New York

The Lower East Side is home to some of the finest smoked white fish on the planet. It was there in front of Russ and Daughters that Tepper, the hero of Calvin Trillin’s Tepper Isn’t Going Out, first counseled the counterman who could no longer bear the old Jewish women in the neighborhood, nagging him to pick out “a niiiiiice whitefish” from the array of superior specimens on display. So it might seem strange that Lobster Place, a world or two away in the West Village, is On Our Radar for smoked fish today. But Lobster Place stocks a smoked fish that would fit right in on the LES. Their bluefish doesn’t pack as hearty of a smoky taste, but the meat itself has a stronger taste than its whitefish cousin. Plus, Lobster Place peppers their offering, so the intense flavor just keeps on coming. Although it’s no substitute for “a niiiiice whitefish,” it is a piece of fish even Tepper could appreciate.

Photo:  David Freedenberg