Russ & Daughters

Russ & Daughters has been slicing smoked salmon on Houston Street since 1914, and the shop still works the old way: take a number, shuffle toward the long counter, and watch the white-coated staff slice smoked fish paper-thin while you decide. It is crowded, it is loud, and there is nowhere to sit.

Start with the Classic — a bagel with cream cheese and thin-sliced lox — and add capers and red onion. Next time, the Super Heebster: whitefish and baked salmon salad, horseradish-dill cream cheese and wasabi tobiko on a toasted bagel. Take a black-and-white cookie for later, and if you want a table, the family's café is around the corner on Orchard Street.