NYC - May 20, 2010

Menu - Katz's Deli

Salmon & Whitefish - Russ & Daughters

Russ & Daughters - NYC

Katz's Deli - the Best since 1888

After a day of relaxation and catching up with my emails, I decided to venture down to the Lower East Side again. This time, I was headed straight to the deli and restaurant action that I had missed the other day. I decided to eat breakfast in the LES and headed directly to Russ & Daughters www.russanddaughters.com. Their motto is "Appetizing Since 1914". Their brochure reads the following: "Purveyors of the highest quality smoked fish, caviar, and specialty foods. Since 1914, this NY institution has been run by four generations of the Russ family. The tastes, traditions, and old-world class of this landmark shop are a true NY experience." And what an experience it is. From the moment I entered this small but colorful store, I was in awe of the abundance and variety of the delicacies in front of me. Everything from sturgeon, brook trout, numerous types of herring, homemade salads, cheeses and cream cheeses, not to mention dried fruit, nuts, halvah and homemade sweets were whetting my appetite. I decided to go for the basic bagel, cream cheese and lox followed by a slice of chocolate babka. What can I say except that I was in Russ and Daughters "heaven". The subway ride down from the Upper East Side was worth every moment in order to savor this delicious breakfast. Unfortunately, I would be unable to attend their upcoming once a year event. Russ & Daughters would be celebrating "New Catch Holland Herring Season" beginning on June 8 and running for a four-week season. The event is a "Herring Pairing" with Wylie Dufresne and John Zorn. Walking from 179 Houston Street, I was on my way to NY's most famous deli, Katz's at 205 Houston St. Katz's was founded in 1888 by Russian immigrants. The interior is basic deli but the food is anything but basic. I ordered a corned beef sandwich and seltzer to go. Just being inside the deli, smelling the meats and listening to the heavy NY accents of the counter staff, I knew that I had arrived at Deli Heaven!! This is surely the "Deli Capital of the World"!!

NYC - May 18, 2010

97 Orchard Street

Tenement Museum

tenement building

tenement building

Another beautiful spring day in NYC. After a quick breakfast at a local deli, "Eat Here Now", I decided to take the subway down to the Lower East Side of NYC. Although I decided to explore the area on my own, there are several organized tours sponsored the Lower East Side Jewish Conservancy www.nycjewishtours.org. The LESJC will gladly arrange private customized tours for various groups. They can arrange to see where your great grandparents may have lived, walk on historic streets, enter sacred sites, and get a sense of how people actually lived back then. One of their most interesting tours is entitled "Bialystoker the Beautiful, Shteibl Row and Historic East Broadway. The tour includes the magnificently restored Bialystoker Synagogue, the landmarked Yiddish Daily Forward Building and a visit to Congregation Beth Hachasidim De Polen.
On my own, I was able to roam the streets and stumble upon the old tenement houses. I tried to imagine how this past push cart capital of America was teeming with merchants hawking goods to new immigrants. A highlight of the LES is the Tenement Museum www.tenement.org which focuses on America's urban immigrant history. There are several free tours available daily.
As I continued on my way down Orchard Street, I bumped into one of the few hotels in the area, The Blue Moon Hotel www.bluemoon-nyc.com. National Geographic Traveler (April, 2008)
named it one of the 150 best boutique hotels in the Western Hemisphere. The hotel offers Pied-a-Terre rooms at $275 per night as well as Quintessential Rooms at $625 as well as various categories in between those rates. All rooms come standard with the usual amenities as well as complimentary continental breakfast every morning. The hotel is located near the corners of Orchard and Delancey, touted as the 57th and 5th of the Lower East Side.