Churros for Hanukkah? Why yes, and other multicultural fried dough treats to explore

The movement started with a simple question. The year was 2011, and Jonathan Gold, our city’s titan of food writing, was still with us. Hanukkah was coming, and one Angeleno wanted to celebrate the holiday with traditional fried-in-oil foods — but with her small Echo Park apartment, lingering frying odors were a concern.

So she asked Gold, in his eponymous column, where to find the city’s best churros. True to form, he found a deeper narrative of Los Angeles pluralism in this innocuous request, and a modern tradition was born.

Hanukkah (which this year begins at sundown on Christmas Day) is a Jewish festival that celebrates religious freedom, and the small amount of oil that miraculously kept the Temple’s eternal flame alight for eight days. To mark that moment, each year in the dark of winter, Jews light candles and eat foods fried in oil.

We hear a lot about Ashkenazi traditions like latkes, fried potato pancakes, which are eaten by Jews who can trace their ancestry back to Central Europe.

But Jews with a Sephardi (from medieval Spain and Portugal) or Mizrahi heritage (from the wider Middle East) have their own Hanukkah foods — which are just as fried and just as delicious.

From Italy we get fritelle di chanuka, flavored with anise seeds and raisins, and bomboloni, donuts filled with custard cream. Moroccan Jews enjoy sfenj, spongy donut rings.

The Judeo-Spanish Hanukkah fritters, bimuelos, are sprinkled with cinnamon and sugar, while Greek Jews eat loukoumades, fried puffs drizzled with honey. And in Egypt, historically the fritter of choice was zalabia, purchased from street vendors and eaten hot out of the hand.

The woman who sparked the churro tradition is a friend of mine, and over the years, our Hanukkah quest led us from sharing paper bags of food-truck churros on Echo Park public stairways, to playing iPhone dreidel and dancing in the plaza during Las Posadas on Olvera Street, to my family’s current rendition: a platter of the perfectly crisp gluten-free churros from Hugo’s Tacos which graces our Iranian Jewish Hanukkah spread every year to accommodate my celiac nephew.

But with eight full days to indulge in oil-soaked revelry and all of Los Angeles’ diverse culinary tapestry to explore, why stop at churros? A world of international fried-dough sweets are at our doorstep. Here are a few of them.

Bomboloni at Ceci’s Gastronomia

Bomboloni from Ceci's

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Ceci's on Sunset Blvd.

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The jelly filling in sufganiyot, which is saccharine sweet, goopy, and often artificial-tasting — the increasingly elaborate donuts found in Israeli bakeries at Hanukkah — has never done it for me. But swap it out with a house-made vanilla custard cream piped into a plump donut scented with orange and lemon zest, and I’m sold. Ceci’s Gastronomia is a sliver of a shop in Silver Lake. Owned by an husband and wife (yes, their names really are Francesco and Francesca), tiny Ceci’s churns out food inspired by their Italian grandmothers, and their bomboloni, filled with your choice of vanilla custard cream or Nutella, would definitely be nonna-approved.

Loukoumades from Papa Cristo’s

Papa Cristo’s on Pico Blvd.

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Loukomades from Papa Cristo’s

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Papa Cristo’s has been serving Greek specialties in the Byzantine-Latino Quarter in L.A. since 1948, and the old-school charm of the market, deli, and attached restaurant is as strong as ever. You’ll walk out with bags filled with olive oil, Greek wine, fig jams, and their creamy house-made yogurt, but we’re here for fried dough. Loukoumades are tiny sphere-shaped fritters drizzled with honey and topped with ground walnuts and cinnamon, and Greek Jews do in fact enjoy them for Hanukkah — how’s that for authenticity? At Papa Cristo’s, they shatter when you bite into them to expose a pillowy center. Heaven.

Zoolbia and Bamieh at Café Glacé

Cafe Glace on Westwood Blvd.

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Zoolbia/bamieh (Persian syrup-soaked fritters) from Cafe Glace

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Iranian Jews don’t really have traditional foods for Hanukkah, but I’ve been campaigning for zoolbia for that role for years. You can get zoolbia and bamieh, fritters drenched in a sugary syrup scented with saffron and cardamom, at pretty much any of the formal sit-down Persian restaurants around town. But I prefer the casual, late-night vibes at Cafe Glacé in Westwood.

Zoolbia are lacy funnel cakes closely related to Indian Jalebi, while bamieh are small, barrel-shaped bites. They are very sweet: Bring a friend to share with and order a glass of black tea for balance. Then enjoy the people watching as young and old alike enjoy Persian-style pizza and the store’s namesake ice cream floats.

Chinese donuts at Siam Sunset

Chinese donuts from Siam Sunset

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Siam Sunset on Sunset Blvd.

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You’ll have to arrive early at this motel-adjacent “Thai Chinese food” restaurant in East Hollywood to snag the Chinese donuts before they run out for the day. But it’s worth it: The rice porridge at Siam Sunset is the coziest breakfast, and these simple bricks of fried dough served with sweetened condensed milk to dip make a perfect breakfast dessert.

Jalebi and Gulab Jamun at India Sweets and Spices

India Sweets and Spices on Loz Feliz Blvd.

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Jalebi and gulab jamun from India Sweets and Spices

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The family behind India Sweets and Spices has been meeting Angelenos’ Indian food needs since 1984. Their Atwater Village location places a no-frills vegetarian diner next to an expansive market. Jalebi are crisp funnel cakes soaked in a sweet syrup, while gulab jamun are moist, soft fried dough balls with a delightful tender texture. If you can take even more sugar, get a warm spiced chai alongside your sweets. Or continue the fried motif with a savory samosa.

Beignets at Little Jewel of New Orleans

Little Jewel of New Orleans in Chinatown

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Beignets from Little Jewel of New Orleans

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L.A. isn’t known for cajun food, but if you’re trying to follow a fried-food mandate, you’ll hit the jackpot here at Little Jewel of New Orleans. The beignets here are substantial, bready rectangles positively caked with powdered sugar. They practically beg to be dunked in a cafe au lait or chicory coffee. But why not pile it on with a fried oyster po’ boy, hush puppies, or (and?) fried okra? After all, it’s a holiday.