Strangelunch The Strangelunch guide to Festivus

It’s that special time of year again: the time of togetherness, the time when memories are made. It’s the time when families gather from far and wide to castigate each other and engage in triumphant Feats Of Strength. Yes, on Dec. 23, it’s Festivus.

The faux-holiday, created by the father of Seinfeld writer Dan O’Keefe and popularized in the Seinfeld episode “The Strike,” is a secular reaction against the empty flash of a commercial Christmas. Using an unadorned metal pole as its symbol and family discord as its soundtrack, Festivus has become its own kitschy celebration for Seinfeld fans and Christmas skeptics alike.

There are no official food traditions for Festivus parties. The Seinfeld episode shows the gang assembled for dinner at the Costanza residence with bowls of mashed potatoes, peas, and what looks like a platter of meatloaf on the table. One Festivus-boosting website suggests replicating the Costanzas’ blandtastic meal or spicing it up by serving foods that got screentime on Seinfeld.

Here are a few places in town that supply Festivus-appropriate foods to enrich your Festivus experience. Just remember: In the anti-corporate spirit of the holiday, you must keep things simple and strange. To paraphrase Frank Costanza, tinsel is distracting.

For an afternoon snack on the big day, try a George Costanza classic. He’s a fan of tuna on toast and orders it often at Monk’s coffee shop. The 20th Street Café (1123 20th Street) serves up a mean tuna-on-toast sandwich—the restaurant’s tuna salad is delightfully colorful, filled with a confetti of carrot, celery, and what appears to be yellow bell pepper.

Once the Festivus dinner rolls around, it’s okay to get a little more formal. For the first course, consider serving mulligatawny, one of Cosmo Kramer’s favorites. The richly flavored, chicken-based soup is a staple of Indian cuisine, but can be oddly elusive on local menus. In Denver, the Little India restaurants serve a fine version, as does Star Of India. Boulderites can snag the soup at places like Tandoori Grill and The Taj.

The main course is another favorite in the Costanza household: paella. George’s mom, the frequently hysterical Estelle, famously made paella to serve to the Seinfeld family in one episode, only to have her dinner invitation rebuffed. As a tribute, try the paella at Solera, a blend of tender saffron rice and your choice of seafood or vegetables. It’s a deceptively straightforward dish that packs a wallop of flavor and satisfaction.

Finally, dessert. Of the many treats discussed on Seinfeld—Drake’s coffee cake, Chunky bars, black-and-white cookies—babka is one of the more controversial. Elaine asserts that chocolate babka is the superior dessert, while Jerry believes cinnamon babka is second-to-none. Whose side are you on? Make your choice at the East Side Kosher Deli, which sells frozen babkas direct from Green’s Bakery in Brooklyn.

The Green’s babka manages to be weirdly flaky and dense all at the same time. It’s sort of like a giant, loaf-shaped cinnamon roll, with gooey chocolate marbling in the choco-style. Delicious as it may be, stick to one slice—the Feats Of Strength come next.