Posted by Joe DiStefano, August 27, 2008 at 3:30 PM
Russ & Daughters has been hand-slicing fish on Manhattan’s Lower East side for more than twice as long as I’ve been alive—since 1914 to be specific. As a lover of smoked fish and caviar I’m ashamed to admit I’ve only been there twice. This is due to an incident that occurred about 10 years ago. On the advice of a Chowhound poster I ordered top-shelf smoked salmon with wasabi-flavored flying fish roe and cream cheese on an everything bagel. The counterman gave me much tsuris and proceeded to tell me that I was crazy for ruining the salmon’s delicate flavor with horseradish. About five years later I went to R&D for caviar and was glad to see a different person minding the store.
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Can't find a real bagel in Park City, Utah, during the annual winter film awards there? According to the New York Times, the bagels are shipped daily from Bagels By Bell. “I have L.A. producers coming in for the bagels, because they are ecstatic—they can’t get a real bagel in Los Angeles.”
Posted by Ed Levine, December 19, 2006 at 7:00 AM
Whether you’re a New York expatriate who’s been exiled to a software development job in Silicon Valley or just someone who discovered the delights of quintessential New York food on a trip to Gotham, we all love New York food. I don’t think it’s chauvinistic to say that there are some things that are better in New York.
That’s true for other parts of the country as well. Barbecue is better eaten in North Carolina or Texas or Kansas City. Frozen custard should be licked in Wisconsin or Saint Louis. Chili should be eaten in Cincinnati. But for things like pastrami, bagels, bialys, and cheesecake, you've got to go to the source. Or have someone from the source ship it to you, bring the mountain to Muhammad, so to speak. So without further ado, here’s the Serious Eats Guide to Quintessential New York Mail-Order Foods.
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Posted by Ed Levine, September 12, 2006 at 6:54 AM
Yes, Absolute Bagels (2788 Broadway, New York NY 10025; 212-932-2052) is my choice for New York's best bagel. A Thai family–run bakery, Absolute's bagels are chewy, crunchy, and, blessedly, not too sweet. They also do not suffer from bagel elephantiasis, which has made many New York bagels into dirigibles with holes.
Absolute's mini bagels are my snack of choice—they're even crunchier than the regular-size versions.
And how could I forget Absolute's $1.85 bagel with cream cheese when I listed my $2 and Under New York City Eating Pleasures?
H & H's bagels are too sweet, too big, and have no crunch or chew whatsoever.
I think the reasons everyone loves them is that they're most often warm when you buy them and the shop's proximity to Zabar's (which actually carries a superior bagel, from Columbia Hot Bagels).
Are there really any other contenders in New York or anywhere else?
My bagel silver medalist is The Bagelry, 429 Third Avenue, New York NY 10016; 212-679-9845.
My bronze goes to Bagel Oasis, 183-12 Horace Harding Expressway, Fresh Meadows NY 11365; 888-BAGELOASIS.
Posted by Ed Levine, September 11, 2006 at 1:27 PM
I know which way I'm voting, but I don't want to affect the results. Cast your vote now
Posted by Ed Levine, June 25, 2006 at 8:36 AM
People seem to have sworn their smoked fish, bagels and cream cheese allegiance to either Russ & Daughters
or Barney Greengrass.
I love them both, so when I want to have a plate of sturgeon, eggs and onions and not do the dishes, I go to Barney Greengrass.
There I'll be semi-graciously ignored by the waiters as they simultaneously slide my food to me as they walk away.
When I want snappy counter repartee and fantastic wild Baltic Smoked Salmon, or some herring, a bissel cream cheese and a pletzel, I head down to Russ & Daughters 
for some good-natured abuse from Mark, Herman, Josh and the rest of the Russ and Daughters gang.
And if you don't live in NYC, they both ship.
Posted by Ed Levine, March 28, 2006 at 12:40 PM
A reader e-mailed me looking for the address and phone number of Absolute Bagels. I didn't put it in the post because I linked to my NY Times bagel piece, which I believe has the Absolute Bagels essential info. But Absolute Bagels is at 2788 Broadway (between 107th and 108th St.) Ph: 212-932-2052
Posted by Ed Levine, March 26, 2006 at 12:44 PM
First of all it's Sunday in New York. That means it's brunch and bagels time. I wrote a bagels piece for the New York Times a few years ago, and my favorite bagels in the country back then were made by a Thai family at Absolute Bagels. After a return visit this past Friday, I am happy to report that the bagels there are better than ever. I bought a dozen mini-bagels, and though I have not had a bagel in months because of my ongoing diet (27 pounds down so far) I managed to polish off five of them in the ensuing 24 hours. Absolute's mini-bagels are paradigmatic; they are crusty and crunchy on the outside, just tender enough on the inside, and (thank God) not too sweet.
For those unlucky souls who don't have access to great smoked salmon, cream cheese and bagels you can order a terrific complete New York brunch at Russ and Daughters, which has been dispensing extraordinary smoked fish and life advice for nearly a hundred years now. You can't get advice concerning your career or your love life from the Russ and Daughters' wisecracking counter people when you order on-line. That will have to wait until you visit the store. But the smoked salmon is as good as you'll find anywhere, as is the herring, whitefish and sturgeon.
Absolute Bagels
Address:788 Broadway, New York, NY 10025-2827
Phone: (212) 932-2052
Russ and Daughters
Address:179 E. Houston St., New York, NY 10002
Phone: 212-475-4880
