Reviews
2009
ZAGAT SURVEY
12 Years in a row Rated #1 Deli in New York Zagat Survey
"You haven't had a Nova on a bagel" till you visit this Upper West Side "institution", which is once again voted NYC's No. 1 deli thanks to its "blissfully authentic" "Jewish breakfasts"; if the "tumult", "shabby" surroundings and servers' "shtick" elicit an "oy vey", "consider takeout". FOOD RATING: 23
2006
JAMES BEARD AWARD WINNER
In 2006, Barney Greengrass was honored to receive the James Beard Foundation Award for Excellence as an "American Classic."
July 2003
DELTA SKY, A TRAVELLING MAGAZINE
Entree in New York City, page 36
The Formica tables couldn't be closer to one another (and check out the wallpaper), but once you have the Sturgeon scrambled with eggs & onions at Barney Greengrass (541 Amsterdam Avenue) or the Sable with a bialy, you'll see why people line up for those tables
Jan 11, 2003
THE LONDON TIMES
Travel
"Anthony Bourdain's (author of Kitchen Confidential and A Cook's Tour) restaurant recommendation in the city. Barney Greengrass "The Sturgeon King"...for the best chopped liver in the universe & best breakfast (lox, onions & eggs)."
Jan 3, 1975
NEW YORK POST
It Happened Last Night - Earl Wilson
Lee Strasberg plays a Meyer Lansky-type mobster in "Godfather II" so realistically that acquaintances of Lansky believe Strasberg must have known Lansky. Strasberg ordered some Nova Scotia salmon from Barney Greengrass. A clerk said, "We just sent an identical order to a friend of yours in Miami - Meyer Lansky."
1979
NEW YORK POST
Greengrass Customers
"...Alfred Hitchcock is another Greengrass customer. He orders ten pounds of "fatty" sturgeon & has it flown to Hollywood to help him maintain his shape"
March 1983
TRAVEL & LEISURE
The New York Deli, - Fred Ferretti
"exquisite whitefish salad; omelettes of Nova Scotia Salmon, onions & eggs... When Barney Greengrass died in 1956, one of his best customers, Groucho Marx, said, 'He may not have ruled any kingdoms or written any great symphonies, but he did a monumental job with Sturgeon'...His descendants still do."
July 29, 1985
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
Pick-Me-Ups, - Barbara Costikyan
"New York's most tempting pick-me-ups. The serious sandwich is back. A Nova Scotia-and-sturgeon sandwich is a late morning breakfast beloved by New Yorkers, and the best place for it is Barney Greengrass."
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
ENTERTAINMENT
Oh God, it's George Burns! - Kay Gardella
"I got to know Al Jolson because, at that time, Sturgeon wasn't allowed in California. It was a great fish & people wouldn't buy anything else if it were permitted in. So Jolson used to have Barney Greengrass fly in Sturgeon regularly. If you complimented Jolson, he'd share the sturgeon with you. So I'd sit around the table, tell him how great he was, & I was good for about $60 to $70 a month in Sturgeon."
1988
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Borscht That Can't Be Beet - Irving Berlin's favorite pink drink is from Barney Greengrass
Carl S. Kaplan - "Moe recalls, 'Forty years ago, when he was still getting around, Mr. Berlin used to come & sit in the restaurant. He'd have a plate of sturgeon & a glass of Borscht."
Dec 1989/Jan 1990
NEW YORK WOMAN
Time Out - Leslie Brenner
"I can say without reservation (and no, they won't accept one) that Barney Greengrass is the best restaurant on the Upper West Side, if not the world."
March 18, 1990
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Old World Charm, New World Cachet - Brunch at Barney Greengrass Bridges the Generations - Meredith Berkman
"The Store has a mail-order catalog & posts smoked fish delicacies to the purist who've migrated to Los Angeles and Maui. The appeal...is old world charm".
July 1992
PROFILES - (In flight magazine of Continental Airlines)
Jane & Michael Stern's Roadshow -
"The smoked fish in this archetypal delicatessen- restaurant, a place known to its' fans as "The Sturgeon King", is unvaryingly excellent."
Oct 29, 1993
NEW YORK DAILY NEWS
Restaurant Critic - Arthur Schwartz
Divine indigestion - "When the lox & Nova, baked salmon, whitefish, pickled herring, sable carp, even the vegetable cream cheese are so perfect, money doesn't matter. Try the lox, eggs & onion, too. It's the best in town.
May 1994
GOURMET MAGAZINE
New York City - Grazing in Gotham - Andy Birsh
"For a place to sit down for bagels & various cured fish, almost nothing competes with Barney Greengrass, "The Sturgeon King."
Aug 5, 1996
THE NEW YORKER
Tables for Two
"The cuisine at this Upper West Side delicatessen is one of the greatest gifts Jewish Culture has brought to mankind since the ten commandments."
Nov 2, 1998
NEW YORK MAGAZINE
Gael Greene
"Supernal Sturgeon is still sacred at Barney Greengrass, a slightly tattered cocoon that dates back to 1929...I'm with pals from Italy on their annual pilgrimage for the cosmic combo of Smoked Salmon, Sturgeon, & cream cheese on a toasted bagel...Nat King Cole's photo in the window,... confirms the survival of an Upper West Side institution."
Nov 6, 1999
THE LONDON TIMES
Jonathan Meades
"This joint on the upper west side is just the ticket. It's most famous for its smoked sturgeon...It is one of the glories of gastronomic New York."
Dec 17, 1999
NEWSDAY - CITY BITES
Joan Reminick
And, oh, that Nova Scotia lox; I don't think I had better when I used to visit Nova Scotia...I asked for a taste of the famous house sturgeon, it was velvety delicious."
Sept. 22, 2000
USA TODAY - TRAVEL
10 Great Places to order a Genuine Jewish Nosh
Joan Nathan speaking to Anne Goodfriend - "Barney Greengrass - New York - 'Everything is as it was at this Upper West Side institution. It's a throwback to my mother's era in Old New York..."
April 2002
HEMISPHERE MAGAZINE
United Airlines Inflight Magazine
"Barney Greengrass, an authentic Upper West Side eatery, has been trafficking in Sturgeon, Salmon & other delicacies for generations."
April 30, 2002
WINE SPECTATOR
"...you'll find the old days are alive and well at Barney Greengrass, a 94 year old shop and restaurant...this place ties generations together."
June 2002
WHERE MAGAZINE
Fred Ferretti - "...Scoops of utterly marvelous Whitefish salad, a preparation which, if noticed by Michelein, would make Barney Greengrass alone worth the voyage to New York."