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Hanukkah is here again and if you're like us, your eight-day celebration of menorah lighting, dreidel spinning and gift exchanging will be punctuated with a festive feast of fried food. (Is it even the holidays without it?) But if you don't want to do all the frying, cooking and baking yourself, don't plotz—NYC restaurants are here to help with Festival of Lights food-and-drink specials to make your holiday entertaining a little less overwhelming. So load up on sufganiyot, latkes and comfort food dishes from the city's best Jewish delis, kosher restaurants, and bakeries, and have yourselves a very happy Hanukkah!
Edith's
Along with its regular menu of Jewish-inspired classics like bagel sandwiches and challah buns, this deli pop-up at Paulie Gee's in Greenpoint is offering latke-filled holiday boxes for pre-order: Each $25 package comes with five potato pancakes, house-made applesauce, house-cultured creme fraiche and optional trout roe.
Russ & Daughters Cafe
The Lower East Side staple has a family-style set-up for nearly every occasion, from a bagel-and-lox New York Brunch situation to a congratulatory New Baby package complete with a newborn onesie. So of course they have holiday-ready delivery specials, such as the $100 Chanukah Essentials (12 potato latkes, a half-pound of smoked salmon, a box of menorah candles, etc.) or the $110 Latkes & Mimosas kit, for an extra bubbly celebration.
Mark's Off Madison
Starting Thursday, December 10, this newcomer from chef Mark Strausman will offer a family-style Hanukkah menu for takeout and delivery via GrubHub. There will be potato latkes ($26 for 12), of course, as well as chopped liver ($16 for a pint), chicken soup ($24 for a quart), beef brisket ($24 for a pound), jelly doughnuts ($3 each), and chocolate macaroons ($10 a pound).
Mile End
You can trick out your latkes with everything from chopped liver to smoked salmon to duck confit at this smoked-meat stalwart. Available from December 9 to 18, the restaurant's Special Hanukkah Menu pads out those potato pancakes ($15 for six, $25 for twelve) with fellow classics like matzo ball soup and braised brisket, as well as festive finger foods including pigs in a blanket and chicken schnitzel fingers (with "Jewbque sauce," naturally.)
12 Chairs Cafe
If you like your latkes large and in charge, head to this Israeli-Mediterranean cafe, which will be offering skillet-sized sweet-potato pancakes as well as their regular-sized brethren at both Soho and Williamsburg locations. The crispy shredded spuds can come topped with creme fraiche, trout roe, or BEC-style with a fried egg, bacon and maple syrup.
Gertie
Bagel extraordinaire Melissa Weller (Sadelle's, Roberta's) joined this all-day Williamsburg café as baker-in-residence in November, and this month she's putting her spin on classic Hanukkah goodies. Available for pick-up between 10am and 2pm from December 11-13 and 18-20, the $30 "Hanukkah Jackpot Box" comes with three sufganiyot doughnuts (filled with blood orange jam, mmm), five latkes (with apple sauce and sour cream, so you don't have to choose), mixed holiday cookies, chocolate gelt, and a dreidel. There's also a la carte options like matzo ball soup, bialys, and rugelach, to round out your spread.
Breads Bakery
There are four fried-and-filled sufganiyot varieties available via the bakery's digital Holiday Shop, running today through December 17. Options include strawberry jam, chocolatey Nutella, coffee custard, dulce de leche, or a $33 assorted dozen if you just can't choose. (We can't blame you!) And if you need a little savory with your sweet, there are also latkes by the dozen with house-made apple sauce and sour cream ($25).
Moonrise Izakaya
Through the entire month of December, this uptown pub is putting a Japanese spin on Jewish tradition with a festive $10 bao special for Hanukkah: The steamed bun is stuffed with a potato latke, chopped apples, vegan sour cream and an optional-but-should-be-mandatory cider-braised brisket for an extra two bucks.
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