July 10, 2026 Categories: In Print / Jewish Fress
For The Best Sufganiyot – It’s Sesame
The changing of the clocks and the wearing of winter coats can only mean one thing: It’s time for Chanukah. And Chanukah means it’s time to exceed our usual calorie quotas for a week or so.
With apologies to those who prefer to focus on the wonderfulness that is the latke, I’m really more focused on the sufganiyot. Every year seems to bring an expanding number of varieties as the specimens get more and more elaborate. And while every year seems to bring more vendors to the market, a clear frontrunner has arisen over the last few years.
Chaim Zorger opened Sesame, a bake shop and cafe, in Flatbush in 2016 and decided to start making sufganiyot for Chanukah of 2017. A second location opened in Boro Park in 2019, right around the time when their name was becoming ubiquitous in the fervent discussion around deluxe sufganiyot. Before last Chanukah, the decision was made that the sensation that was Sesame sufganiyot really needed to branch out from the borough of Brooklyn. That led to the fortnight-long seasonal pop up locations that Sesame now operates in both the Five Towns and Lakewood.
Sesame is known for outstanding, but not outrageous. Their sufganiyot don’t have massive piles of things stacked six inches high atop the base. They’ve got a filling (usually a generous amount), a coating of some kind (powdered sugar or icing), something sprinkled on top (sprinkles, crumbs, chocolate chips, etc.), and that’s it. They’ve actually reduced their flavors from last year as they focus on creating the most well-curated menu you can find.
So what’s the craze all about if it’s not crazy additions stacked to the sky?
The dough is probably the star of the show. The Sesame dough is on the heavier side of the sufganiyah spectrum, but considering the texture, that’s a good thing. When you bite into one, you’ll be slightly reminded of one of those challahs that’s only 95% baked. The chewy, spongy, and moist dough is tasty, but not too sweet to allow the fillings and icings to accomplish that goal.
The fillings may all be different, but one thing that is almost always the same is that there’s an ample amount inside your sufganiyah. A common pet peeve for devotees of the donut is how evenly filled their pastry is. Given that all of these are filled by hand, variability is certainly an issue, but Sesame uses the preferred method of filling from the side and their staff is very good at what they do.
The only downside to Sesame sufganiyot is how small your window is to acquire them. While some places have their sufganiyot available for as many as three or even four weeks, Sesame only has their full menu available for two. Some might think that the popularity would cause them to have greater availability. In fact, it’s the opposite.
Sesame has their staff making sufganiyot 24 hours a day (Shabbat has never been more necessary) for those two weeks producing tens of thousands of sufganiyot. That kind of system is hard to sustain for as long as they would like to, so the dates are limited to two weeks. Also, they don’t pick-up their phone, so don’t even try. You can contact them via WhatsApp if you’d like to place a large order, but there’s a ten dozen minimum.
By the time you read this article, Sesame will have their full menu available. But with more than a dozen options, which ones do you get? Lucky for you, I was invited to try them all. So, here’s a countdown with a seasonally appropriate numeral that will help you fill one of those iconic black and yellow boxes.
Top 8 Sesame Sufganiyot
- Raspberry
- Lotus
- Pistachio
- Blueberry
- Nutella
- Dulce de Leche
- Peanut Butter
- White Chocolate
Sesame - Boro Park 5024 13th Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11219 6:00am-8:00pm
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Sesame - Flatbush 1540 Coney Island Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11230 6:00am-8:00pm
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Five Towns Pop Up 346 Central Avenue Lawrence, NY 11559 8:00am-8:00pm
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Lakewood Pop Up 1797 Avenue of the States Lakewood, NJ 08701 9:00am-8:00pm
