First Look at Zucker Bakery, Bringing Rugelach and Alfajores to the East Village
After working the line at Daniel and Bouley, Zohar Zohar traded in 90-hour weeks to raise a family nine years ago. While she was at it — and without the benefit of any formal pastry-chef training — she became a devoted home baker. Perhaps that’s why her new East Village shop, Zucker Bakery, feels so homey. It doesn’t hurt, either, that many of the Mediterranean- and Eastern European–inspired recipes come from her mother, or her friends’ mothers, and that some of the flavors evoke Zohar’s native Israel. In this age of cookie-cutter cupcakes and macarons, Zucker’s repertoire seems personal and unexpected, from a clove-scented rugelach enriched with butter and sour cream to a halvah-and-date breakfast pastry. On the horizon: orange-flavored brownies, cardamom-nut cookies, and even Argentine alfajores by way of Haifa.
If you’ve never had a dulce de leche cookie sandwich, also known as an alfajoresin Spain and Latin America, now is the time. Thanks to East Village newcomer Zucker Bakery, you can get what I’m sure will be a regular fix for just $2 per bite-size cookie. And there will be a lot of bites, because these buttery cookie sandwiches are held together by chewy caramel and rolled in coconut. Eat them with your morning coffee (Zucker serves Stumptown), as a mid-afternoon snack or post-dinner dessert. Whatever you do, don’t waste any more time, these may be the best bite-sized desserts in the East Village. Among the items baked in-house are rugelach and alfajores, the Argentinian dulce de leche treat. In the next weeks, the store’s hours (currently 9 a.m. to 5 p.m. daily, closed on Mondays) will expand with the addition of savory items like labneh as well as dough stuffed with olives and cheese.
This bakery was pioneered by an East Village resident Zohar Zohar who has had previous experience in New York City restaurants. This bakery will feature Stumptown coffee and baked goods inspired by the owners’ European and Middle Eastern heritage.The food is a fusion of Mexican and French, no doubt inspired by owner Benjamin Tretouts who is French-Italian and the chef Eliseo Gonzaga who hails from Mexico. This team has worked together for the past seven years at Jolie Restaurant. The shop serves various cuts of organic meat, including sausages and cold cuts. You can also get pies, milk, eggs, and pantry items.
Zuker Bakery is place for delicious and different coffee shop and cookies.
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