December holidays get under way
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Hello again!
This week's newsletter arrives on the first day of Hanukkah, so lets celebrate with a story about donuts!
Christmas cookies get all the attention this time of year, but Hanukkah is all about the donuts. They are a traditional holiday food because they are cooked in oil, which honors the small amount of oil that kept the menorah in Jerusalem's holy temple lit.
A classic choice is sufganiyot, a jelly donut, but with each holiday season, bakers get more creative. Some fill their donuts with custard and dulce de leche, and top them with Oreos.
Matthew Rosenzweig at The Baker's Grove in Shrewsbury is making a different flavor of sufganiyot for each day of Hanukkah, including brambleberry jam and custard, passion fruit cream, double chocolate cream, hazelnut cream, spiced apple and more. Evergreen Kosher Grocery Store in Lakewood has blueberry, jelly, vanilla with sprinkles, and cinnamon.
Food writer Gabriela Laracca rounded up more than a dozen bakeries around the state that are making sufganiyot and other Hanukkah donuts: check it out.
Fans stand up for Max's in Long Branch
If you've ever watched a restaurant renovation show, you know to take what you see with a giant grain of salt. Dialogue and reactions are scripted, drama is embellished, and small faults are magnified.
It was no different when an episode of "Kitchen Nightmares" featuring Max's Bar & Grill in Long Branch aired on Monday. Host Gordon Ramsay criticized the restaurant's hot dog and zeroed in on family tension, and local viewers were quick to defend the nearly 100-year-old restaurant.
My favorite response came from a Facebook commenter: "This limey Brit wouldn’t know a good American hot dog if it hit him in the face."
There is truth to that: In the episode, Ramsay said a hot dog should be "fat, juicy and delicious" and even introduced a new hot dog to the menu. Max's hot dogs, distributed by Wenning Food in Long Branch, have always been skinny, griddled footlong hot dogs. Short, stumpy Ball Park franks, they are not.
"I thought the dog looked great!" wrote another viewer. "He doesn’t understand our traditions."
Max's fans need not worry: Max's owner Jennifer Maybaum said she won't make any changes without feedback from the community.
Quick bites
When Tuzzio's Italian Cuisine closed last December, one of the first things customers said was "but what about the salad dressing!" For decades, the Long Branch restaurant served a beloved Italian chopped salad that was originally created in the '70s for a staff meal. With the restaurant closed, owner Joe Tuzzio is offering the "Italian Mix Dressing" at these Shore restaurants and markets: The Blonde Shallot and Little Buca Restaurant in Little Silver, Taste of Italy in Tinton Falls, Durazzo's Italian Market in Brick, and at the Long Branch Elks Club. Tuzzio also is collaborating with Little Buca on a takeout Christmas dinner menu; see it here.
Need holiday gift ideas? Stop by Made in Monmouth, a 200-plus vendor fair happening from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday, Dec. 9, at Brookdale Community College in Middletown. For the foodie on your list, check out bite-sized desserts from Sweet Pieces, crumb cake from Crum and Companie, candy from The Chocolate Lab and pretzels from The Hangover Snack Company, among others. There is no charge to attend.
For a new holiday tradition, have tea with Santa at Mathis House Bed & Breakfast and Victorian Tea Room in downtown Toms River. Offered through January, it features a five-course afternoon tea, live music and a tour of the historic Mathis House ($50 per person. $20 children ages 6 to 12, free for those 5 and younger; details here). There's also tea with Santa Dec. 13 and 20.
Looking toward 2024
As we make our way through December, I am already planning stories to write in the new year. If there's anything you would like to read — a new restaurant profile, a story on a chef doing big things, a piece about the restaurant industry — let me know!
That is all for this week! For more food content, visit app.com and follow Jersey Shore Eats on Instagram and Facebook.
Sarah Griesemer is a food writer for The Asbury Park Press and app.com. For more on where to eat and drink, please consider a subscription.
This article originally appeared on Asbury Park Press: December holidays get under way
