Who: Niki Russ Federman, Josh Russ Tupper, Joshua David Stein, Reggie Nadelson
What: Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing, a Conversation
Where: The Coffee House Club at the National Arts Club, 15 Gramercy Park South
When: Friday, May 8, $85, 11:30 am
Why: In 1904, Polish Jewish immigrant Joel Russ started selling herring from a pushcart on the Lower East Side. Ten years later, he opened an appetizing shop on Orchard St., moved to Houston St. in 1920, and renamed it Russ & Daughters in 1933, after his children Hattie, Ida, and Anne. Today it is a thriving business with multiple locations, run by fourth-generation owners and cousins Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper. In September 2025, they published Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing (Flatiron, $39.99), featuring recipes for such delicacies as smoked whitefish chowder, hot borscht, herring sauces, chopped liver, the Super Heebster bagel sandwich (my favorite), noodle kugel, egg creams, and many more delights.
On May 8, Federman and Tupper will be joined by Brooklyn-based author and journalist Joshua David Stein and author and filmmaker Reggie Nadelson for “Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing, a Conversation,” a book talk, signing, Q&A, and three-course prix-fixe lunch hosted by the Coffee House Club at the National Arts Club. Tickets are $85; the intimate event for a limited number of guests is scheduled to conclude at 2:00.
[Mark Rifkin is a Brooklyn-born, Manhattan-based writer; you can follow him on Substack here.]