Kimchi latkes, cafe con leche-filled sufganiyot? Hanukkah opens up culinary possibilities
Want more food news? Sign up for the Food & Drink newsletter at sacbee.com/foodnews to get your weekly fill.
Shalom y’all,
Sunday marked the start of Hanukkah, the eight-night Jewish holiday celebrating the reclamation of Jerusalem and its holy temple in the second century B.C.E. It’s a time for lighting the nine-candle menorah, singing songs and giving presents, and of food: latkes (fried potato pancakes), sufganiyot (jelly doughnuts) and gelt (chocolate coins gambled in games of dreidel).
As with American Jewish food on the whole, though, those dishes are changing. I’ve seen recipes for kimchi latkes, bagel-and-lox kreplach with hot chili oil and cafe con leche-filled sufganiyot in the last week. An Eater San Francisco story published Monday titled “A New Definition of Jewish Food Emerges in Bay Area Kitchens” pointed at mochi jelly doughnuts and carciofi alla Giudia (Roman-style fried Jerusalem artichokes).
Assimilation and mixed families have something to do with that — look at Molly Yeh, a Chinese-Jewish-American celebrity chef who lives on a North Dakota farm and rose to prominence by posting homemade dishes like pretzel challah on her blog. So, too, do a modern focus on eating healthy and a better understanding of the Jewish diaspora.
Reubens warm the heart, but too many of them may strain it, and the cost and availability of pastrami have made the iconic sandwich somewhat prohibitive, as David Sax explored in his mouthwatering 2009 book “Save the Deli.” Solomon’s, the Sacramento area’s only Jewish delicatessen, doesn’t turn a profit on its $16 version, co-owner Jami Goldstene said.
The delis of yore tended to showcase Ashkenazi Jewish foods — that is, the food of Jews with cultural roots in central and eastern Europe. Yet Sephardic (Jews rooted in the Middle East, north Africa and Spain) dishes have become more prevalent thanks in part to cookbooks like Hélène Jawhara Piñer’s recently-published “Sephardi: Cooking the History, Recipes of the Jews of Spain and the Diaspora, from the 13th Century to Today,” as have Mizrahi foods from west Asia.
That’s how one ends up with Solomon’s, where matzo ball soup sits alongside Japanese-inspired fried chicken sandwiches at 730 K St. in downtown Sacramento. Traditional delis don’t carry shakshuka or khachapuri, but both are part of the Jewish diaspora and Solomon’s menu, Goldstene said.
“What we’re trying to do is include not just traditional deli foods that people might be familiar with, but because of the evolution of Jewish cooking, it’s led to a blending of Ashkenazi with Sephardic and Mizrahi foods,” Goldstene said.
Solomon’s Hanukkah celebration involves digging out a large electric menorah and hosting a bake and bottle sale, from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, hawking chocolate nut babka, chai rugelach and Mexican wedding cookies along with flasks of Tel Aviv Lemonade (choice of spirit, etrog liquer, lemon, mint and soda).
For those interested in more traditional deli food, San Francisco-based Wise Sons is also throwing a pop-up at Congregation B’Nai Israel in Land Park, with latkes, brisket, lox platters and more available for pickup from 1-3 p.m. on Sunday.
What I’m Eating
Business at Chopan Kabob isn’t what it once was: The Afghan restaurant at 9105 Bruceville Rd., Suite 5A in Elk Grove’s Laguna Crossroads shopping center is takeout-only for now, and owners Mahbooba and Sadiq Qadri were the only ones working when I visited during lunch.
It wasn’t a particularly large menu even in pre-Covid times, leaving few options. A yogurt/cucumber/mint dip called must-e-khair ($6) was nice but unremarkable — essentially tzatziki, just a little thinner and served with a thick slice of Afghan bread.
Much better was the house specialty chopan kabob ($15), grilled bone-in on long skewers under aluminum foil. Served over long-grain rice with a side salad, the lamb was expertly cooked and marinated in a delicious house spice mix the owners wouldn’t disclose to me, though I’d bet sumac is part of the equation.
Bolani ($14), chopped into squares and thrown in a pizza box, was another hit. Stuffed with potatoes, chili flakes and chives (Chopan Kabob uses an Afghan chive variation called gandana when seasonal over the summer), this pan-fried flatbread was tasty on its own, if a little carb-heavy, but reached a new dimension with a tangy-spicy-sour green chutney sauce.
Closing
Harry’s Cafe will close for good on Dec. 31, 2021, according to a Facebook post by the owner’s son Tuesday.
In the post, Harry Luong’s son Sam said his father decided to retire at year’s end.
“Retiring jersey after 17 years in restaurant GAME!” wrote Sam Luong, a former college basketball player. “Harry’s Cafe FINAL day of operation will be Friday, December 31, 2021! A man of many words, he says … ‘It’s TIME!’ Thank you for showing me how to be YOU and be (your) own BOSS.”
Opened
Craving tandoori chicken or paneer butter masala? You’re in luck: three new Indian restaurants opened around the Sacramento area during the month of November.
Four of the 13 new area restaurants came in Roseville; another four opened in September in the fast-developing Placer County city. Elk Grove had two new additions, while North Highlands, Davis and Camino all got one.
▪ Bear West BBQ & Soul Food (5901 Watt Ave., North Highlands): This unpretentious corner restaurant is hoping to make its name on dishes like sticky St. Louis-style ribs, shrimp and grits grilled chicken and hot links.
▪ Benaares (1850 Del Paso Rd., Suite 4, Sacramento): There’s a mix of traditional (goat biryani, rogan josh) and innovative (naan-wrapped tacos, paneer noodle burgers) dishes at this halal Indian restaurant in north Natomas.
▪ Bobby Sweets & Catering (8821 Sheldon Rd., Elk Grove): A stocked dessert case greets customers upon entry, and this Sheldon Crossing shopping center also sells chaat, tandoori dishes and south Indian specialties such as onion uttapam.
▪ Chicha Peruvian Kitchen & Cafe (1079 Sunrise Ave., Suite O, Roseville): Lima natives Giancarlo Zapata (chef) and Marleny Chávez (pastry chef) whip up Peruvian delights such as ceviche, lomo saltado and passion fruit cheesecake, with breakfast currently offered on Sundays.
▪ Crumbl Cookies (8240 Delta Shores Cir. S., Suite 120, Sacramento): Customers who download the Crumbl Cookies app get a free chocolate chip cookie on Friday, Dec. 3 at the chain’s sixth area location.
▪ Fujiya (9328 Elk Grove Blvd., Suite 100, Elk Grove): This elevated Japanese restaurant opened Nov. 9 with ramen, truffle oil hamachi and 12-piece sashimi moriawase tastings.
▪ India Oven (1186 Roseville Pkwy., Roseville): The sixth location for this local chain replaced Noodles & Co. in the Fountains at Roseville shopping center with dishes such as zafrani jhinga (saffron prawns) and navratan korma (a dried fruit/vegetable/nut curry).
▪ Jet’s (1226 20th St., Sacramento): Currently open for delivery and takeout only, this late-night sandwich shop started as a pandemic pop-up in Carmichael also carries loaded fries, chicken strips and hot dogs.
▪ Kitchen 747 (2320 Pleasant Grove Blvd., Roseville): You’ll find pizzas, burgers and salads at this west Roseville restaurant and bar, plus 32 beer taps and cocktails like the brown sugar brûlée old fashioned.
▪ Raising Cane’s (207 E St., Davis): The Louisiana-based chain known for chicken tenders and its distinctive pink sauce made its first Sacramento-area foray by opening to long lines Nov. 23 in downtown Davis.
▪ The 7th Street Standard (1122 7th St., Sacramento): A high-end New American restaurant in the new downtown Hyatt Centric, this kitchen is run by former Selland Family Restaurants chief culinary officer Ravin Patel.
▪ The Ring of Fire BBQ (3590 Carson Rd., Camino): Started as a catering operation, Ken and Rebecca Wachtman’s El Dorado County restaurant merges barbecue styles from Texas, Tennessee and North Carolina.
▪ University of Beer (1516 Eureka Rd., Roseville): This is UOB’s fifth location following similar beer bar/restaurant concepts in midtown Sacramento, Rocklin, Davis and Vacaville.
This story was originally published December 3, 2021 at 5:00 AM.