Serious Eats: New York
Sugar Rush: Russ & Daughters' Chocolate-Covered Matzo is a Serious Nosh
Decadent isn’t the first word that usually comes to mind when thinking of matzo. Austere is more like it. Nevertheless decadent is a perfect one-word description of the dark-chocolate and toffee-enrobed matzo I scored at Russ & Daughters the other day. It’s so good that it has me pounding my fist on the desk with glee. Who cares if crumbs get in the keyboard. This is surely not your grandmother’s chocolate-covered matzoh. For that matter it’s not my grandmother’s chocolate-covered matzoh, either. She was Sicilian.
I’ve had chocolate-covered matzoh before, but never quite like this. It’s crunchy, sweet, salty and chocolaty. It’s what a Skor bar wants to be when it grows up. And it is a grown-up treat, complete with just a hint of sea salt sprinkled on top. R&D started selling the matzo about a month ago, right before the Jewish holidays, according to Niki Russ-Federman. At $4.50 a half they’re not cheap, but I think they’re well worth it. They come to R&D from a small company called Matzel Toff. “People tend to think of matzoh as something you have to eat out of necessity, so it's a great surprise to have it taste so good. You could eat this any time of day, month or year, not just for Passover.” Amen, sister.
Russ & Daughters
179 E. Houston Street, New York NY 10002 (map)
212-475-8880