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Every year after Thanksgiving, I vow to change my eating habits and begin again. But like clockwork, Hanukkah arrives to ruin everything with eight days of fried, greasy, schmaltzy goodness. The only years when we survived the eating onslaught where the lunar gaffes that had Hanukkah fall on Thanksgiving, but alas, we're in for a very oily December in 2017.
RECOMMENDED: See the full guide to Hanukkah in NYC
If you're ready to plunge into the glory of latkes—or fried potato pancakes—then skip your friend's recipe from the Old Country and try out the best bites from the pros. On Monday, December 18, Brooklyn Museum hosts the ninth annual NYC Latke Festival, at which restaurants and chefs show off their most inventive latke recipes—we're talking cream cheese and lox latkes, daikon-scallion number with a black vinegar sauce, and lobster latkes—for you and a panel of celebrity judges to dig into. You can count on a variety of kosher and unkosher schmaltzes—or cooking fats—including duck, chicken and possibly pork.
Participating restaurants include Veselka, Shelsky's of Brooklyn, Korzo, Mae Mae Café, Tudor City and more. Net proceeds benefit the healthy eating education nonprofit Sylvia Center.
$70 GA tickets are sold out, but you can join the wait list or opt in for the $120 VIP seat (which includes access to the VIP lounge and unlimited tastings).
Also, with five nights left of Hanukkah, you can still check out the giant menorah lightings in Central Park and at Brooklyn's Grand Army Plaza. Chag Sameach!
Now, who do we have to call to set up a sufganiya fest?
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