'Russ & Daughters' cookbook documents a century-old New York City establishment

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Arts, Books

4.2 • 671 Ratings

🗓️ 5 January 2026

⏱️ 13 minutes

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Summary

Russ & Daughters opened in 1914 and is one of the last remaining “appetizing stores” in New York City. The shop – which the owners say is not a deli – is famous for its bagels and lox, among other classic Jewish foods. Now, the Russ family is out with a cookbook that includes history, recipes and musings from the last century. In today’s episode, NPR’s Scott Simon visits Russ & Daughters, where he finds the shop brimming with smoked salmon, whitefish salad, chubs, trout, sable, sturgeon and more.

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Transcript

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0:00.0	Hey, it's NPR's Book of the Day. I'm Andrew Limbaung. Growing up in a place like New York City,
0:07.7	there are all these historic or iconic or renowned or internationally known spots, right,
0:13.2	be it restaurants or bars or libraries that you kind of take for granted because they're there
0:19.8	in your hometown and you can get to them
0:22.2	whenever you want. But you know how that goes. Sometimes you just never end up getting to them.
0:27.8	Russ and Daughters is one of those spots for me. I'd heard about it, but smoked fish wasn't really
0:32.2	my thing back then, so I've never been. Thankfully, the people behind the world famous deli,
0:37.4	sorry, I mean appetizing store, are out now
0:40.3	with the cookbook.
0:41.3	NPR Scott Simon did some shoe leather reporting and went to the store to find out more after
0:46.3	the break.
0:47.3	This message comes from Wise, the app for international people using money around the globe.
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0:56.1	with only a few simple taps. Be smart. Get Wise. Download the Wise app today or visit Wise.com. T's and
1:04.0	C's Apply. It's Saturday morning. Would you like a little gnaash? Bagel with locks and smear?
1:11.4	Latkes, Popka, and Rougola?
1:14.4	Don't fetch.
1:15.7	There's no better place than Russ and Daughters,
1:18.7	which has been on New York's Lower East Side for 114 years.
1:23.0	So the tour is not that involved, but we can talk about the cases.
1:27.9	You're giving us a tour of a place that is maybe 20 feet long.
1:30.9	Right, exactly.
	...

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