Niki Russ Federman and her cousin Josh Russ Tupper — the fourth generation of the Russ family, the founders of the beloved Lower East Side store that defines appetizing as a noun — have opened a shiny appetizing store and cafe on the edge of Hudson Yards. Not that they needed a new store, but they knew that having one large enough for parties like bar mitzvahs would be a plus. With a long stretch of counters for smoked fish and so forth, the store also has a hot kitchen so latkes, matzo ball soup and the like are on the menu. Baking, including bagels and bialys, is also done on the premises. “We’ve tried to bring the gestalt of the original store here,” Ms. Federman said. There are tables, so once you place your order (pick a number) you can sit and schmooze. A liquor license is pending. The East Houston street location is closed until early August for renovation, including a significant equipment overhaul.
Russ & Daughters, 502 West 34th Street, 212-475-4880 (extension 4), russanddaughters.com.
Vegan Dressings With Eric Ripert’s Stamp of Approval
Eric Ripert’s name is not on many products. But he is solidly behind these new vegan salad dressings. Nature’s Fynd, a company that makes vegan food replacements from a natural protein-rich fungus, approached the chef about its products and he is now the culinary adviser. The material, a strain of fungus, was originally found in Yellowstone Park by a group of adventurous scientists in 2009 and subsequently named Fy. In Chicago, it is fermented like sourdough starter and turned into neutral-tasting blocks that chefs can grind, shred, dilute, emulsify and so forth, to use in recipes. “I was intrigued by products that don’t need animals, land or chemicals,” Mr. Ripert said. At Le Bernardin he’s using Fy for some dishes, including in a Béarnaise sauce. It’s no surprise that the dressings bearing his name, miso Caesar, herbed ranch and zesty goddess, are properly seasoned. They’re thick enough to double as dips.
Chef Eric Ripert x Nature’s Fynd Vegan Fy Dressings, $50 for three eight-ounce bottles starting Wednesday at noon, shop.naturesfynd.com.
Class Is Back in Session at De Gustibus
Back to school, already? De Gustibus, the cooking school featuring varsity chefs, wine experts and authors is starting to announce its fall lineup, and classes get booked fast. Coming early in the season is one featuring a demonstration by Nate Kuester, the executive chef at Naro, the Korean restaurant in Rockefeller Center from the team behind Atoboy and Atomix that recently received three stars from Pete Wells in The New York Times.
De Gustibus Cooking School by Miele, Sept. 28, 6 to 8 p.m., $135 in person, $30 virtual class degustibusnyc.com.
This Art is a Feast for the Eyes
You can guess the subject explored in the exhibit “Feast,” at Standard Space in Sharon, Conn. Curated by Will Hutnick, an artist, the buffet of paintings, sculptures and videos about food by Lucy Stark, Heather Yeo, Max Benjamin Sarmiento and others, skew playful, a perfect summer diversion. Ice cream figures in more than one work at the Litchfield County gallery.
Feast, through Aug. 6, Fridays through Sundays, noon to 5 p.m. and by appointment, Standard Space, 147 Main Street (King Hill Road), Sharon, Conn., 917-627-3261, standardspace.net.
Taste Taiwanese Ông-Lâi, Small Pineapple Cakes, at Té Company
The pineapple linzer is a crowd-pleaser at Té Company, a teahouse in the West Village that specializes in the teas of Taiwan, notably oolong. Now, Frederico Ribeiro, the chef who owns it with his wife, Elena Liao, who is from Taiwan, is making another pineapple treat, dense little cakes, a pineapple-driven cross between shortbread and financier. He learned how to make these ông-lâi while in Taiwan buying teas earlier this year. They’re traditional to give as gifts; pineapple represents prosperity.
Traditional Pineapple Cakes, $28 for eight, Té Company, 163 West 10th Street, tecompanytea.com.
French Wines vs. California Wines
The notion that French wines are superior to those from California still persists, and now, in the film “Eastbound Westbound,” it’s addressed again. The documentary explains the long-term symbiosis of French and American wines, and why the put-down by the French and others of California as too commercial doesn’t hold, well, wine. In 1787, Thomas Jefferson, already a lover of French wines, visited Bordeaux, and the history takes off from there. Some scenes recreate that moment, but most of the film, narrated by Jeffrey Davies, a wine writer and merchant who was able to examine the archives of Château Haut-Brion, visits several chateaus and California properties like Adamvs Estate in the Napa Valley. Mr. Davies talks with winery owners and their families, experts like Robert Parker and George Sape, discusses terroir and blended wines, and explores the Cité du Vin, a wine museum and exposition center in Bordeaux. The film, written by Frédéric Lot, Julien Couson and Mr. Davies; directed by Mr. Couson; and produced by E-Studi’Oz and PMG Productions, is in English with French subtitles. It runs 80 minutes, on Amazon Prime Video, YouTube, Apple TV+ and Google Play.
“Eastbound Westbound: A Winemakers’ Story From Bordeaux to California,” eastboundwestbound.wine.
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