Russ & Daughters’ Niki Russ Federman Shares Her Favorite Lower East Side Restaurants
Where do chefs and restaurateurs go and, more importantly, where do they love to eat? In Resy Regulars, we ask Resy chefs and industry folks to tell us where they’re regulars.
In this edition, we’re talking with Niki Russ Federman, the fourth-generation co-owner of Russ & Daughters.
Her family has owned the Jewish dining institution for more than 100 years, serving up some of the city’s best bagels, smoked fish, and comfort food all the while. The appetizing location on East Houston Street has been in operation since 1914, with Russ Federman and her co-owner (and cousin), Joel Russ Tupper, opening a newer sit-down spot, Russ & Daughters Cafe on Orchard Street in 2014. All that to say, and with further proof from this list, she knows the LES like the back of her hand. She’s a neighborhood supporter and lifelong diner, possessing a passion and verve for this part of the city that’s worthy of her last name.
“My family has been a part of the fabric of the Lower East Side for 110 years now. Personally, I’m 46. So, I’ve seen the ways in which the neighborhood has changed but also stayed the same,” Russ Federman says. “The through line of what makes it such a special place is the history. You still feel that energy, and hustle, and creativity, and diversity of all these different kinds of businesses.”
Here are a few of her favorite spots in her beloved neighborhood, in her own words.