But now, there's something of a controversy over the thinly sliced pink fish.
A small group of orthodox rabbis in New Jersey is now banning smoked salmon because the group claims it's no longer kosher.
Tell the people at Bunch-O-Bagels in Crown Heights that they can't have lox with their bagels, and you can imagine the reaction.
"I mean, Jews have to have their lox," Rabbi Chaim Fogelman said.
Fogelman says the question was settled years ago - whether the naturally-occurring parasites in seafood make it unsuitable for kosher consumption.
But a small ultra-orthodox sect in Monsey, New York recently released an order declaring a variety of fish off-limits.
The sect, Chevra Mehadrin, did not return our phone calls.
Rabbi Fogelman's company, OK Kosher, is among the largest kosher certification firms in the world and has approved more than 300-thousand products.
He says the answer is simple.
"The Torah does not require us to look with a microscope," Fogelman said. "As long as you're buying it, it looks fresh and it looks clean, we have no issue with it. But, you know two Jews, three opinions."
Most people told us that they have no plans to give it up.
