Taking a bite out of the Big Apple's Lower East Side
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New York Cityâs proximity to where I live enables me to check out all that is new, and in the case here old, in the Big Apple. It has easy access from Greater Philadelphia as well.
For each visit, I choose a different neighborhood to explore. Little did I know, a visit to Manhattanâs Lower East Side would take me back to some oldies, places this native New Yorkerâs parents took him to as a child. Many been around for decades and in some cases over a century.
With Autumn weather around the corner, it is the perfect time to explore the food scene in New York City. Rich in history and culture, the Lower East Side welcomed immigrants from around the globe. In the 19th century it was a center for garment manufacturing. Today the gentrification of the area has caused rents to escalate and the influx of young and trendy residents â along with the accoutrements they expect such as boutiques, clubs and upscale restaurants.
It is, however, still the place many older folks enjoy. You can step back in time, visit historic sights and experience food establishments from another era. Your Lower East Side visit must include a visit to the https://www.tenement.org/plan-a-visit/ where you can get a glimpse of life in the past by touring apartments from the 19th and 20th centuries. Your guides are most knowledgeable about that era and share history that relates to current conversations about immigration. Inquire about building tours, neighborhood walking tours and virtual tenement tours.
Stepping into Katzâs Delicatessen (205 East Houston St., katzsdelicatessen.com 1-800-4HOTDOG) was like stepping back in time; the place hasnât changed a bit. Founded in 1888, thousands of people from around the corner and around the globe dine weekly at this legendary deli, known for their piled-high pastrami and corned beef sandwiches, hot dogs and New York-style cheesecake.
The matzo ball soup was almost as good as grandma made. I knew I had to order kishka (stuffed derma), a side dish always served at the Bar Mitzvah affairs I attended as a teen. It was a favorite of mine and I havenât seen it on a menu in decades. When I need my fix of this handmade stuffed sausage, an old Jewish favorite, it is good to know itâs one of the many items Katzâs ships.
The next stop on memory lane was Kossarâs Bagels and Bialys (367 Grand St., http://kossars.com/), founded in 1936 and the oldest operating bialy bakery in the United States. Bagels, which they bake as well, are familiar to all, but bialys, perhaps not. Often called the Jewish English muffin, a bialy is softer, chewier and lighter than a bagel, with no hole in the middle. The traditional bialyâs center is usually filled with roasted onions or garlic. If you donât care about tradition, check out their sesame, sun-dried tomato, olive or whole wheat onion versions.
According to Kossarâs, thousands of Jewish immigrants arrived from Poland and settled on the Lower East Side. Like most ethnic groups, they brought with them their local traditions and foods from their homeland. Jews from Bialystok, Poland, brought their local bread, called a bialy. Unlike Katzâs they have modernized their store, but the bialys remain the same as I remember them; so good, I brought home a dozen.
A visit to Yonah Shimmel Knish Bakery (137 East Houston St., knishery.com) was next. Entering the store was another step back in time to a childhood favorite. The business began as a pushcart in 1890 and has been located in the same storefront since 1910. I wonder how many people donât know what a knish is, yet alone a Yonah Shimmel knish. Many cultures have similar culinary creations that are dough-covered and either baked, fried or grilled and filled with various ingredients; think calzones, empanada, pirogi or kolache.
At this âknishery,â they are baked and filled with potato or kasha, the most popular, or mushroom, spinach, sweet potato and broccoli. For those with a sweet tooth, a cheese knish with either apple, cherry, blueberry or chocolate make for a heavenly dessert. And, donât forget to wash it all down, try a real New York Egg Cream.
Since 1914, Russ & Daughters (179 East Houston St., russanddaughters.com) has been a top-notch appetizing store (according to Wikipedia, an appetizing store is in reference to Jewish cuisine and best understood as a store that sells âthe foods one eats with bagelsâ). Russ & Daughters is a purveyor of smoked fish like lox and whitefish, herring, chopped liver, caviar, cream cheese spreads and, one of my favorites, chocolate babka, among many other traditional delicacies.
In 2014, Russ & Daughters CafĂŠ (127 Orchard St., russanddaughterscafe.com) opened on the 100th birthday of the store and is operated by the fourth generation of the Russ family. The New York Times called it âone of the 10 best new restaurants in New York.â I had such fond memories of the visits to the store so many years ago, I now needed to experience the restaurant.
Open kitchens are my favorite, so I can peek in to see what goes on behind the scenes. The soda fountain bar prepares homemade sodas and the iconic New York egg cream which was a must for this native New Yorker. The theme of the original store, where you pull a ticket to get your number for service, is carried out on the custom wallpaper in the restaurantâs rest rooms. WowâŚwhat attention to detail, I thought.
Dinner was nostalgic for me after growing up eating many of dishes on the menu, albeit some of them with modern twists â potato latkes with wild salmon roe and crème fraiche and apple sauce and sour cream, kasha varnishkas (buckwheat, caramelized onion, bow tie noodles) with a poached egg on top; Super Heebster (bagel toast, whitefish and baked salmon salad, wasabi-infused fish roe, horseradish dill cream cheese).
I couldnât resist the babka French toast (Russ & Daughters chocolate babka, sour cream and berries) for dessert. Hopefully, during my next visit, the babka ice cream sandwich (babka ice cream between slices of Russ & Daughters babka) will be back on the menu. Canât you tell I am a chocolate babka fan?
Here is a classic recipe I use to make kasha varnishkes, a dish Eastern European Jews brought to America. It is one of my favorite side dishes, although many times a big bowl is eaten as a main course.
½ cup chicken fat (butter or olive oil can be substituted)
2 cups cooked kasha (buckwheat groats; I like the coarse one)
Brown the onions in the fat. Combine with the cooked kasha, farfalle, salt and pepper. Toss well until mixed. Serve hot. Makes 6 side-dish servings.
If your visit to New York City takes you to Times Square, check out Le Marais, 150 West 49th St. https://www.lemarais.net/ I learned about this restaurant in a unique way. I was at a used bookstore perusing through, what of course, the cookbook section where I came across the restaurantâs cookbook. The title âLe Marais, A Rare SteakhouseâŚWell Done,â was so creative, I thought. So, I read the forward by Senator Joe Lieberman and his wife Hadassah. They wrote, âWhere else would a non-Jewish Portuguese immigrant open a French bistro, hire an Irish Catholic as its executive chef, and create one of the finest and most successful kosher restaurants in the United States?â
It is interesting to go âbehind the scenesâ of a restaurantâ and learn its background and history through their cookbooks. A visit was made, and LeMarais is on par with the more familiar upscale steakhouses I have dined at. The soup du jour was Roasted Jerusalem Artichoke, prepared with dry white wine, veal bacon, mushrooms, celery and spiced perfectly with white pepper and black peppercorns. The Steak au Poivre, black pepper-crusted tournedos was expertly cooked to my liking. The chocolholic I am, the Warm Chocolate Cake was a must for the sweet ending to this dining experience. If you are not into red meat, there are fish, chicken and salad options as well.
Please check each establishmentâs hours and protocols prior to visiting.
Stephen Fries, is a professor and coordinator of the Hospitality Management Programs at Gateway Community College, in New Haven, CT. He has been a food and culinary travel columnist for the past 13 years and is co-founder of and host of âWorth Tasting,â a culinary walking tour of downtown New Haven, CT. email me at [email protected] For more, go to stephenfries.com.
