The other night, on our way to dinner in the Sunset District of San Francisco, we stumbled upon a wonderful little Russian market. Being from Manhattan, where smoked fish abounds, Barnaby was immediately drawn to the shiny fish-filled glass encasement. He had the same look on his face that I get when I walk into Tiffany’s. Wide-eyed, glassy and sporting a silly grin. I don’t blame him, it’s genetic, his father is the same way when met with fish.

What was most beautiful was the large, whole, three-day smoked sturgeon that had just arrived that day and had yet to be sliced into. At $19 a pound we took a chunk and added a whole smoked mackerel as well for a mere $4 and change. Sunday brunch is calling…

When Barnaby was a child his father would bring out the toaster oven and set it and an assortment of bagels, cheeses and spreads, smoked fish and fish pâtés on the dining table for a self-toast-and-serve Sunday feast. We’ve continued this tradition on the occasional lazy Sunday. Whenever we stumble upon a good cheese, maybe a fine stinky Stilton, or a beautifully smoked fish, we’ll look at each other in agreement and say, “Let’s do a Dorfman breakfast this weekend.” Then we’ll build the menu around that one prized ingredient: the best bagels we can get outside of New York, maybe some chopped chicken liver or a bit of smoked sable, thinly sliced red onion and cucumber, some tomatoes and capers…you name it.

Try your own Dorfman Sunday feast at home some weekend. Brew a big pot of a Earl Grey tea, grab your favorite section of the New York Times and enjoy a delicious leisurely morning with your loved one.

Don’t know where to get great smoked fish? Zabar’s in New York can ship it, and many other delicacies, to you just check out their Fish Counter.

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I was born on a small island where people take food very seriously. Manhattan was then, and still is, the heart of America’s melting pot, a fact perhaps most reflected in the variety and diversity of foods. Many dishes came with immigrants from somewhere else, like the hot dog, cheesecake, and bagels. However, some seem to be true New York creations and the Egg Cream is one such item. Not particularly well known outside of the Big Apple, it was one of my favorite drinks growing up. Though the name would imply otherwise, the Egg Cream contains neither eggs, nor cream. There is some debate about the whos and whens of it’s creation and whys of its name, but everyone seems to agree that it’s made up of 3 key ingredients:

1. Milk
2. Fox’s u-bet Chocolate Flavored Syrup
3. Seltzer Water

We used to make them at home, in fact my father got regular deliveries of cases of soda siphons well into the 1980’s. However, my favorite place to drink Egg Creams was from a tiny little stand down on Canal Street near the Subway station. We often went there weekends to shop in Chinatown and see what oddities we could pick up on Canal Street. Better known today as a place for knockoff Rolex watches and Gucci handbags, in the 1970s Canal street was a place to find cheap surplus electronic parts, which I used to solder together into all sorts of experiments. Boxes of electric motors, switches and flashlight bulbs, all bought for a dime, made the best toys! However, getting there could be an ordeal since we lived on the Upper West Side about 125 blocks north. Only 6 miles away in reality, it felt like going to a far off land for me, especially since air conditioned subway cars were almost non-existent back then. So an ice-cold Egg Cream was the perfect refreshing treat when we came up out of the hot tunnels during those sweltering summer months.

Now you may think the combo of milk, soda, and chocolate syrup sounds strange, but give it a try…I bet you’ll love it! Check out post on Roots and Grubs for extensive detail on how properly to prepare and consume an Egg Cream.

I’d love to know what you think. Click the Comments link below and share your thoughts.

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