‘Tis the season for brisket, kugel, sufganiyot, and perhaps the most quintessential Chanukah food of them all: latkes, the potato pancakes made from shallow-fried shredded or mashed potatoes.
Eater, the food publication, recently released a chart titled “The Definitive Matrix of Frozen Latkes,” reminding us that now is the time to clear out our freezers and stock up on these tasty bites. The four categories featured in the matrix are shredded potato, bland, mashed potato, and flavorful. Of the eleven businesses included, three are located on the Upper West Side.
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Landing in the shredded potato/flavorful quadrant is Zabar’s at 80th and Broadway. Priced at $14.98 for six, Zabar’s crisp, golden potato pancakes are made by hand from “our Bubbe’s” recipe, using fresh potatoes, onions, salt, pepper… and lots of love, according to the iconic grocer’s website. Currently celebrating its 90th anniversary, Zabar’s spuds are nice and crunchy, with the potato shreds popping with flavor and texture. Also included in this quadrant is another NYC icon, Russ & Daughters from downtown.
The Sturgeon King came in strong on the other side of the matrix, in the flavorful/mashed potato quadrant. Barney Greengrass’s latkes are $21 for a package of six. These fluffy latkes burst with onion flavor with a hint of sweetness. They suggest serving them with sour cream or applesauce. Another Jewish institution, Barney Greengrass opened in 1908 before arriving on the UWS at 86th and Amsterdam Avenue in 1929. Also in this category is Golden, which you can find on Instacart or in some grocers’ freezer sections.
From the looks of it, it seems we’ve got the best of both worlds over here. Lucky us.
Then there’s Trader Joe’s, which landed in the bland mashed potato sector. We actually had some of these in our freezer already because they’re $3.29 for a box of eight, making them an easy one to stash. They’re not as good as the local big dogs, but they’re clutch in a pinch—especially if you don’t have time to make your own, as the purists will probably tell you. The puck-shaped latkes at TJ’s are better than nothing, which is probably the best way to put it.
Trader Joe’s Latkes
Here’s Eater’s matrix.
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Are we talking about frozen lakes or fresh? I guess if you use Goldbelly to order from delis across the country they come frozen but it makes no sense to compare Trader Joe’s to Zabars or Greengrass. Another thing, kugel and brisket are not quintessential Chanukah dishes. Anything fried would be traditional. There’s nothing wrong with having kugel or brisket or gefilte fish or matzo ball soup on Chanukah but none are related to the holiday.