Installment #3 in Monolisticle's Ongoing Campaign Against the "Internet of Endless Listicles."
Russ & Daughters is the very first business in the country to use "& Daughters" in its name.
Even in this day and age, the name stands out. So imagine what it must have been like way back in 1935 when the owner, Joel Russ, decided to change the name and make his daughters his partners.
It’s my theory that the name was instrumental to its enduring success. Or I should say, the belief system that went into the name was instrumental to its enduring success.
After all, any business that would disrupt convention to that degree is likely to disrupt convention in other ways that contribute to the excellence of its products, and the service it provides its customers. It’s likely to be more honest. And transparent. To recognize the contributions of its employees. And those employees are more likely to take pride in their work. And so on. And so on.
I've eaten at Russ & Daughters many times (and by "many," I mean every single time I’ve ever visited New York City. Which is a lot of times). And sometimes I even eat there more than once per trip, depending on how long I’m in the city.
But on my most recent visit—to the original 106-year old shop at 179 E. Houston Street—I was looking to try something new. Way-back-when, on my very first trip to Russ & Daughters, I’d been smitten by a classic—the bagel with lox and cream cheese. Phenomenal.
(Exterior shop (above) and sandwich photos: Russ & Daughters)
My usual approach in any food establishment that I don’t get to nearly as often as I would like to, is to order the same thing I usually do (that I know and love), but then I will also order a second new thing. That way I'm guaranteed of the experience I counted on, but I also get to try something different. Hedging my culinary bets, so to speak.
Russ & Daughters is far from a best-kept secret. In fact, it’s known around the world. To sing its praises is perhaps to jump on the largest band wagon in New York City, if not the world. Certainly the Jewish world. They also now have two other locations: a restaurant called Russ & Daughters Cafe (a few blocks away on Orchard Street), and a restaurant and counter uptown—the Russ & Daughters Cafe at the Jewish Museum (5th Avenue and 92nd Street).
Growing up in the South, I had been deprived of this amazing place for the first 24 years of my life. I was only able to read about it. I'd heard all the accolades and recommendations from people I admired. People with discerning and even mercilessly uncompromising taste.
That said, even with recommendations from trusted sources, anyone who truly loves and seeks out world-class food knows that there are restaurants that you hear about and eat at that, sadly, do not live up to the hype. It’s one of the great tragedies of the foodie’s existence. Especially restaurants that are well into their second and third generations.
As demanding as the food business is, it’s almost impossible to sustain a high degree of excellence longer than a decade, much less as it passes to another generation. So when I'd heard that Russ & Daughters was well into multiple generations (now their fourth), I immediately lowered my expectations.
I'm happy to say, I lowered them for no reason. The place surpassed the hype. And on every subsequent visit, they've continued to keep the bar amazingly high.
Fortunately Russ & Daughters is not located too close to any of the major tourist destinations. And on my most recent visit, everyone in there aside from me appeared to be a local. I could tell. A dad with his two little kids. An elderly lady by herself. No one gawking or looking around. These people had already seen all the amazing wonders filling every shelf. They knew what was there, went directly to it, grabbed it, bought it, and left.
I, on the other hand, did my best not to appear wonder-eyed.
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I’ve been known to continue to eat at restaurants long after they have lost their mojo, when the only thing keeping me supporting it was diehard nostalgia and loyalty. When the owners had long ago started phoning it in. And we’ve all seen the restaurants who sell to a new owner who immediately starts selling t-shirts and memorabilia. Where it then becomes more about selling t-shirts and memorabilia than it is about the food. Not that there’s anything wrong with food establishments selling t-shirts; it's a matter of priority. And hey, if that’s what it takes for a good restaurant to make enough money to stay open these days, I’m all for it (I’ll take a size large).
I scanned the menu. So many tempting options. Over the years I had made my way through much of the menu. All delicious. And fresh. This time the fish roe caught my attention. I'd eaten it on sushi before, of course. Which I loved. And I'd had caviar by itself. Which I loved. So I decided to order my usual lox, cream cheese, capers and onions bagel sandwich—but with salmon roe on top. I'm glad I did.
Once outside—order securely in my possession—I stood in the rain, barely covered by a construction overhang, eating it. As I bit into the sandwich, the cream cheese that had begun to dissolve under the heat of the fresh warm bagel, and delightfully mix with the fish roe, squirted out the sides and dripped down my fingers with every bite. It was one of the most deliciously messy sandwiches I'd ever tasted.
I won't misguide you. The lox and roe is definitely a formidable combination, and the onion, bagel and cream cheese provide a nice (and necessary) counter-balance. But to my palate, it's perfect. I loved how the combination of the lox and the roe double-downed on the fish taste, but also came at it from two texturally-differing angles. You got both the soft creamy texture of the lox and the surprising pop of the roe with each succulent bite.
Was is still raining? I was too focused on the next mouthful to notice. I couldn't have been happier.
Russ & Daughters delivers nationwide, everything from smoked salmon to caviar to bagels. I recently had an order shipped to my home to try to re-create (at least as closely as possible) my favorite sandwich:
Bagels
Plain cream cheese
Gaspe Nova Smoked Salmon
Wild Alaskan salmon roe
Once ready, the order shipped out fresh overnight from Russ & Daughters and arrived on my doorstep the next day:
When I opened it up, the ice packs were still frozen solid (a very good sign), and the lox, salmon roe, bagels and cream cheese were in pristine condition.
I sliced and toasted the bagels. Spread the cream cheese on the warm slices. Added several layers of the almost translucently thin slices of lox. Placed a couple equally thin slices of fresh onion on top. And then scooped on a spoonful of glistening salmon roe using a non-metallic spoon (either plastic, wood, glass, or mother of pearl spoon will do the job). I cut the two sandwiches in half (one for me, and one for my teenaged son) and snapped this quick photo before devouring it.
Although the atmosphere of my kitchen was in no way comparable to actually being at Russ & Daughters on East Houston Street, the sandwich was every bit as delicious as I remembered it. I would without hesitation order a delivery from there again next time I have a lox, roe, and cream cheese bagel sandwich craving. Which is frequently.
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