Gertel's Bake Shoppe

Best…rugelach…ever.

(This venue is closed; the Brooklyn bakery is wholesale only. Sorry.) The pronunciation might churn the tongue, but Gertel's "little twists" melt in the mouth. In the U.S., these Ashkenazic Jewish pastries are typically made with cream cheese dough, rolled with various fillings; in my book, Gertel's chocolate, raspberry, and strawberry rugelach took a back seat to the apricot with nuts (shown; $8.50 per pound). Prune hamentashen ($1.50 each) were also superlative: The buttery pastry embraced a filling that was not merely moist, but supple, too.

Gertel's Bake Shoppe
53 Hester St. (Ludlow-Essex Sts.)
212-982-3250
Wholesale only, with a minimum order of $25 (reportedly), at 101 Steuben St. (near Myrtle Ave.), Williamsburg, Brooklyn

Comments

[faye]

You should check May May in Chinatown. They are closing by the end of Sept.