Fresh wild-caught shrimp join two canned cousins for dinner

I bought 1.5 pounds of Fresh Wild Gulf Shrimp from the beautiful seafood display at Whole Foods Market in Paramus, above and below. The fishmonger deveined them for me.

Whole Foods also had previously frozen Wild Gulf Shrimp for $18.99 a pound

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On Wednesday, I need something to lift my spirits after the dismal results of the election the day before, and I found it in fresh wild shrimp.

At Whole Foods Market in Paramus, I splurged on 1.5 pounds of Gulf shrimp at $19.99 a pound (16-20 per pound), enough for four with a side dish of pasta.

That's pretty much what the Paramus ShopRite charges for large wild shrimp, and it's about $5 more a pound than Costco Wholesale's previously frozen farmed shrimp from Vietnam.

I served the Gulf shrimp with Whole Foods' organic whole wheat shells prepared in bottled pasta sauce with added extra-virgin olive oil, red wine, and canned anchovies and sardines.

Whole Foods has raised the price of a 1-pound box of the 365 Everyday Value pasta shells, which are imported from Italy, to $1.49 from $1.39, but they are still a bargain.

After sauteeing chopped garlic and sliced onion in olive oil, I added the shrimp, which were marinated in fresh lime juice, salt and other seasoning. I turned them once, and they cooked in about 5 minutes. They were crunchy and delicious.

I went shopping for naturally raised 2-pound rotisserie chickens while the fishmonger was deveining my shrimp at Whole Foods. At $7.50 per chicken when you buy two, these are a much better choice nutritionally than the bigger and cheaper low-quality birds sold at Costco and ShopRite.

The Paramus Whole Foods is trying a new fast-casual concept with bowls of Korean food, called "Bibimbap," the name of a popular comfort dish made in a stone bowl with rice, seasoned vegetables and ground meat, all topped with a fried or raw egg and eaten with a spicy sauce. What Whole Foods serves couldn't possibly compare to the bibimbap served in Korean restaurants in Fort Lee and Palisades Park.