Now hear this! Russ & Daughters at the Jewish Museum is open!!!!
It's a cafe but also a retail takeout shop.
It's new. Clean. Bright. Comfortable. Kosher!
And with all those fabulous items we love -- like herring and lox and whitefish.
PLUS: lots more, like blintzes, mushroom barley soup, knishes, chocolate egg creams, noodle kugel.
Oh my, oh my oh my.
PLUS: some Israeli favorites: Shakshuka and Chopped Salad.
And a few extras like pickles, beet salad and halvah ice cream.
Ed and I were lucky to be invited for a preview lunch last week. I was a glutton and ordered two things. First Kasha Varnishkas, which I am really fussy about because my mother-in-law's recipe was so spectacularly delicious. This dish was fabulous and they add a modern touch that makes this side dish into a whole lunch (at least for me!) -- a poached egg on top so that the runny yolk oozes into the grains and caramelized onions. Ooooooh, is all I can say.
I also had the shakshuka (which they spell with an extra o), which was nice and tomato-y and rich with -- another poached egg.
I was too full for dessert.
Ed did the easy thing -- testing out the Russ & Daughters herring plate, which was loaded with tidbits of different flavored herrings and accompanied by several sauces and chopped beets. The fish were very fresh, briny, tender. I had tastes of course.
The fish is where Russ & Daughters has always excelled of course. The takeout shelves included whitefish that were so fresh and fat they didn't look real. I wanted desperately to get one but we were on our way elsewhere and I didn't think carrying a big fish around would be such a good idea.
The breads are some of the best I've ever tasted. Rye and pumpernickel and especially the challah. If you ever read this blog you know I am pretty stubborn about my own challah being unsurpassed. But Russ & Daughters challah is amazing.
We will go back.
Thanks for the invite, Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper (4th generation owners). Good luck on your new venture!