Russ and Daughters' Nepalese Fish Slicer

New Yorkers and its suburban emigres (I am among the latter category) have strong opinions about smoked fish. I didn't grow up with smoked fish in the small, central New York town where I spent my childhood years. It was an acquired taste that slowly, but steadily emerged for me in my adultage. These days, I thoroughly enjoy the range of smoked fish available in Gotham. Well, I do make an exception for herring, which I find inedible.

Photo from Russanddaughters.com

A few years ago, I walked into Russ and Daughters on Houston Street. I'd never stepped inside before that day: two rental stints on the Lower East Side never included this oddly-named business. Eventually, I concluded this was by far the best place in New York to obtain smoked salmon, sturgeon, whitefish, and other indefensible, but entirely delightful luxuries. (My favorite is a wonderful, seasonally available Danish smoked salmon.)

This background encouraged me to read today's brief New York Times profile of Russ and Daughters' Nepalese fish slicer. Now, if you think New Yorkers are opinionated about smoked fish, they definitely double down on their opinions' velocity when the subject turns to the art of slicing. Let's just say some people are very particular about how their fish is cut. I'm not quite so fussy, but I do see the point.

The profile is a genuine New York story. Yes, the slicer really is from Nepal, and no, he's not Jewish. He does, according to the story, speak some Yiddish. He comes across, all in all, as a real mensch.