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Add These Honey-Glazed Fried Dough Balls to Your List of Favorite Hanukkah Recipes
The Festival of Lights would not be complete without delicious Hanukkah foods to keep the celebrations going (for all eight nights!). Observed on the Hebrew calendar date of 25 Kislev — Sunday, December 18th this year — the holiday recognizes the rededication of Jerusalem’s Holy Temple during the second century BC As the story goes, the Maccabees revolted against Greek occupiers and recaptured the temple. They needed to burn a candelabra for eight days in succession in order to rededicate the temple, but they only had enough oil for one day. Miraculously, the candles stayed lit the entire time, which is why we celebrate the “Festival of Lights” today.
Traditional Hanukkah recipes use oil to commemorate the same oil that keeps the lights burning, which often means fried food — and lots of it! In the spirit of the holiday, we rounded up our favorite crisp latkes and fluffy, jelly-filled sufganiyot — and because one cannot live off fried food for all eight nights — we also gathered mains like juicy roast chicken, salmon and brisket. Low on time? There are plenty of easy Hanukkah dishes — try our 3-ingredient applesauce — in addition to the more involved projects that are well worth the effort.
So brush up on your Hanukkah facts and make the most of the holiday with an abundance of snacks, Hanukkah appetizers and Hanukkah desserts. (Pro tip: You can never have too many!)
Kansas City Tanner’s Bar & Grill’s new server is a robot
Sonny loads up with trays of grilled chicken sandwiches, fries and salad as he heads to table 42 at Tanner’s Bar & Grill in Red Bridge Shopping Center. Dishes delivered, Sonny turns and heads back to the kitchen.
But customer Bond Faulwell of Overland Park wonders aloud, “Do we leave WD-40 for the tip?”
Sonny is a new robot server at the south Kansas City restaurant.
Trade magazine Nation’s Restaurant News said robots are uniquely positioned to support restaurants through the current wave of labor shortages. They are best used for tasks that are physical and repetitive, freeing up employees for more important tasks such as interacting with customers. It said the robot should always be escorted by a human.
Tanner’s, at 11134 Holmes Road, pays an undisclosed monthly fee for Sonny, but a spokeswoman said they will not pass the cost on to customers by increasing prices.
Kitchen employees place orders on Sonny’s two trays, plug in the table number and send it off to the dining room.
Servers meet Sonny at the table and hand the dishes to customers. Then they plug in a code to send the robot back to the kitchen.
“We’re amazed by the little robot running around,” said Jim Ogden of Overland Park.
Sonny, created by California’s Bear Robotics Inc., can also be loaded with dirty plates to take back to the kitchen, then it is cleaned and sanitized before making another delivery. It tends to spill drinks when maneuvering from tile to carpet, so for now it is just taking plates.
“It does help, especially with the bigger tables,” said Tiffany Hearld, manager. “And the kids love it. They want it to bring their food.”
Espiritu in Mesa is one of Eater’s Best New Restaurants 2022
Eater released its roundup of 15 best new restaurants of 2022 on Dec. 6 and a Mexican restaurant and cocktail bar in Mesa made the list.
Espiritu Cocktails + Comida, from the renowned teams behind Bacanora and Tacos Chiwas, opened in downtown Mesa in January. The menu is broken up into six “chapters” which include “Shooketh” and “Stirredeth” cocktails, margaritas, shots and a “Choose your own adventure” personalized cocktail option. Espiritu also serves brunch and dinner.
Eater’s Lauren Saria (formerly The Arizona Republic’s dining editor) praised chef Roberto Centeno’s live-fire skills. Centeno also received recognition on Food Network this year as a grand-prize winner of “Chopped.”
The restaurant list is compiled with the help of Eater’s team of national and city writers and editors.
Blue crab, brunch and plenty of pizza:35 restaurants opened in metro Phoenix in November
Reach the reporter at [email protected]. follow @EndiaFontanez on Twitter.
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