Domenica to Celebrate Hanukkah with Special Menu

This time of year, the conversation tends to focus on Christmas and the special menus restaurants are running for that holiday, but obviously that's not the only holiday coming up. December 20-28 is Hanukkah, the Jewish Festival of Lights, which Domenica, John Besh's Italian restaurant led by chef Alon Shaya, is marking with a special Hanukkah menu.

The prix fixe menu includes potato latkes, spinach and parmigiano gnocchi, ossobucco frito and jelly donuts made with blackberries, saffron and white chocolate. The menu runs from December 20-27, available from 11AM-11PM. It's $55 per person.

Here's a note from Alon Shaya on his inspiration for the menu:

For this year's Chanukah menu, I pulled my inspiration from some of the classic ingredients that Jewish families would prepare for their holiday feasts in Italy. Every menu I researched had spinach, eggplant, chicory and most had fried chicken in olive oil. I thought I would have too much competition with fried chicken in this town, so I went with a fried grass fed veal shank instead. I also wanted to add in some of my favorite childhood memories of eating during Chanukah. That's where the latkes and Jelly donuts come into play.

I wanted to say a special thanks to Mr. Joe Segretta from the famous eleven 79 restaurant. He has been cooking Italian-Jewish holiday menus for his guests right here in New Orleans for years. Looking through his menus and hearing his stories reminded me why it's so important to keep these traditions alive.

- Buona Chanukah, Alon Shaya

Reservations are recommended. Call (504) 648-6020. [EaterWire]

· Domenica [Official Site]
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[Photo: yelp / Lica N.]