Russ and Daughters vs. Barney Greengrass

[r0609]

Hey guys, need your advice again. I have only one morning in NY, and I want to spend it at Russ and Daughters or Barney Greengrass. Which one should I go to? I've heard that the Nova or Sturgeon eggs at Barney Greengrass are amazing but Russ and Daughters has better smoked fish. Thanks!

[cookiegrun]

R&D is the best. Love their lox, whitefish, whitefish salad, cavier cream cheese, sable and herring in cream sauce. Also my dad and daughter love their lox wings...

[Zabar]

All Russ & Daughters and Barney Greengrass devotees ought to take a peek at the "Smoked Sturgeon?" thread on this blog. It includes some rather interesting information regarding the sources of the smoked fish sold at R&D and BG. Zabar

[syakoban]

R&D is the best for lox and sable - no contest

[thew]

this is apples and oranges. one is a shop the other an eatery.

[UES Mayor]

I love both and would choose simply by location convenience of where you are at the moment. I always buy my goodies at Russ and Daughter and take it to sit on the benches outside. People will stare at you in envy!

[Pigurd]

like barney greengrass much better, russ and daughter's bagels seem to be very hard, and they over load the sandwhich with creamcheese to the point where you cant really taste the fish.

[gutsofsteel]

So tell 'em to go lighter on the cream cheese....?

[Pigurd]

dont like the bagel used, it is either stale or just naturally hard...

[gutsofsteel]

I agree, I don't they sell great bagels. But I never get a sandwich from R&D...

[daffyduck]

you can always get whatever lox, fish, cream cheese you want at Russ and Daugters and head on over to Kossar's Bialys. I really like the bagels there.

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Kossar's Bialys
367 Grand St, New York, NY 10002

[Pedr0]

I wouldn't go to Barney Greengrass either for bagels, I've had a few there that were pretty well Gristedes-grade. Get fish there and head over to H&H on Broadway at 80th (avoiding Zabar's bagels across the street).

Better yet, just get your fish at R&D ;)

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Barney Greengrass
541 Amsterdam Ave, New York, NY 10024

[SRG]

The bagels at BG come from H&H.

[Motosport]

and the bialys @ BG come from Kossar's

[Rmis32]

If you want a Super Heebster, you gotta go to R&D
http://www.marthastewart.com/recipe/s...

[rebeccaas21]

I often walk by Russ and Daughters and wish they had a sit-down area. Maybe we can start a campaign?
My favorite part is that I first heard about the place from my not-so-young stepgrandmother, who has been in love with the place for her whole life.

[gutsofsteel]

They do have a sit-down area. It's called Katz's. Buy your stuff at R&D, take it into Katz's. Order your Katz's sandwich and then go sit in the back where there is no table service. Eat your R&D appetizers, followed by your pastrami. I've done this many, many times.

[daffyduck]

good to know. I'll be doing that from now on.
I was actually just there today and i felt silly assembling a bagel with creamed herring and another with pickled lox. I've always used the section where they sell chocolates and rugelahs cause it's much less crowded.

[jester99]

wow...i feel dumb never doing this...and I have bought a sandwich at R and D and then go to Katz and other a pastrami haha.

[kathryn]

Bringing in outside food is technically a Department of Health violation, so I don't advise doing it, even if the restaurant turns a blind eye.

[addictedtolunch]

I'm a fan of both, but if you are sitting down you have no real choice but to go to Barney Greengrass. That said, their stuff is as good-but no Lower East Side vibe like at R & D.

[gutsofsteel]

I don't think there's any LES vibe inside the R&D store...there's an old time feeling at the BG counter too...

(mind you I love both of these places a lot)

[addictedtolunch]

Yeah, but at R & D you are walking distance from Katz's, Kossar's Bialys, Moishe's Bakery, Ray's egg creams and quite a few "haberdashers". You vant vibe? They got vibe!

[gutsofsteel]

You can't sit down at Russ & Daughters. It's a small store with takeout only. At Barney Greengrass you can sit down and eat and get waited on. Then you can buy stuff to take out if you want on the other side of the place. Russ & Daughters has nothing like egg dishes - it's a store, not a restaurant.

The fish at both places is wonderful. All of it. Don't they both get their stuff from Acme anyway?

I am wild about the lox & eggs & onions at Barney Greengrass.

[r0609]

The Barney Greengrass menu on their website only has smoked fish platters; is it possible to just order the fish (and other things from the counter)?

[gutsofsteel]

Yes yes you can order whatever you want at the counter.

[r0609]

I ended up ordering the nova sturgeon combo with eggs and onions. I normally am not excited about breakfast, but this will be the breakfast I dream of for years to come. Even after being stir-fried, the sturgeon does not lose its delicate flavor and the fattiness of the nova remains. If I lived in NY, I'd go here everyday.

[mrgreenbeenz]

Simple call. If you're mid-town or uptown hit Barney Greengrass if your downtown go to Russ and Daughters. Both are great.

[kathryn]

Don't go to Barney Greengrass on a Monday, though. They're closed.

Tuesdays through Sunday 8am to 6pm.
Restaurant opens at 8:30am.

[FrankieLymon]

Barney Greengrass