Lox'd Up

New York magazine's Matt Gross looks at how to find the best of one of New York's building blocks: Delicious smoked salmon, aka lox. Mmm...lox. After trying lox from Fairway, Eli's, Russ and Daughters, Petrossian, Zabar's, and Barney Greengrass, the winner, and cheapest around, is...Fairway's own smoked salmon which "melts on the tongue with an intense smokiness almost reminiscent of good bacon," at $17.96/pound. The article also has lox tips from Fairway's Stephen Jenkins, Gothamist's favorite NYC grocery figure this side of Bill Jones.

Warning: If you're going to Fairway on a Sunday morning to prepare for your Sunday bruch, add in another hour of time, because the waits at the deli counter are brutal - the lox slicing is careful and time-consuming. Try getting the lox on Saturday night.

Contact the author of this article or email tips@gothamist.com with further questions, comments or tips.

By Jen Chung in Food on February 18, 2004 11:04 AM

Comments [rss]

growler

Whoever wrote that did a huge diservice to Sable's by not even mentioning them. They have great salmon and lox AND the best lobster salad in NYC. Second b/w 77 and 78.

assfucker

i like how no one is concerned about the farm raised salmon. you have to limit your consumption of it to 2 servings a month, otherwise it's pure PCB's.

loxylady

Lox is cured in brine and smoked salmon is cured in salt. The best smoked salmon and lox out there is from Acme Smoked Fish. www.acmesmokedfish.com.

Hilton

This isn't a New York survey, it's a Manhattanite version of what is out there. Try Marshall's in Brooklyn (they may have moved to Queens). According to my friend (from the Bronx), it's the best lox around. Take that, Fairway.

tien

wasn't there an article in the times last year about smoked salmon vs. lox and how most people say they want lox, but really don't get it? and if they did get it, they wouldn't want it?

anyone else remember this?

Jackson West

Ah, New Yorkers - so rich, so lazy. A little tip from a goyim foodie on the left coast:

Buy a nice filet of fresh salmon and your way back from getting your weekly dozen from H&H. Remove the pin-bones with pliers. Lay it on a sheet of cling wrap big enough to wrap the whole filet. Cover with fresh dill. Coat it in a 1-1 mixture of salt and sugar. Wrap it up. Set it between two cookie sheets and weigh it down with some canned goods. Leave it overnight. Next day, remove excess brine and return to fridge for one more night. Slice thin, put on a toasted egg bagel with some capers and schmear. Also good with blini and caviar. For the love of God, don't put it on pizza. Price per pound: $3-5. Prep time: about thirty minutes. No cooking involved, and it will keep in your fridge (well wrapped) for a week.

Baghdad By the Bay Bites Back

jake

my question is simple: what is the least fishy, most salty, most smoky lox on the market today? price is no object- i just want quality. recommendations?