Double Whammy

On Monday, we got invited over to Lucas's for a closing-day-of-Hannukah party. I actually wasn't 100% sure that it was the final day of Hannukah as we made our way over, but the menorah-clad minivans that were cutting back and forth across Mile End and Outremont left little doubt. What I did know was that Lucas was going to be mixing up latkes, and that this occasion was doubling as a party for his two-year-old daughter Sophie. And what I soon found out was the following:
1. Using a recipe handed down to him from his grandmother, Lucas makes some mighty fine latkes, probably the best latkes in Montreal, and possibly the best latkes in the world



2. Sophie might very well be the cutest kid on earth



Sophie bowled us over from the moment she greeted us at the door, and she never stopped being the cosummate hostess, and the life of the party (although she did proove to be difficult to snap a picture of). As for Lucas's latkes: we asked him what the secret was and he told us, "When you've grated your potatoes, you've gotta squeeze the hell out of them to get all the water out of them. When you've squeezed them dry, squeeze the hell out of them some more." Whatever he did, they worked. And how! Fresh latkes straight out of the pan with sour cream and homemade apple sauce--how can you go wrong?

What a great way to kick off 2006.

Happy New Year, everyone!

aj