New Yorkers are famous for believing their city is the center of the universe, and, even after many years of traveling the world, Anthony Bourdain was a true New Yorker at heart. When Bourdain says, on his show “A Cook’s Tour,” that Barney Greengrass has “the best breakfast in the universe,” it’s not hyperbole. It’s his local spot to treat himself.
For the episode, he admits he went overkill, ordering both the Nova, eggs, and onions along with the sturgeon platter. “They don’t call him the Sturgeon King for nothing,” explains Bourdain. The spot earned the title from a New York State Senator in 1938 due to its light, flaky, buttery smoked sturgeon. Bourdain needs nothing but some shmear and a plain bagel with his sturgeon. The Nova, eggs, and onions is an egg scramble of the best smoked salmon available with caramelized onions. At the end of the meal, Bourdain declares, “If God made anything better, he kept it for himself.” One can only assume that God to Bourdain at that time was Yankees manager Joe Torre.
An essential part of Barney Greengrass for Bourdain was the experience. “Essential ingredients for a balanced breakfast: New York Times and Barney Greengrass. And cigarettes,” says Bourdain before going through the day’s news. It being a nearby spot seems to really mean something. Like any good New Yorker, he’s proud of his neighborhood. He’s a regular — he ends his time with “see you next week.”
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History of Barney Greengrass
barney greengrass exterior – Smith Collection/gado/Getty Images
Barney Greengrass is one of the best Jewish delis in NYC. It first opened up in Harlem in 1908 and moved to its present location on Amsterdam Avenue and 86th Street in 1929. In 1908, Harlem was a predominantly Jewish neighborhood, and Barney Greengrass served the foods they missed from home. In the 1930s, the deli began shipping sturgeon overnight to people in need of smoked fish all over the U.S. The owner, Barney Greengrass, even shipped 10 pounds of it to President Franklin D. Roosevelt for Thanksgiving.
Classic Jewish delicatessen foods like smoked fish, bagels, and pastrami are on the menu here. Bourdain made sure to take home some chopped liver from the deli case, calling it “fluffy” and “ethereal.” Bourdain wasn’t the only New Yorker who regularly stopped in. Philip Roth, Nora Ephron, and Jerry Seinfeld are just a few of the other big names that would make an appearance over the years. When Bourdain passed, Barney Greengrass honored him by setting a plate of the Nova Scramble with a bialy at a table kept empty for him.
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