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Sugar High: We give Orwasher's challah, babka, and other baked goods five stars.
(Photo: Carina Salvi) |
Eli’s
1411 Third Avenue, at 80th Street; 212-717-8100
The goods: Leave it to a Zabar to offer everything imaginable for the High Holidays, from moist honey cake ($4.95–$5.95) to chewy rugalach (chocolate, apricot, apple, or pecan-raisin, $6.95 a box) to perfectly peaked lemon-meringue cake ($65).
FYI: Free delivery in Manhattan ($50 minimum).
Rating: Four stars
Leon’s Pastry Shop
2137 Knapp Street, Brooklyn; 718-646-9012
The goods: We were hoping this Brooklyn bakery would fulfill our Neil Simon fantasies, but the challah was mediocre ($2.05 small, $2.20 large) and the chocolate babka ($6.50) didn’t taste homemade (it is).
FYI: The chocolate-dipped rugalach ($9.50 per pound) is worth the long ride from midtown on the Q train.
Rating: Two stars
Gertel’s Bake Shoppe
53 Hester Street; 212-982-3250
The goods: Utterly authentic—it’s been a neighborhood institution for almost a century. The challah ($2.50–$4.25) was a little on the dry side, but the tegelah would make Grandma proud—or jealous ($12).
FYI: Don’t be put off by the hole-in-the-wall appearance. Delivery charge is $12.
Rating: Three stars
2nd Avenue Deli
156 Second Avenue; 212-677-0606
The goods: It’s better known for pastrami than for pastries, but the latter aren’t half-bad. The rugalach ($12.95 per pound) was too sweet. But the chocolate babka ($8.75) was gloriously fudgy.
FYI: Lack of pretension is the order of the day.
Rating: Three stars
Orwasher’s Bakery
308 East 78th Street; 212-288-6569
The goods: This family-owned kosher bakery offers a full spread: from rugalach (raspberry, chocolate, cinnamon; $12 per pound) to super-light, lemony marble pound cakes ($8.50). But really, it’s all about the fluffy, brioche-like challah, which they’ve been baking in the shop’s brick ovens since 1916 ($4.75–$6.50).
FYI: Advance orders are not accepted and the holiday challah rush can get hectic.
Rating: Five stars
Soutine Bakery
104 West 70th Street; 212-496-1450
The goods: Famous for birthday and wedding cakes, this tiny bakery also offers a range of Jewish classics from challah (plain $4, raisin $5) to chocolate or raisin-nut rugalach ($15 a pound). We also loved the banana butter pound cake ($12) and the fruit tartlets ($15 per dozen). Check out the “beehive” chocolate cake, covered in caramel frosting and decorated with marzipan bees in keeping with the holiday’s honey theme ($40).
FYI: Probably not for strict traditionalists.
Rating: Four stars
My Most Favorite Dessert Company
120 West 45th Street; 212-997-5130
The goods: Other than the challah, which has a scrumptiously soft center, this kosher restaurant–takeout shop was mostly unremarkable. Another exception: the dense blackout cake—chocolate cake with chocolate-pudding layers topped with chocolate chunks ($30–$55).
FYI: Don’t come here looking for advice—the staff didn’t seem to know from kuchen.
Rating: Three stars