At the appetizing counter
In New York food culture, appetizing is also a noun: a whole world of things to eat with a bagel.
A New York Jewish tradition
Russ & Daughters describes appetizing as a New York Jewish food tradition centered on accompaniments for bagels. Smoked and cured fish, cream cheeses, and prepared salads belong to this counter’s vocabulary. Its account recalls a time when appetizing shops were common across the city’s neighborhoods.
A counter full of choices
The shop distinguishes hot-smoked fish, which is flaky and opaque, from thinly sliced cold-smoked fish and salt-cured preparations. Spreads and salads add another set of possibilities. Choosing your bread and then a filling is a small way into that larger food culture.
Keep exploring
Read the shop’s account below, browse our shop notes, or begin at home with the smoked salmon or whitefish salad recipe. Our recipes are independently written for a home kitchen; they are not the shop’s formulas.