Acclaimed Tel Aviv hosts and friends of mine, Anna & Eric, hosted a “Seventh Night of Hanukkah Blowout” party this week.  All the regulars were there, and few people I met for the first time.

Eric & Anna went all out with the refreshments and decorations.  Guests got an oversize, hollow dreidel filled with Hanukkah gelt (foil-wrapped chocolate), and she had the traditional sufganote (jelly-filled powder donuts) and even some more modern dulce-de-leche and halva filled ones.

Eric’s decorative contribution were some really nice wall tapestries from his ex-wife.

I have to say – despite having six of them – Israeli סופגניות are really overrated. Light years away in quality from Krispy Kreme, they don’t even approach Dunkin’ standards.  They’re, like, made with leaden, almost-matzohmeal-like dough, and – it doesn’t matter where you bite in – it takes seemingly forever to get to the center where the filling is.  (I had to have six to be sure of this.)

Anna and I split candle-lighting and prayer chanting duties, she did the first one, and I broke out the rusty baritone to warble off the second.

Fun Times!