Standing strong for four generations, Russ & Daughters have become a staple in NYC, delivering quality food to the people who step foot inside. Joel Russ, a Jewish immigrant from Poland, started this business in 1907 by selling schmaltz herring out of a barrel to Eastern European Jews on the Lower East Side... and here it is now! Did you know that they were the first business in the United States to have “& Daughters” in its name?
It was about 8am on a brisk 38° Saturday morning in April, and I was HUNGRY for a high quality lox breakfast sandwich. I have not been to Russ & Daughters in the past, but I've heard only great things, so I was eager to try them out. I woke up Kyle at 6:45am, dragged him out of bed, and hopped on the PATH from Jersey City to 179 E. HOUSTON STREET. We decided to go to the original location as opposed to the cafe, but I would honestly try that as well.
Kyle + I ordered the classic salmon sandwich. They had an overwhelmingly huge selection of fish, salmon, cream cheese, etc. So just between the salmon we had to choose from GASPE NOVA, SCOTTISH, IRISH SMOKED, NORWEGIAN SMOKED, BELLY LOX (SALT-CURED), GRAVLOX, PASTRAMI-CURED, LOIN-CUT SMOKED, WILD WESTERN NOVA OR NEW ZEALAND KING SALMON.... so I mean if you know me, I just honestly stared at the worker for the longest period of time before even saying a word. We asked the the kind man who assisted us his recommended salmon and he said the SCOTTISH, so that's exactly what we got! Let me tell you, I have not seen someone so gracefully slice a huge piece of salmon and carefully place it on my warm, toasted, homemade everything bagel with a smear of plain cream cheese. Doesn't it sound so simple? But they have perfected everything about it. As usual, Kyle + I ate without saying a word to each other except for "wow" at the very end. If you are hesitant to try a lox sandwich, I can't think of a better place to start.
