IFC and I took a trip to Russ and Daughters this weekend to acquire some of the chosen foods before the "passover rush". OK, so this is a pretty boring post, but R & D is just as good as everyone says. The smoked fishes glisten in the case, the salads are fresh and delicious, it's hard to decide which of the sweets to pick, and the service is a heady mix of brusque and helpful. Their coffee is some of the best I've had in New York, rich but not too strong -- perfect with a smoked salmon bagel. It makes me want to move to the LES so I can have it for breakfast every day. Also, they have the most beautiful logo ever -- check out that elegant fish design! And, this dude owns it:
And how exciting is he!?!
Here are the things that we bought for a very very late brunch -- it's a good menu for any brunch where you just don't feel
like cooking. We were taking food to our friend Samantha Smith, her mother, and her new baby (though he's on a liquid diet right now), and it's obviously easily transported. IFC has discouraged this posting, worrying that if everyone buys these items, there will be none left for him, but it was so delicious that I'm going to take the risk.
• mini bagels -- these are basically the size of regular bagels, or the size bagels used to be before bagel size inflation. They're standard and delicious and hand-rolled.
• scallion cream cheese -- again, standard. Gold-standard.
• smoked sable --
This is what made IFC really start acting like a greedy, food-obsessed maniac. He couldn't stop eating and talking about it and how good it was, and he was totally justified. The sable is just so buttery and light and delicious here. They cut it in rather thick slices, which I didn't expect to like, but the fish is so mild and buttery, that a thicker slice really highlights it's sashimi-style softness. I worry that I'm ruined and will never enjoy smoked salmon or lox ever again. Also, perfunctory internet research revealed that a) it's the same fish as delicious black cod (bonus -- a recipe for Isabella's favorite dish) and b) it's low in PCBs, dioxins, and mercury, for those who care and c) it's mega-ugly, so you can feel good about eating lots of it, ensuring that it doesn't take over.
• stuffed trout -- this was my favorite dish of the spread. They basically take a smoked trout, empty out all the meat, mix it together into the sort of mousse that would normally be made of whitefish (but is much more delicious here, with the substitution of the trout), and then stuff it back into the skin of the whole trout for an exciting presentation.
• old-fashioned gefilte fish -- OK so this is the one loser. The yuckiness of gefilte fish is a pretty boring and obvious joke, but really! Samantha's cats wouldn't eat it.
• chopped liver -- This is just great. It's very thick and schmaltzy -- 1/4 of a lb. looked like a paltry amount, and I regretted not ordering more when it first came across the counter, but it's so rich that it went a long way. I'll never understand where the analogy between unappetizing people and this delicious food comes from. "What am I, gefilte fish?" makes a lot more sense.
• german potato salad -- a nice bland accompaniment. I found it to be quite nice mixed with some of the trout salad towards the end of the meal.
• roumanian eggplant salad -- not as good as the ludicrously simple and delicious heirloom recipe passed down from the Smith family (char eggplants on gas burner, remove blackened skin, chop finely with WOODEN ROMANIAN EGGPLANT AX or the rim of a glass, mix with olive oil, salt, pepper) but still pretty good.
• assorted chocolates -- These were a happy surprise -- I had no idea that their chocolate counter is as good as it is. We got some sort of gold brushed hearts with a cinnamon caramel center, some glacéed apricots dipped in dark chocolate, some coconut things (can't describe how good or what they were), and some pistachio marzipan. There is a nice way in which these candies taste homemade but not "artisinal". There are definitely some "natural extracts" going on in these candies, but in an incredibly nice way. For example, the cinnamon caramel in the center of the hearts definitely tasted of cinnamon extract, not of cinnamon itself, which was somehow incredibly exciting and intense.
• Israeli Shmura Matzoh -- Psych!! We didn't buy this -- it's $17.95 per box! At that price, this matzoh better have been unleavened by G-d himself. IFC was very tempted, after all, at $20/box, something has got to be very special about this matzoh, but he held out. I mean really, that's 2/3 of a lb. of sable!
And for all you goyim out there like myself, never fear. Although Easter is a little bit "gefilte fish" when it comes to food holidays, (spiral-cut ham, waxy chocolate, and cold boiled eggs -- ew.) how crazy cute are these chocolate quail eggs? Oh snaps, they were so cute somebody bought all of them. Better luck next year!

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