Lots of latkes in the county of kings

Story and photos by Lauren Bloomberg

 
Ron Ben Israel shows-off his teeny sweet take on potato latkes.

       Chanukah is not a major Jewish Holiday. It’s barely even a minor one. However, with the popularity of Christmas and the holiday celebrations that surround December, the true Chanukah has become a casualty.

       The eight-day festival commemorates the story of the Temple in Jerusalem, where they had run out of oil to keep the eternal light lit. Someone produced a little oil, maybe a couple of potatoes, and I guess that's how the latke story began. In lieu of the oily treats and dreidel spinning that traditionally mark the festival, most American Jews instead celebrate with gift giving. But at least the potato latkes have stuck around.

Mae Mae Cafe's latkes may have failed, but their decorative efforts get an A+.

       It’s unclear whether the fried potato phenomenon has taken hold outside of the country’s bookends, but here in New York, it is big business. Many restaurants start bringing their gourmet versions to the table and there are even potato pancake pageants. Like the one held at the Brooklyn Academy of Music last night.

       Two dozen chefs brought their A-games out to Kings County in the early evening, lugging their pots and pans and enough oil to make a Middle Eastern sultan blush. There were traditional takes made fancy with clever topping combinations (Mae Mae Café’s Reuben-style latkes), and some with their gimmicks baked right inside, like Chef Julian Medina's spunky potato-jalapeno version.

Kutsher's Tribeca abandoned their signature version for this mushroom and ricotta topped gem.

       Ron Ben Israel is best known for his hand with cakes (and his new yawn-worthy cooking contest television show) so it was surprising to see him in this savory atmosphere. Needless to say, he couldn't resist turning his parsnip latke into a play on creme brulee. Sprinkled with sugar and torched, the caramelized sugar gave way to the shredded potato. Though exciting as a concept, we wouldn't call it "sweet genius".

Chef Jason Weiner eyeballs his award winning latkes.

       Though the panel of judges -- with nine of them it's amazing they could agree on anything -- chose midtown (and Hamptons) restaurant Almond's ambitious bluefish and goat yogurt topped pancake as their favorite, I just didn't agree. Agreed, I'm not a bluefish fan. An oily fish on top of an oily dish?

       Weiner's latke vision, is a tribute to his Coney Island-dweeling forebears, he confided. It begins with Grandma Weiner's potato pancake recipe. Next layer: "My great-uncle Louis was a world class blue fish angler in the waters off Brooklyn, to hear him tell it." And the goat yogurt comes from a friend's farm, a stone's throw from Grossinger's where my dad once wreaked all kinds of havoc."

       I snuck over twice for an encore of my favorite, the mushroom and herbed ricotta cheese topped entry from Kutsher’s. And, even though they arrived pre-cooked to the party, Mile End's patties had a lot of pizazz. Their reheated pancakes featured the traditional applesauce, plus a brilliant duo of duck: duck skin cracklings and a wafer of duck breseaola.

       The Bocuse D'Or of latkes swarmed with over 1000 tasters waiting on long lines for greasy specimens on paper plates. Forks at the ready, beers on the sideline to wash the whole mess down. Okay, so it was not how the Maccabees would have prepared their Chanukah treats, but this is an era of unbridled kitchen creativity. And enough innovation to make a chorus of Jewish grandmother's roll-over in their graves.