Kippered Salmon in Central Jersey

I don't know if I've mentioned it yet, but we are a bi-religion household.  I am Catholic, and my husband in Jewish.  With that, definitely comes its differences and challenges, but we have done our best to enjoy each sides' cultures and traditions.  One part of my husband's Jewish upbringing is his love for kippered salmon and poppyseed bagels.  His family is notorious for their lively breakfasts of salmon and bagels where not a scrap goes uneaten.  It is an amazing thing to watch as I enjoy my plain bagel with butter.  I'm not a real fan of salmon unless it's raw and in sushi, and it is definitely not the time for me to be trying something new in the midst of three brothers rationing out the slices amongst themselves.  It is definitely one of the things though that really attracted me to my husband in the first place, not the fishy aftertaste he gets but his love for his family and their traditions.  The importance of family to him makes me love him over and over again.

With his love for kippered salmon, I have tried for years to find the same salmon his father gets in Jersey and New York.  Right before we moved, I found it in Manhattan at Russ and Daughters, the good, oily version.  After moving though, I started the search again.  All the versions we had found so far were just not the same, even that at Wegman's which I blogged about earlier.  It just different have that oily quality.  It was much drier.  Then one Friday night, my husband was feeling under the weather, so on the way home from my usual Friday night grocery store trip (Friday night at the grocery is in my mind the best time to go - no crowds and still fresh food ready for the Saturday rush), I tried to find this Jewish deli we had been to earlier to see if they had matzoh ball soup.  We had previously been searching for salmon there but no luck.  Luckily though, this store was south of where I was and not on my way home.  I say luckily only because as I didn't see this deli, I pulled into another shopping center five minutes from home looking for it only to find Jerry and Harvey's.  When I walked into Jerry and Harvey's, I had that feeling that I had found a gold mind.  They had the yummiest looking cookies, great looking salmon behind the counter and signs all over the place for Passover.  I order a quart of "wonton soup," only to be given the strangest look and the response "If we had wonton soup, I would eat it all the time."  I quickly corrected myself but then hit the next obstacle.  I had assumed that a quart of matzoh ball soup would be self explanatory, but alas, matzoh ball soup is actually chicken soup with matzoh balls added (in a separate container).  I have definitely learned now though and have honed my ordering skills.  

When I brought it home, I was happy to have the matzoh ball soup hit the spot with my husband.  Since then, we have gotten the kippered salmon there too, and it too fills that void for my husband.  It is right kind of oily and brings back memories of home for him.  For Passover this year, we will be trying their brisket, gefilte fish and horseradish.  Hopefully, it too will not disappoint.  Jerry and Harvey's definitely brings the "New York Jewish Deli" to Central Jersey.