The Festival of Oil

Happy חנוכה! Because we know many of you order your jelly-doughnuts from Israel, we have spent the last few weeks in the arduous and painful task of sampling as many sufganiyot as we could stomach, to save your own stomachs the trouble. Here, in no particular order (unless you consider best to worst particular), are the results:

1. English Cake - we have discovered the reason for the Brit's bad teeth, and it is this bakery's fantastic product. Their ריבת חלב filling (literally translated as "milk jam", but better translated as "ambrosia" or "ohmygodthisisAWESOME") was quite good, as was their chocolate. Even their blueberry, eaten defrosted and heated on the stovetop, was far better than the second place finisher when fresh. English cake provides lots of filling and an appropriately oily and delicious dough.

2. Tal Bagels* - We were told you were the best. You were not. Too little filling and a cloud of icing sugar with each breath detracted from the great taste of both.

3. נעמן* - While the jam was too watery, the dough was easily the best we've tasted. Not that it could have done without the jelly, but still excellent.

4. עזרא - By virtue of your jam actually tasting like strawberries and the fact that you were given to us by a passing motorist while we waited at a rainy bus stop, you beat out #3. But you made our first night of חנוכה start off great, so thanks!

5. Mister Zol* - A very cake-like dough, and jam that tasted like it came from a jar. We could have eaten this as a sandwich. A very very sweet and sticky sandwich.

6. דובשנית* (on Palmach) - Standard fare, but the doughnut-hole glaze instead of powdered sugar gives you bonus points.

7. דובשנית - Meh. You were only good enough not to be #8.

8. Something- French Bakery* - you were eaten at a party, so it was unclear if your lack of filling and staleness was the fault of your baker or your hostess. Either way, not an impressive showing.

9. פאר - While you make great cinnamon buns and the best whole wheat challah in the city, your sufganiyot are overly doughy and your jelly is so watery that it spills out when the doughnut is bit. We demand viscosity!

10. עוגת-חן - filling more watery than פאר's? For shame.

11. Free from Chabad - You were free. So what if your filling tasted like bug-juice from camp.

12. בית לחם של חנה - Apparently one should not buy desserts from a bakery named "the house of bread", as bread is all they know how to make. This sufganiya was all dough, so much so that it was unclear if the doughnut had filling or if the jam had just rubbed off from a neighbouring cookie. Luckily this disaster was eaten before it could ruin the holiday.

*Tried during חנוכה and added in a revision to this post.