DISH OF THE WEEK

DISH OF THE WEEK: Chocolate Rugelach at MICHAELI BAKERY

Every week, I document another dish that impressed and satiated me during my food adventures around New York City

It was shortly before Hanukkah that I stumbled into Michaeli Bakery in the Lower East Side. I had not been here before and it had been on my list since it opened. But I was taking advantage of my day in Manhattan and making the food rounds, so I couldn’t really pick more than one pastry.

The problem was that they had a special Sufganiyot (or jelly doughnut) as a limited option and their well-regarded chocolate rugelach. Which to choose?

Major life decisions, I know. But considering I don’t come into Manhattan nearly as often as I used to, it felt even more important.

Ultimately I chose their famous rugelach since I planned to save the pastry for a bit and share it with my son. And we all know that jelly doughnuts are not nearly as good as time goes on.

Later on in the week I had a jelly doughnut from a bakery in New Jersey that will go nameless and it was lackluster making me yearn to try the one I missed at Michaeli.

But the rugelach was fantastic. This Israeli run bakery is doing for rugelach what Breads Bakery did for babka a few years back. It’s no coincidence that the owner at Michaeli used to work at Breads.

The rugelach here are a bit larger than I’m used to resembling a mini croissant. It’s based off of Israeli (rather than American) rugelach and made with a yeasty babka dough and layered with chocolate and Nutella.

Flavorwise it’s similar to that ethereal icon at Breads but it has a bit more of a buttery lightness inside with a dense amount of rich chocolate.

Both my son and I were very happy with my choice, but I cannot help thinking about the jelly doughnut that might have been. Price: $2

MICHAELI BAKERY
115A Division Street (at Orchard Street),
Lower East Side
(646) 360-2284
michaelibakery.com

AboutBrian Hoffman

Brian Hoffman is a classically trained actor who is now a full-time tour guide, blogger, and food obsessive. He leads food and drink tours around New York City, which not only introduce tour-goers to delicious food, but gives them a historical context. He has written food articles for Gothamist and Midtown Lunch in addition to overseeing this blog and a few food video series, including Eat This, Locals Know, and Around the World in One City. His latest series is an international cooking show with his son which can be found on this site.