Question of the Day - 11 December 2014

Yes, for at least five years, all Station Casinos (Palace, Boulder, Texas, Sunset, Red Rock, Santa Fe, and Green Valley, along with Fiestas Henderson and Rancho) have offered traditional Jewish food at their regular (and regularly priced) buffets during Hannukah, the Festival of Lights.

Foods in past years have included:

• brisket and gravy
• latkes (potato pancakes)
• matzo-ball soup
• potato kugel (a savory side dish that’s like a pudding)
• tzimmes (a sweet stew made with carrots and dried fruits, and sometimes root vegetables and stew beef)
• charoset (grated apples mixed with walnuts, cinnamon, honey, and sweet wine, usually Manischewitz – though this is a food that’s served on Passover, not Hannukah)
• and rugelach (a small cookie made with cream-cheese dough rolled around various fillings, such as nuts, poppy-seed paste, chocolate, fruit jams, and cinnamon-butter)

  Calls to three Station casinos confirmed that the Station Casinos’ Hannukah buffet tradition will continue this year and will start on December 17, ending December 24. Other Hannukah food will no doubt be available at the several kosher restaurants around the city.

  And of course, various menorah-lighting ceremonies will take place at various public venues, including on Fremont Street and at M Resort (12/16), as well as temples and synagogues. The synagogues will also have parties, complete with latkes and dreidls (the only Jewish gambling game, though since the letters are in Hebrew, the kids are usually arguing about what they mean and who won or lost on each spin) and gelt (the dreidl stakes: chocolate "coins" wrapped in embossed and gold-colored foil).