Biederman’s Specialty Foods in the Italian Market is smoked fish heaven

Lauren Biederman is just 25, but she’s an old soul when it comes to her passion for smoked fish and the traditional “appetizing stores” of New York City that inspired her own retail outlet in the Italian Market, Biederman’s Specialty Foods. That’s one way to explain how belly lox and sturgeon were the first things that came to mind as a business concept when the former server and bartender at Zahav, Oloroso, and Osteria found herself unemployed at the beginning of the pandemic.

The Vermont transplant grew up visiting relatives in New York, where she’d explore the kippered fish and gravlax treasures of Barney Greengrass, Russ and Daughters, and Fairway, too. Purchasing several pounds of salmon there for the morning after Thanksgiving was, she said, a Biederman family tradition “for 74 years ... until this year.”

That pang of nostalgia — and the realization that extensive smoked fish selections are rare in Philadelphia (beyond the Famous Fourth Street Deli) — was a major impetus for Biederman’s little store on Christian Street, which in December replaced a former clothing store with more than a dozen varieties of smoked fish hand-sliced by the quarter pound, plus caviar and other fancy Jewish food fixings. Vegetarian matzo ball soup made daily? Artisan halvas from Seed + Mill in Chelsea Market? You won’t have to twist my arm.

It’s a focused concept that fits right in with the traditional small-scale food businesses that remain destination draws to the Italian Market, which has had a continuing boost of fresh energy from the past year’s arrivals of Kalaya Thai Market and Fiorella Pasta, complementing the existing wealth of Italian, Mexican, and Vietnamese merchants there.

“I’m thrilled with Biederman’s tasteful update to such an old-school concept,” says Bill Mignucci Jr. of nearby Di Bruno Bros.

If you love smoked fish, it’s hard not to feel the brunch pulse quicken when you watch “loxsmith” Eugene “Gene” Mopsik artfully slicing paper thin orange slices off whole sides of salmon with gliding strokes of his slender fish knife. But where to begin? There are so many choices — all sourced from outstanding Samaki Smoked Fish in Port Jervis, N.Y. — that I decided to sample a little of them all.

There was meaty but white sturgeon, firm but delicate smoked tuna (Samaki’s initial product), and salmons prepared in all manner of methods. The belly lox is salt-cured, not smoked, but Samaki’s version still has a fatty savor that sits harmoniously over a thick schmear of cream cheese for a classic deli taste. For that smoky flavor, you’ll want to head for the Novas and the Scottish variety (Biederman’s favorite), though I also found the intensely deep orange richness of the Alaskan king salmon irresistible. Its gossamer slices weeped a deep orange oil from fish that had a luxuriously silky texture.

The smoked salmon encrusted with pastrami spice is another go-to option, though its bold seasoning makes it especially good as part of a combo, piled high with other fixings. The gravlax is cured, not smoked, but more subtle than belly lox, and tempered with sugar and herbs and spirits like vodka and whiskey that make its firmer flesh showcase best in simple presentations. The kippered salmon is hot-smoked, flaky and firm, a texture that works well mixed into salads. Speaking of salads, Biederman’s whitefish salad is not to be missed, its deeply smoked Great Lakes fish still a little chunky in its mayo-based whip. Fish are sold by the quarter-pound, or as part of a preordered brunch board featuring a trio of fish with bagels, cream cheese, and accoutrements.

It isn’t easy identifying an open niche in a food city as rich as Philadelphia. But based on the volume this storefront is already selling with limited in-store access to four socially-distanced customers at a time — Biederman had to make an emergency road trip to Samaki one recent Friday to buy 350 pounds of fish — the concept is clearly resonating.

Biederman’s Specialty Foods, 824 Christian St., 215-392-9229; biedermansphilly.com