"RussAndDaughters" news and stories

Technically, there is no such thing as National Herring Month.

That said, if herring were to have its own month, it would be June, which marks both the beginning and end of the all too brief New Catch Holland herring season. New Catch Holland herring, or Hollandse Nieuwe, are raw, barely cured herring caught at their fatty peak and prized for their rich, buttery texture: they're like the sushi of Northern Europe.

The New Catch season lasts only a few precious weeks, and functions almost as a PR campaign for the homely, humble herring. While our own country has never given the silvery fish the love it deserves, it has been a staple of the Northern European and Scandinavian diet for centuries, and instrumental in the waxing and waning fortunes of kingdoms and nations.

And fourth-generation co-owner of New York's Russ & Daughters Niki Russ Federman (pictured after the jump) knows from herring (Holland and otherwise). Besides being a shrine to smoked salmon, her family's shop functions as the U.S.'s ground zero for New Catch Holland herring, which they import directly from Holland.

We asked Federman for a Herring 101 and she complied, describing everything from the fish's storied health benefits to its place in European history after the jump.

Another day, another list. This time, it's Anthony Bourdain's "13 Places to Eat Before You Die," which appears in the June issue of Men's Health. Bourdain's article shouts out restaurants and stores across the globe, from New York's smoked fish shrine Russ & Daughters to Spain's gourmand ground zero, elBulli.

Bourdain acknowledges that as "any seasoned traveler can tell you, the 'best' meals on the planet are the result of an ephemeral confluence of circumstances," and makes convincing arguments for each of his picks, which also include Kansas City, Kan.'s Oklahoma Joe's Barbecue, Tokyo's Sukiyabashi Jiro and London's St. John.

But even with the disclaimer and rationale behind Bourdain's choices, plenty are as likely to find fault with his logic (and apparently abundant frequent flier miles) as they are with a list proclaiming, say, the best pizza places in the U.S.

We have the text of the article so you can weigh in on Bourdain's hits -- and misses -- after the jump.

On one of the first gorgeous Saturdays of the spring, did Brooklyn foodies run to the park for picnic lunches or line the bars for springy cocktails?

Sure, some of 'em did. But 3,000 others, according to organizers, crammed the multicolored '70s-esque hallways of John Jay High School, aka P.S. 321, for a day of workshops, eats, panels and vendors called the Brooklyn Food Conference, promoting what a bright-yellow pamphlet trumpeted as "Local Action for Global Change."

Food world celebs roaming the halls included chef Dan Barber, speaker and TV host Anna Lappé and author-activist Raj Patel (whose classroom was so stuffed a volunteer had to turn fans away). Some attendees, all of whom attended for free, were a bit starry-eyed over certain sustainably-minded speakers. About Patel, local CSA organizer Meredith Modzelewski sighed, "I'm in love with him now."

Find out more and see photos after the jump.

I come from a long line of people who deeply appreciate smoked fish. My mom's family tree is made up entirely of Eastern European Jews and while no one has ever been particularly religious, everyone embraces the culinary tradition that includes things like noodle kugel, gefilte fish and a perfectly toasted bagel topped with lox and cream cheese. There has never been a memorial luncheon in the history of my Philadelphia family that did not in some way feature lox or whitefish salad.

Russ and Daughters, the famous purveyor of smoked fish, cavier and other fine, fancy foods has launched a blog called Lox Populi and is looking for their readers to send in "bits of history, tastes of new treats, recipes, customer stories, traditions, anecdotes, kvetching, and kvelling." I'm planning on pulling together a few of my own stories to submit, head over to the blog an send in one of your own!

[via Eat Me Daily]

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