In 1907, Joel Russ journeyed from a Polish shtetl to Ellis Island and quickly began selling schmaltz herring out of a barrel on the Lower East Side. Then, in under a decade, he accomplished the quintessential Jewish-American Dream: a brick-and-mortar store. Over a hundred years later, Russ & Daughters remains a family-operated New York mainstay for smoked fish and bagels. Appealing to old New Yorkers and fresh faces alike, the menu retains the classics such as borscht and pickled herring while also adding modern twists to your Bubby’s recipes, including poached eggs atop kasha vernishkes and whitefish croquettes. Pro-tip: save the babka French toast for dessert and eat it alongside their mouth-watering halvah ice cream. —Lucy Horowitz

Lucy Horowitz is the Deputy Research Editor for AIR MAIL