At Russ & Daughters, '100 Years of Appetizing' and family

"What's better on a weekend morning than savoring a lightly toasted bagel with lox and schmear while listening to Weekend Edition? It's a tough combo to beat but could perhaps be made even better by eating that bagel at Russ & Daughters, which has been on New York's Lower East Side for 114 years and also sells latkes, babka, rugelach, a dozen different kinds of salmon and is about the size of a subway car."

""Russ & Daughters for me was a literal mom and pop. Because it was my mom and pop," says Niki Russ Federman, who is a fourth generation co-owner of the family business. "As a kid, I would wait at the doors for the produce delivery guys to come, and they would wheel in with their handcarts. They had sacks, 50 pound sacks of onions, carrots, potatoes. And I would climb on top of the sack as if it were my chariot.""

"From that rich history now comes a new cookbook, full of family lore, musings and recipes for matzo ball soup, noodle kugel, smoked trout mousse, Aunt Ida's stuffed cabbage and more. It's called: RUSS & DAUGHTERS: 100 Years of Appetizing. And, that word appetizing makes the shop so special. "We're not a deli," says Niki Russ Federman. "We're one of the last remaining appetizing stores. Both come from Jewish dietary laws. But a delicatessen, in its traditional form, is a place you go for smoked and cured meats. So think pastrami, corned beef, for example. And then the appetizing store is fresh fish and dairy.""

Russ & Daughters has been on New York's Lower East Side for 114 years and occupies a compact storefront. The shop specializes in appetizing fare: smoked fish, a dozen types of salmon, dairy items, and Jewish baked goods such as latkes, babka, and rugelach. The business remains family-owned across four generations, with co-owners Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper descended from founder Joel Russ. A new cookbook titled RUSS & DAUGHTERS: 100 Years of Appetizing collects family lore, musings, and recipes including matzo ball soup, noodle kugel, smoked trout mousse, and stuffed cabbage.

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