100 Years of Lox, Love, and Latkes

Shabbat Shalom, GOLDA gang. Today we’re coming to you from a different kind of house of worship: Russ & Daughters.

I visited the iconic appetizing shop’s newest location in Hudson Yards to talk to fourth-generation owners Niki Russ Federman and Josh Russ Tupper about their latest delicacy: a book called Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing.

It’s part cookbook, part coffee-table book, part how-to book, telling a family story about immigration, Jewish food, and the Lower East Side. It’s filled with guides to smoked and cured fishes, detailed instructions for how to arrange your own platter, plus classic and modern recipes. And it happens to make a great holiday gift. 

Here’s my conversation with Niki and Josh about the book, their decadent and completely delicious Hanukkah offerings, and, crucially, the difference between deli and appetizing:

If you’re in need of some last-minute holiday gifting inspiration, check out our guides for kids, design fans, jewelry lovers, and food enthusiasts. 

On this seventh night of Hanukkah, I’ll leave you with Niki Russ Federman’s latke wisdom, which she shared with us last year: 

Like French fries, the best latkes are double-fried.

Stay GOLDA,

Stephanie