Russ & Daughters Café

Even more so than the original, Russ & Daughters Café is New York City in a nutshell. The restaurant-style deli features an effortlessly cool dining room, resulting in a clientele so diverse you’d be surprised not to find an 80-something couple seated next to a gaggle of girls hunkering down after a night on the town. It would appear that everyone craving a cure-all breakfast (think melt-in-your-mouth lox, fluffy knishes and greasy potato latkes) is heading to this blue-and-white storefront on the Lower East Side, resulting in a wait that is often several hours long. But it is worth it, if only to partake in the New York tradition that Russ & Daughters helped create: bagels and brunch.