One of the very best things about living on the Lower East Side in Manhattan is the amount of fantastic family-owned eateries and specialty shops there are in the area. Russ and Daughters might be my favorite. This is the place to go for all the proper New York City Sunday brunch fixings: bagels, mounds of fresh cream cheese, lox, sable, freshly squeezed O.J., as well as tins of caviar, gourmet chocolates like fresh jelly rings and dark chocolate almond bark, gummy strawberry licorice from Australia and many other more traditional examples of Jewish cuisine.
After reading a rant in
Bon Appetit Magazine about how irritating it is when you gift the host of a dinner party with a bottle of wine—and it ends up being enjoyed, not by the host, but by a belligerent fellow at the party who gulps it down with little regard to where or who it came from—nevertheless, it started me thinking about what else one might bring to such an affair.
Last night provided the opportunity as well as one answer. I decided that in this instance, picking up some organic, Irish-caught smoked salmon for our salmon fanatic friend and host, might be just the ticket. This worked out very nicely as the host didn’t feel the need to serve it until he was ready to enjoy his breakfast the next day.
PS:
Russ and Daughters also has a very well-written blog called "
Lox Populi".
More wonderful gourmet shops are available
here.
