We added several new destinations based on people’s Instagram posts. Let me share that some of the IG posts may be paid advertisements (this blog takes no money or ads- please just get friends to subscribe on topics covering Jews, Judaism and Israel) since some were quite weak and overpriced. We also added a nice new bakery based on conversations with people we met at the stores. The list for 2024 is (in the order we visited them):
- Oneg Bakery, 188 Lee Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11211 [Williamsburg]
- Almah Cafe, 87 Utica Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11213 [Crown Heights]
- Ricotta Coffee, 513 Albany Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11203 [Crown Heights]
- Schreiber’s Homestyle Bakery, 3008 Avenue M, Brooklyn, NY 11210 [Flatbush]
- Pita Sababa, 540 Kings Hwy, Brooklyn, NY 11223 [Flatbush]
- Maison Valero, 501 Avenue M, Brooklyn, NY 11230 [Flatbush]
- Sesame – Flatbush, 1540 Coney Island Ave, Brooklyn, NY 11230 [Flatbush]
- Taste of Israel, 1322 Avenue M, Brooklyn, NY 11230 [Flatbush]
- Ostrovitsky Bakery, 1124 Avenue J, Brooklyn, NY 11230 [Flatbush]
For those familiar with Brooklyn, you will note that these are a bit scattered, but there is a method to the madness that you will see in the descriptions below.
Oneg Bakery
We’ve skipped Oneg over the last couple of years since Williamsburg bakeries do not, in general, stand out. Oneg is the exception. It is famous for its babkas which are among the very best in NYC. You should pick one up (do not get overwhelmed by the size which looks prepared for a synagogue kiddush; they will cut it in sections. Note that they freeze very well.) You can order from Goldbelly if you do not want to visit in person.
There is not a large selection of donuts at the small store, and they didn’t have frittle when we visited as they were short-staffed on Christmas. Some of our tasting crew thought the plain jelly donut was “fantastic!” and others really enjoyed the Boston cream.
Almah Cafe
Almah is a new addition to the donut crawl, being flagged on Instagram. We decided to taste some of their other baked goods like the olive and mushroom focaccias, which were great. It’s a small and fantastic place to visit for brunch. However, I would NOT suggest going for the sufganiyot. They are small, very expensive at $7 each, and not that tasty. We tried two, including strawberry cheesecake. There was little filling and the flavor is so subtle to be virtually non-existent.
Ricotta Coffee
Ricotta Coffee is a pretty new establishment that doesn’t even have signage on the doors. The small place was packed with people eating lunch which looked very fresh. Unfortunately, we did not know that you have to order in advance, so please do so at (347) 365-5177, the day before you plan on picking up donuts. We were very fortunate to meet a Chabad rabbi and his wife that we know who very generously gave us their order of three donuts, as they lived nearby and were able to pick up another order the next day. So nice!!
We found the raspberry donut to be okay and the pistachio to be interesting- it is much saltier (like salted pistachios you might normally eat) with bits of pistachios in the filling. It’s a much more crunchy, saltier version than Sesame which is creamier and sweeter.
Schreiber’s Homestyle Bakery
We visit Schreiber’s each year to get their lace cookies, which they do to perfection (I know that it’s a simple cookie but we love places that perfect things).
The sufganiyot were all in the back and they have simple jellies for about $2, and fancy ones for $5. They have a nice selection of packaged donuts for quick takeaway or you can select the ones you want. We bought one pretzel and one graham cracker donut. Both were good, not too sweet.
At this point, we had our first sugar rush. We broke for sushi at Sushi Meshuga, 1637 E 17th Street. The sushi was fine, and helped cleanse our palates for the second half of the donut crawl.
Pita Sababa
As a non-Brooklynite, (and non-Sefaradi) I did not know Pita Sababa, a large Moroccan bakery. I heard about the bakery from a woman on line at Almah who told me she absolutely loved the bakery. It seems so do many others!
The bakery was totally sold out when we visited. Tal, who runs the store, told me he thought he’d sell 10,000 donuts on Christmas! He expects to sell closer to 5-7,000 on the other days of Chanukah. One needs to order in advance on the website. We decided to try a sfenj which is a Moroccan donut. It’s basically just fried dough, somewhat like a churro. It was straight out of the oven, warm and delicious.
You can also pre-order at sabababakery.com or with the QR code below. There are just a few flavors, including chocolate ($48/dozen), custard ($42/dozen) and jelly ($42/dozen). They also sell mini donuts in smaller sizes.
Maison Valero
Some of the smaller bakeries only cook in the morning (as opposed to larger one’s like Sesame and Pita Sababa which bake all day). As such, one needs to come early to get donuts at the smaller shops, and this store was closed by the time we arrived in the afternoon.
Sesame
Sesame has a well-earned reputation for excellent donuts so the few bakery locations are packed. Because they bake all day, people stand around and clamor over the next flavors to emerge from the ovens, shouting “lotus!” and “white chocolate!” Pareve flavors include Oreo, Halvah, Lotus, Pistachio, Peanut Butter, Lemon and classic jelly. Dairy varieties include White Chocolate, Nutella, Caramel and Cheese. All of the fancy sufganiyot were about $5.25.
Note that these sufganiyot and large and have very rich flavor. We suggest cutting them in quarters so you can try from their wide variety. All are excellent. We ordered a dozen and brought them to friends for dinner.
If you are not planning on eating them for a while and not so particular of the flavors you get, consider picking up packaged Sesame donuts at stores like Sprinkles. We met people at the Oneg bakery who had done just that.
Taste of Israel
Taste of Israel is small general store, but you can order sufganiyot in advance at (347) 554-8133. They have eight varieties ranging in price from $4 to $6, and all are very good. We bought another dozen here to bring to people.
Ostrovitsky’s Bakery
Ostrovitsky’s was cleared out of their fancy sufganiyot (Rosemarie, Chocolate Mousse…) when we arrived around 4pm. We tried a custard donut which was just okay. Dough gets heavy as the day goes on which weakens the experience.
Summary
If one budgets $2-$4 for a donut, look for simple jelly donuts or custard which are usually quite good at most locations (including Pomegranate). The more expensive varieties run $5-$6 each. There is absolutely no reason to spend $7 for a small donut at Almah.
Sufganiyot are much, much better fresh. If one is planning to eat them at the time of purchase, go early to the smaller bakeries which only bake in the morning. The larger locations like Sesame and Pita Sababa can be visited at any time and recommended if one is planning on having them at dinner.
Some places require ordering at least a day in advance, including Pita Sababa, Ricotta Coffee and Taste of Israel. It is very unlikely that you will be able to get any if not ordered early. However, I imagine that it will get easier on the last few nights of the holiday.
Lastly, talk to people! We discovered Sababa from talking to a woman in line and got gifted donuts at Ricotta from speaking to a Chabad rabbi. People are out enjoying the holiday and you should view the bakery hop as an experience to enjoy with everyone, and not just picking up donuts because pictures looked pretty on Instagram.
BONUS: Latkes (Pomegranate and Essen Deli)
We sampled latkes from Pomegranate (across from Sesame-Flatbush) and Essen Deli (not far from there, next to Ostrovitsky’s). Pomegranate had a few flavors like potato, sweet potato and zucchini which were flat and wide. Essen had potato which were very crunch and thick. The Essen latkes were a bit saltier and people preferred them to Pomegranate’s which candidly, did not look as appetizing when placed side by side.
Wishing you and your families a very wonderful Chanukah!
{Reposted from the author’s blog}
