Guest blogger petitesoeur writes:
On a
Saturday
in August, I went hunting for a pair of sandals since every shoe store
does deep discounts at the end of a season. Even though there were great
bargains at Camper, there was nothing I wanted to buy and at REI the
Anhu ones that I did want weren't in my size. But the trip downtown did result in two successful scores.
Later in the day, I was meeting up with a friend for an afternoon/
evening of music at Lincoln Center Out of Doors so I purchased three
sandwiches from Russ and Daughters: Oy Vey Schmear (their famously
delicious chopped liver mixed with hand sliced pickle from the barrel),
Pastrami Russ (pastrami-cured salmon, dressed with sauerkraut &
mustard) and Fancy Delancy (smoked tuna, horseradish dill cream cheese
and wasabi-infused flying fish roe). I got them all on bialys in order
to minimize the amount of bread we would eat.
Sitting on a bench outside the store, I consumed half of the Oy Vey.
R&D's chopped liver is perfect in every way including its
consistency, which is neither too smooth nor too chunky. I am sure they
incorporate both onions & chopped egg into the chopped liver as most
recipes call for the addition of both those items, but there's little
visual evidence of either's inclusion. There's no way to know for sure
as R&D does not disclose their recipe. Whatever way they utilize
those other two ingredients definitely balances rather than overpowers
the flavor of the liver. Word on the street: Their secret is cooking the
onions until they're so soft that they melt into the liver when mixed
in and only their sweetness lingers. I never would have thought to add
chopped pickles to chopped liver even though I am a fan of adding
(sweet) pickle relish into tunafish salad & mixing a bit of (fresh
or dried) fruit into chicken salad. It works: the (dill sour) pickles
provide just the right contrast of flavor and texture.
As much as I enjoyed the Oy Vey (as did my friend when he ate his half
later on) and we both liked the Pastrami Russ, finding the sauerkraut
& mustard to provide a better flavor & texture contrast than the
usual schmear of cream cheese, we both agreed that the Fancy Delancy
was the star of the trio. It's also perfectly balanced in terms of
flavor & texture but more delicate & unusual than the other two.
It was just a hop, skip and jump (nine short city blocks) to the door of
Zucker Bakery where I sampled their lemon bar & a pecan bar before
sitting down to enjoy an excellent. (Stumptown) espresso and a
pomegranate thumbprint cookie. I purchased some mocha flavored alfajores
and a couple of date/halvah "roses," aka shoshanim, an Israeli version
of sticky buns. Both types of cookies are flavorful with just the right
amount of sweetness and a tender melt in your mouth crumb. The "roses"
were also yummy as well as being an interesting change-up to the usual
cinnamon or chocolate variety of this type of pastry. It's a sweet sweet
shop.
