New York city food businesses are as quintessentially Jewish as Russ & Daughters. Yet co-owner Niki Russ Federman believes the legendary smoked-fish emporium is just as quintessentially American.

“Our story is about immigrant assimilation into the United States, but also about holding onto our identity and tradition,” said Russ Federman, who, along with her cousin Josh Russ Tupper, is the fourth generation of her family to run Russ & Daughters. Last year, the pair co-authored the James Beard Award-nominated Russ & Daughters: 100 Years of Appetizing, which is as much a chronicle of the Ashkenazi American Jewish experience as it is a collection of recipes.

On the occasion of the nation’s 250th birthday, Russ & Daughters epitomizes the American strivers’ journey. For more than a century, the Lower East Side appetizing store has nourished generations of customers with smoked fish, herring, bagels, babka and other foods rooted in Ashkenazi Jewish tradition. Walking through its doors, customers encounter not only nostalgia, but continuity.

The story began in 1907, when Joel Russ arrived in New York from Strzyzow, a small shtetl in Galicia, now part of Poland. He started by selling schmaltz herring and dried mushrooms from a barrel on the Lower East Side. That barrel became a pushcart, then a horse and wagon and, after seven years of hard work and saving, an appetizing store on Orchard Street in 1914. The business later moved to its now-iconic flagship with its green sign with neon lettering at 179 East Houston Street.

In 1935, Russ made his three daughters—Hattie, Ida and Anne—full partners, renaming the store Russ & Daughters, a bold declaration at a time when most family businesses passed from fathers to sons. But Russ had no sons, while he did have faith in his daughters.

“That was so revolutionary for its time,” said Russ Federman, whose father, Mark Russ Federman, left a career in law to become the third generation at the helm of the business.

Niki Russ Federman, a self-described “shop kid,” grew up behind the counter, absorbing the rhythms of the family business as paper-thin slices of Nova lox were wrapped and handed across the counter. Her cousin Josh Russ Tupper took a different path, growing up in an ashram in upstate New York before finding his way back to the family business. Together, the cousins have spent more than two decades preserving Russ & Daughters’ legacy while modernizing it for a new generation.

Under their stewardship, the company has expanded beyond the East Houston Street shop to include popular branded merchandise, a thriving mail-order business through Goldbelly, an appetizing counter at Hudson Yards on West 34th Street and a large production facility and shop at the Brooklyn Navy Yard.

In 2014, to mark the 100th anniversary of the original shop, the cousins opened Russ & Daughters Cafe on Orchard Street, just blocks from where the business began.

“There’s always the pull of remaining in the original neighborhood,” said Russ Federman. “It’s undeniable.”

The cousins serve classic sable and Nova platters with all the traditional accompaniments alongside newer favorites such as the Fancy Delancey sandwich—smoked tuna with horseradish dill cream cheese and wasabi flying fish roe—and their signature Babka French Toast.

Today, bagels, lox, babka and black-and-white cookies are no longer confined to Jewish neighborhoods. They have become part of the national menu.

“This food has assimilated,” Russ Federman observed. “Most people would know that a bagel has Jewish roots, but some people don’t. You’re still absorbing and having a connection to Jewish culture.”

Though both cousins have children, neither assumes a fifth generation will take over the business.

“We don’t know if they’ll want to,” Russ Federman said. “But if they do, there will be a thriving business here for them to make their own.” 

Ingredients

• 1 chocolate or cinnamon babka, cut into 1 1/2-inch slices
• 3 large eggs
• 1 1/2 cups milk
• 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
• 1 tablespoon vanilla extract
• 1 1/2 teaspoons kosher salt
• 4 tablespoons (1/2 stick) unsalted butter
• Topping of choice

Toppings for Chocolate Babka:

• 1 1/2 cups fresh berries
• 6 ounces (3/4 cup) crème fraîche

Toppings for Cinnamon Babka:

Candied Walnuts

• 1 1/2 cups shelled walnuts
• 3 cups water
• 1/2 cup granulated sugar
• 1 1/2 tablespoons unsalted butter, softened
• Kosher salt to taste

Apple Compote

• 3 large Granny Smith apples, peeled, cored
  and roughly chopped
• 3/4 cup granulated sugar
• 1 cinnamon stick
• 1 teaspoon vanilla extract
• 1 teaspoon kosher salt
• Water as needed

Directions

1. Slice the babka and lay the slices on a rack to dry out. In a large bowl, whisk together eggs, milk, sugar, vanilla extract and salt. Submerge each slice of babka in the batter for a minute or two, flipping the slice halfway through, until totally saturated. Be careful not to leave it too long or it will fall apart.
2. Heat butter in a skillet over medium-high heat. Once hot, cook babka slices about 3 minutes a side or until golden brown, making sure not to crowd the pan. Transfer the French toast to a warm serving plate.
3. Shingle the French toast on a serving plate. For the chocolate babka, top with the berries and whipped cream. For the cinnamon babka, top with the candied walnuts and apple compote.

Apple Compote

1. Combine the apples, sugar, cinnamon and a splash of water in a large, wide pot. Cook over high heat, stirring occasionally, until all liquid has evaporated, 5 to 7 minutes. Continue cooking as the apples caramelize at the bottom of the pan. Deglaze the pan with another splash of water, scraping the bottom to mix in the browned bits. Repeat this process of deglazing and scraping until the apples are golden brown, about 8 to 10 minutes.
2. Mix in the vanilla extract and salt, then cool completely. The apple compote will keep in the refrigerator for 5 days.

Candied Walnuts

1. Preheat the oven to 350°. Spread walnuts on a baking sheet and toast in the oven for 10 minutes, until lightly brown and toasted.
2. In a medium pot, bring water to a boil over high heat. Add 1/4 cup of the sugar and stir to dissolve. Add the walnuts and boil for 3 minutes. Strain and set aside.
3. Toss the nuts in a bowl with the remaining 1/4 cup sugar, butter and salt. Transfer to a baking sheet and bake again for 12 to 14 minutes, stirring roughly halfway through, until they are dry and golden brown. They will become crispy as they cool.

Ingredients 

For the Buttermilk Dressing

• ¼ cup sour cream
• ¼ cup mayonnaise
• ¼ cup buttermilk
• 2 tablespoons white vinegar
• 1 tablespoon lemon juice
• ½ teaspoon garlic powder
• 1½ teaspoons kosher salt
• ½ teaspoon freshly ground black pepper

For the Salad

• 16 ounces mixed greens (such as lettuce, arugula and/or spinach), washed and dried
• 1 green apple, cored and diced
• 1 red beet, cooked, peeled and diced
• 1 avocado, halved, pitted and diced
• 2 large eggs, hard-boiled, yolks and whites separated and diced
• ½ sheet matzo, broken into chunks
• 2 ounces smoked whitefish

Directions

Make the Dressing

1. In a small mixing bowl, whisk together the sour cream and mayonnaise until smooth.
2. Add the buttermilk and vinegar and mix until the dressing is creamy and well combined.
3. Stir in the lemon juice, garlic powder, salt and pepper.
4. Taste and adjust seasoning as desired.
5. Refrigerate until ready to use. The dressing will keep for 3 to 4 days.

Assemble the Salad

1. Toss the mixed greens with 1 to 2 tablespoons of the buttermilk dressing, just enough to lightly coat them.
2. Arrange the greens on a large serving platter.
3. Neatly arrange rows of the diced apple, beet and avocado on top.
4. Add rows of the egg whites, egg yolks, matzo pieces and smoked whitefish.
5. Drizzle with a little more buttermilk dressing and serve.

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Adeena Sussman lives in Tel Aviv. Her new cookbook, Zariz: 100 Easy, Breezy, Tel Aviv-y Recipes, was published in April. She is also the author of the New York Times best-selling Shabbat: Recipes and Rituals from My Kitchen to Yours and Sababa: Fresh, Sunny Flavors from My Israeli Kitchen.