Museum of Jewish Heritage
36 Battery Pl.
Wednesday, April 17, $7-$12, 7:00
646-437-4202
www.mjhnyc.org
www.russanddaughters.com
For nearly one hundred years, Russ & Daughters has been serving delectable appetizing on the Lower East Side, specializing in salt-cured herring and salmon and other fishy Eastern European delights. Stryzow-born Polish mushroom carrier Joel Russ opened the original shop on Orchard St. in 1914, moving to 179 Houston St. in 1920, where it’s been ever since. The business changed its name from J. Russ National Appetizing Store in 1920 to Russ & Daughters in 1933, and it is still run by the family, currently owned by fourth-generationers Niki Russ Federman and former chemical engineer Josh Russ Tupper. Besides caviar, smoked fish, various herrings, and multiple salads and spreads, Russ & Daughters also makes amazing sandwiches, such as the Shtetl, the Meshugge, the Boychick, the Mensch, and the Yum Kippered; our personal favorite is the Super Heebster, made with whitefish, baked salmon salad, horseradish dill cream cheese, and wasabi flying fish roe on a bagel, washed down with beet and lemon shrub. On Wednesday, April 17, third-generation owner and former lawyer Mark Russ Federman will be at the Museum of Jewish Heritage, celebrating the publication of his book, Russ & Daughters: Reflections and Recipes from the House That Herring Built (Schocken, March 2013, $25.95), discussing the history of Russ & Daughters with Saveur senior editor Gabriella Gershenson, followed by a light reception. “Ninety-nine years in business is something to be proud of,” Federman writes in the introduction. “It’s actually 106 years, if you start counting in 1907, the year Grandpa Russ arrived in this country and filled his first pushcart with herring on Hester Street on the Lower East Side. But why quibble?” When it comes to Russ & Daughters, indeed, why quibble?