A Love Note to Russ and Daughters and The Astor Center: FOOD/FAMILY/PHILOSOPHY

To Russ and Daughters, Re: A Taste of Appetizing with THE Mark Russ Federman at Astor Center,

I was at the event at Astor Center tonight and just wanted to say how much I DID NOT want it to end! I could have stayed there all night eating herring and salmon and listening to Mr. Mark talk about the Russ family, fish, and the Lower East Side. What an incredible event. I feel so lucky to have been there. See you in the store!
Ash

A few things I learned about salmon:
"Lox" comes" from the germanic word "lachs," which means salmon. Lox are salt-cured; not smoked.
Smoked fish didn't come onto the market until the early 1920s. Before then, smoking wasn't commercially viable because there was no refrigeration, etc. Smoked salmon came from Nova Scotia, thus "nova" is smoked.
You can never call American salmon "organic." They don't have the restrictions yet to say what constitutes American salmon as "organic." The Irish do have regulations, so they can call their salmon "organic."
Old-school Jews liked the salmon from the top of the fish, near the head. Not near the tail.

A few things I learned about Russ and Daughters:
Bagels weren't sold at Russ and Daughters until the 1940s. Before that, they ate their fish with black bread. Now they sell hand-rolled, boiled bagels.
Mark Russ Federman likes Schnapps... (like Peach Schnapps???)
Herman is a dominican artistic slicer even though he wanted to be an engineer. He started in 1976 when he was 18 (he looks like he is only 30 years old now... he attributes it to the herring.)
Joel says he was from The Austro-Hungarian Empire (Poland...)
Started in 1907 with a pushcart on Hester Street
Had a store in 1914 on Orchard Street
Joel Russ started by helping his sister out in the herring business and then got his own cart
Nicki is Mark's daughter
Josh is Mark's nephew. He dropped out of engineering school to help out with the business.
Joel Russ had a son who died at age 1 and a half.
Mark has some sisters.
Ida was the third sister of Hattie and Anne - she passed away. Birth order: Hattie (95), Ida, Anne. Anne is Mark's mom.
Mark and other Russ children were only allowed to work on the candy side of the store- not behind the fish counter.
They were paid $1.10 / hour.
Capchunka (sp?) is a fish cured whole with the guts and it could kill you like blowfish. No longer sold in the store (but there is still a sign!)
Mark was friends with Abe Lebewohl! He called him Abey.
Appetizing is the opposite of a deli. Where they could not mix milk and meat, deli was for the meat and appetizing stores were for the things that were eaten with dairy (cream cheese, butter) like fish.
The super heeb is super popular.
Abe Lebewohl once said to a group of food writers asking about the health of his food: "What am I gonna tell you? My food's gonna kill you."
I loved The Jews of New York. Favorite part: Anne saying, "I'm not a braggadashian." (about Nicki's ability to cut salmon.) (That goes out to mom!)
Fish with the bone is the best (isn't everything?) (Stillman doesn't think so about the filet mignon but does it anyway at Quality Meats...)
The Lower east Side is endangered but we are doing something to stop the madness... (from whole fish to Whole Foods...)
Marco Pierre wrote about Russ and Daughters on Grubstreet! http://nymag.com/daily/food/2008/06/marco_pierre_white_has_an_impr_1.html
Mark is writing a book. He swore us to secrecy about the name but then I found it all over his website so I feel I'm not revealing anything: "From Pushcart to Posh" How things are changing, etc.
Difference between whitefish and chubs (Dad this is for you!): Chubs are just small whitefish, sweeter, harder to find, lots of bones=yum.

Salmon I ate tonight:
Wild Pacific Nova "Western": May not be here forever. Also called Chinook/Nova. From Alaska. Smoked. Wild. Good. Tastes like your basic really damn good lox.
Gaspe Traditional Eastern Nova: My second favorite! Mild/buttery. From Nova Scotia. Farmed. Really really good. Smoked. Best with black bread because the bagel overpowers it. It's just too delicate!
Scottish: This was my least favorite. From Scotland. Smoked. Not as creamy. Very salty. Tougher. Has to make a long trip here from Scotland! Smokier. Europeans like it, according to MRF.
Irish "Organic": My second least favorite. Mild. Rich. Nice flavor. But more bland than the others.
Gravlox "Dill Cured": Fresh salmon with salt, pepper, and dill. They used to bury it in the ground (thus "grave-lox.") You can impress your friends and make this at home! Buy two halves of really good fresh salmon. Rub salt, pepper, and dill on it. Put the two sides together and put it in the fridge with some weight on it. Keep turning it and enjoy! It's very dilly. Good, but not buttery, like I like.
Wild White King KS Kippered Salmon: Hot smoked! (Not cold smoked like the others.) Very good. Thick, white, salty. Stronger flavor.
Pastrami Cured Salmon: New-age. Pastrami spices: coriander, peppercorn, etc. Healthier. Best with mustard and dill. Tastes like pastrami. I say if you want that, go to Second Ave Deli...
Belly Lox Salt Cured: This was delicious melt in your mouth tastiness. The first type of lox sold at Russ and Daughters. "Jewish sushi." Salt-cured! Raw, not smoked. Best with a bagel and cream cheese. Amazing, salty, delicate, fatty. My favorite.

A few things I learned about herring:
Beet salad is good with herring
Herring should be eaten with a starch (bread/potato)
It's good for you! Has a lot of Omega 3 fatty acids

Herring I ate tonight:
New Holland Herring: My favorite and how lucky that this tasting was in June cause that's the only time they sell it!
Schmaltz herring/North Atlantic Herring: oldest most authentic. My second favorite. Very fishy/smoky.
Pickled Herring: marks events/traditions. What I had growing up. Need to know texture of the fish for this to be good. Lasts forever and sauces well. Good sauces: mustard and dill; sherry; ginger; curry and fennel. Good with cheese.
Herring with Cream Sauce: Swedes invented it. Pickled.
Matjes (Ma-chis) Herring: Good cocktail herring with a drink. I didn't love it. Thought it tasted kinda metallic?
Herring in Mustard and Dill: French invented. Pickled. Yum.

Other Things I Ate Tonight:
Sable: "Poor Man's Sturgeon", smoked, replaced carp, which makes gefilte fish. They used to put garlic on carp to cover the fishy bottom-feeder taste. This was yummy, white, and smoky.
Smoked Yellowfin Tuna (not bluefin= mercury!) with wasabi flying fish roe- YUM. My favorite.
Whitefish Salad- chubs/whitefish with baked salmon and trout roe.
Smoked Salmon Tartar- dill, creme fraise, capers, salmon that wasn't cut right.

To Astor Center:
Just had the pleasure and luck of running into you at Mud after coming from the Russ and Daughters event at Astor Center. I'm really glad to have met you, as I've been wanting to tell someone over there at Astor Center how much I LOVE what you guys are doing over there.
First off, I LOVE your wine store.I always scope out the staff picks and have to say that your staff hasn't let me down yet. I also love the under $10 bottles and the "seasonal" selections. That big bucket you have when you first walk in with the super cheap deals on cheap wine with is always a good deal and they typically taste better than 3 buck chuck. I love the Tuesday deals and the tastings and the discounts you get if you're a member. I also love the fact that you carry the Columbia Crest Grand Estates Merlot, which is a damn fine wine for cheap. (Any chance I may be able to sway someone over there to carry the Morgan Double L Vineyard Pinot Noir; the Elyse Petit Sirah or their Zinfandel or their Petit Syrah Port; or a Davis Bynum Pinot Noir?)
But... as much as I LOVE your store, I have to say, I LOVE your classes at the Astor Center as much if not more. I am still reeling over the fact that, for a mere $45, I got to sit six feet from Mark Russ Federman for two and a half hours (yes, he gave us 30 extra minutes) and eat his fish and hear stories about his family. I feel like these classes are the best kept secret in New York. (Probably not what you want to hear!) What a bargain and what an experience. I want to go to all of them. Next up on my list: Bacon, Beer, and Cheese (really, what could be better?) Wanted to do the Colin Alevras private tasting event but I can't make it. Funny enough, I will be out with a waiter from The Tasting Room that night. (What happened to The Tasting Room? I was sad enough when it moved to Elizabeth Street...) I will also be sure to be at the Gastronomica Forum with Darra Goldstein, as I LOVE Gastromica. In this vein, could I persuade someone over there to pleeeaasse try and get Sasha Wizansky and Amy Standen in as guests? They are the editors of Meatpaper, which is my favorite, favorite magazine and I want to try and beg them for a job:) I'd be sure to bring as many people as I can to this event if you can get them to come. Unfortunately, I think they are in San Fran. But, who knows? Maybe they'll plan a trip here soon.
Anyway, that went off on a tangent. So, back to the point. Keep doing what you are doing. It's perfect and great and amazing and just what New York needs and wants. Thoughts for more classes: more farmers to talk about how the food gets to your plate and CSA programs; butchers cause they are cool and people need and want to learn more about what to ask for when they go into a butcher shop and the difference between pork butt and pork shoulder (aren't they the same?), and a food writer to talk about how the hell to break into that coolest of cool profession... Also, like you did with Russ and Daughters tonight, have people from the real NY institutions come in and talk. This is an experience like no other. These would be good: People from Kossar's Bialy's, Moishe's Bakery; Di Paolos, The Doughut Plant, Katz's, Yonah Schimmel's, Economy Candy, Ess-a-Bagel, Lombardi's Pizza. Also, classes on microbrewed beers would be fun or something on soju and all those other korean wines would be cool. Or oh! A class on those crazy miracle berries would be kinda hip and current. (https://securemail.ruderfinn.com/exchweb/bin/redir.asp?URL=http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/28/dining/28flavor.html)
Things I personally think you should stay away from: Cooking classes/knife-skills classes, things like this. Leave those for CIA and ICE.
Anyway, I think I've had too much MUD... Thanks for your card. Pass on my praises to Doug, Leslie, Andrew and everyone else there at the Astor Center.
And keep on keepin' on.

Ash

Thoughts on the Last Supper at San Domenico

Ate at San Domenico last night for the "last supper" in its current location. Had a reservation at 10, and yes- we were admittedly a little late (10:10), but we had to sit at the bar for 30 minutes and weren't seated until 10:40, which irked me a tad. Bartender gave me the full wine list, which was bottles only and then never came back, so I had to sit sans drink for too long before I could get his attention and ask for the wine by the glass menu, which I feel should be standard when sitting at the bar. Initial impressions: cruise ship dining room. A little too glitzy, a few too many waiters carrying a bit too-fancy looking things on trays. You feel the old-school charm, like it probably was one of "the places" to go in '88. I was suprised it didn't have carpeting. Was also suprised they didn't serve baked alaska- it seems like the type of place that would. The prix fixe dinner was good. I really liked the carpaccio of swordfish and the duck pate. The rib steak was perfectly cooked and the salmon was flaky and delicious. The caviar and the spinich served with the salmon were good enough to be a meal themselves. I wasn't a huge fan of the mushrooms served with the steak- they pieces were too big, rendering them too chewy. As for desserts, they were out of the napoleon (curses!) but the tirimisu with a little ice cream was a good second choice. Wine list is excellent. I drank a Ciro, which was tanniny and great. They had a nice Moscato d'Asti on the dessert menu and lots of Brunellos from Castello Banfi. They also had a really cool prociutto slicer which I overheard a girl say to the waiter, "what is this?" and he said, "a slicer" and she said, "Oh- i'll have to try some prosciutto next time" to which he responded, "there won't be a next time." A poignant moment... Anyway, I felt good to be there- a true part of history to be at the last public meal for San Domenico. I assume it wasn't the usual crowd, as they advertised their $55 prix fixe on websites such as Daily Candy, but hey- perhaps not a truly authentic experience, but an experience nonetheless.

If you have $600 to burn, you can still get in on the alumni chef reunion tasting menu dinner tonight. Proceeds will benefit the Food Bank of NYC.

On Sunday, they will have a tag sale where they auction off "stuff" from the restaurant- artwork, tableware, etc. (Actually, their tableware is pretty cool- it all says San Domenico on it.)

Goodbye San Domenico

San Domeinco: http://www.sandomeniconewyork.com/is closing its (Central Park South) doors after 20 years in business. Don't miss out on your chance to eat there one last time- and all with a 1988 price tag. I plan on being there at 10pm tonight.

On another note, support the slow food auction:
http://slowfoodusa.org/support/auction.html.
I myself am jonesing for the NYC Culinary Tour For Two: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250258136422&ssPageName=STRK:MESC:IT&ih=015 with Mrs. Mama Marisa Tomei, but may have to settle for the Insider Tour of the Union Square Greenmarket: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&rd=1&item=250258548724&ssPageName=STRK:MESC:IT&ih=015.

Thanks Girl Gastronome for the tip:)

Post One; At Home / Tuna Wrap and Soup

Hello? Anyone out there? This is Ash. And I am announcing my entrance into the blog world. Here I come! Hide your food... clean your plates. Cover the eyes of your vegetarian friends... I have arrived!