never met a babka they didn’t like, few are as well-proportioned as the ones that are baked in the humble East Broadway Kosher Bakery (363 Grand St., 212-228-1110). Flaky and crisp on the outside, while the inside is gooey and laden with a prodigious dose of chocolate, the whole thing is topped with a light dusting of streusel. Don’t forget to pick up some rugelach on your way out.