Wednesday, May 12, 2010

99 cents sardines in Hackensack

Essaouira fishermen (Morocco)Image by Ahron de Leeuw via Flickr













I was delighted to find the Moroccan sardines I have been buying in Paterson for 99 cents a can at Sahara Stores -- the Middle Eastern deli and grocery in Hackensack where I stopped for bread on Tuesday.

Sardines are so versatile -- they make a great sandwich with hummus, cheese, greens and tomato; they're wonderful added to rice or spaghetti and tomato sauce; and they are a tasty component in canned fish salad (sardines, tuna, red salmon, chopped red onion, cumin and Dijon mustard).

I have been buying Al Shark-brand Moroccan sardines from Fattal's Syrian Bakery, which has the lowest prices around, even lower than the much bigger Corrado's supermarket about a mile away. They come in oil, spicy oil and tomato sauce -- usually 99 cents for a 4 and three-eighth ounce can.

On Tuesday, Sahara Stores had the Al Shark sardines in spicy oil for 99 cents, and I picked up 10 cans. I also bought California Gardens-brand fava beans with mild chili for $1.09 a can and grape leaves stuffed with rice (Turkey) for $2.79. This is a well-stocked grocery and I didn't check out all the items.

Chef-owner Mohsen Mekawi, who is Egyptian, also prepares a large number of Middle Eastern dishes. Falafel are four for $1 and a pound of stuffed grape leaves is $5.99. Sandwiches range from falafel for $2.99 to egg and basterma for $5.99. Dinners with rice, salad and bread are $9.99 to $11.99.

Sahara Stores, 242 S. Summit Ave., Hackensack; 
201-487-7222.

Fattal's Syrian Bakery, 975-977 Main St., Paterson; 
973-742-7125.

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4 comments:

  1. Sorry to be the bearer of bad news, but those cans are full of poison. The sardines are delicious, but since you care about what you are ingesting, you should consider the BPA content.

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. It would be nice if these self appointed bearers of bad news would add a little ingredient called "fact" to their posts. If it's true, cite your source. If you can't then you are spreading BS. Simple as that.

      Delete
    2. Yes, thanks.

      To the original anonymous from 2011: BPA is in lots of plastic and metal containers. Are you saying the "poison" of BPA has sickened and killed people? Of course it hasn't.

      Delete
  2. So you're saying you know for sure the cans used for Moroccan sardines contain BPA, or you're just assuming all cans contain BPA?

    ReplyDelete

Please try to stay on topic.