Metro

N

Ariana Blumenfeld
of Berkley with Faya
Gene and Rachel
Wright, both of
Birmingham

S ta ff p ho tos by Ang

T

Trendy Tradition

Latkes sizzle at swanky Detroit saloon for YAD's annual Chanukah bash.

Robin Schwartz
Special to the Jewish News

W

hen the owners of Centaur Bar
in Detroit opened their two-
story art deco cocktail lounge
near the Fox Theatre in 2005, they prob-
ably weren't thinking about Chanukah. But
the popular nightspot has been home to
"Latke &Vodka',' the annual party thrown
by the Young Adult Division of the Jewish
Federation of Metropolitan Detroit, for
three straight years. More than 250 20-
and 30-somethings packed the bar for this
year's event Dec. 8 — the biggest turnout
yet.
"They were ready to book us again
for next year," said Rachel Wright of
Birmingham. She co-chaired the event
with Ariana Blumenfeld of Berkley. "This
just shows how many people want to head
to downtown Detroit if they have the
opportunity."
Each year, organizers have put a new
spin on the celebration, serving regular
and sweet potato latkes, sufganiyot (jelly
doughnuts) and creative cocktails with
names like "Gelt-Trip" and "Dizzy Dreidel."
This year, Joe Cornell Entertainment of
Southfield provided the music, while par-
tygoers ate, drank, mingled and played
Texas Hold (em Dreidel (similar to the
poker game, but using dreidels instead of
cards.) They also took part in a raffle to
win gift baskets from businesses located
either east or west of Woodward Avenue.

"We had about 50 businesses donate
items," Wright said. "We saw a lot of new
faces this year; it really showed what a
vibrant young adult community we have."
Spotted in the Latke & Vodka crowd
were: Kate Bush and Randall Fogelman,
both of Detroit; Alexis Tessler of Ann
Arbor; Brian Elias of Madison Heights;
Aaron Beals of West Bloomfield; Adam
Shuster of Southfield; Julianne Purther
of Birmingham; Michelle Komorn of
Bloomfield Hills; Sean Kerman of Royal
Oak; and Sarah Mountain of Huntington
Woods.

Above left: P.J Cherrin
of West Bloomfield with
Gabriella Burman and
husband, Adam Kaplan,
of Huntington Woods

Above right: Sabrina
Kumar and Sarah Rogow,
both of West Bloomfield,
and Hillary Hayman of
Bloomfield Hills

YAD will ring in 2008 with its first bar night Jan.10, at Pi

Restaurant & Lounge in Southfield. The event will feature live
music. For information about YAD events, go to
www.jewishdetroitorg/yad.

Adam and Anna Shuster of Southfield and Jason

Brooks of Royal Oak

December 20 • 2007

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