Coach House salad bar isn't a good value

One of the three plates of salad I had last weekend at the Coach House Diner.

Unlimited salad and a large bowl of soup are $11.50.

From left, potato salad, pickles, beets, stuffed grape leaves and feta cheese.

I've long been a fan of the salad bar at the Coach House Diner in Hackensack, but on a visit last weekend, it no longer seemed to be a good value. 

The salad bar is free with any entree, so choosing it as a meal for $10.95 or with a large bowl of soup for $11.50 puts you in the position of trying to eat more than you had planned to make it pay off.

And although there are probably 20 to 25 items to choose from, you won't find any hard-boiled eggs, tuna, olives or a lot of other items.

I ordered soup and salad bar. The lobster bisque was filling, but it was nothing special.

No to pasta salads

I'm on a diet, so at the salad bar, I avoided the pasta salads, bread and muffins, and the lettuce was mostly iceberg.

I managed to eat three plates of salad (see photos).

Seafood selection

However, I was impressed by the Coach House's selection of fresh seafood, including red snapper, soft-shell crabs and baby flounder.

My wife ordered the soft-shell crabs with rice ($18.50), and liked the two small crustaceans.

My mother-in-law hesitated ordering the red snapper, recalling the tough, sinewy fillet she got in November 2011 at Amici Family Restaurant in Bergenfield, marking the last time we patronized the place.

But she liked the Lemon-Pepper Red Snapper with two side dishes ($18.95) at the Coach House. 

Two glasses of lemonade were $2.40 each. 

Coach House Diner & Restaurant, 55 Route 4 east (at Hackensack Avenue), Hackensack; 201-488-4999. Open 7 days. Full bar.

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• Just what the doctor ordered

Waitress, there's a bug in my salad

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Hotel Caesar's in Tijuana, Mexico, built for Italian-born Caesar Cardini, a restaurateur who moved to Mexico and is commonly credited with creation of the lovely Caesar Salad.

Editor's note: Today, I describe a return visit to Amici Family Restaurant in Bergenfield, preparations for Thanksgiving, and free-range, grass-fed Australian beef.

If you go to Amici Family Restaurant, a BYO that serves big portions at reasonable prices, it makes sense to share dishes to keep the final bill down.


We tried that Saturday evening, but ran into a couple of problems with sanitation and food in a busy dining room, and I'm not sure we'll return.


We started with a well-dressed, family style Caesar Salad, combining two portions at $6.95 each, but the romaine lettuce was cut into confetti-like strands that were hard to eat. 


We loved all the grated cheese, but not the over abundance of croutons.


A bigger problem was the tiny bug my mother-in-law found as she ate her first serving of the salad. When she put it aside, it fell, jumped or flew to the floor, and she couldn't find it again.


My wife and her mother also shared two menu items, an appetizer of Jumbo Lump Crab Cake ($8.95) and an entree of Red Snapper Amici with vegetables  ($17.95), plus a side order of linguine in tomato sauce ($6.95).


They loved the large, moist crab cake and all the crab used in it, but found the thick fish fillet tough, even chewy, as if it had been frozen, precooked or overcooked. My wife said it wasn't red snapper. I tried a piece and agreed.


I also ordered an entree from the regular menu, Zuppa di Pesce in a fra diavolo sauce, but chose the gluten-free penne instead of regular linguine ($17.95).


I loved the spicy tomato sauce, the delicious, fresh-tasting shellfish, scallops and shrimp; and my first gluten-free pasta, which was cooked al dente -- all served in an oversized soup bowl. 


Service was terrific. The restaurant has added at least two servers to handle the crowds that responded to a favorable review in the newspaper, and the dining room was full when we left around 6:30.


We told our waitress about the fish, but not the bug. When I looked over the bill at home, I didn't see a charge for the salad we had shared.


Amici Family Restaurant, 127 S. Washington St., 
Bergenfield; 201-374-1996. BYO, off-street parking.


Thanksgiving meal


We drove to Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff on Friday to pick up the fresh-killed turkey I ordered over the phone, and left with a few other items.


The turkey, raised on vegetarian feed and without antibiotics, weighs just under 14 pounds at $2.39 a pound, bigger than the 10-12 pound bird I had ordered. 


We also asked for eight split turkey wings ($16.65) and a half-dozen duck eggs ($1.25 each). Duck eggs have really large yolks, but at this price, I probably won't buy them again.


An 18-ounce bottle of Uncle Dougie's Chicago-Style Chicken Wing Marinade -- a wickedly spicy sauce that's great with turkey wings, too -- was $5. 49.


In the past, we've ordered only turkey drumsticks, thighs and wings from the farm, but this year, we needed a whole turkey to serve white meat to my mother-in-law.


At nearly 14 pounds, I don't think it will fit into our electric rotisserie, so I asked my wife to pick up a turkey roaster while she was shopping at the mall on Saturday morning.


I gave her a J.C. Penney circular, and she came home with a Philippe Richard-brand, 2-piece, nonstick steel roasting pan for $18.89 -- with a mail-in rebate of $10.


Of course, it's made in China, which doesn't have a great record for food safety, but I hand-washed the pieces and put them away for use on Thursday.


On the way to the farm on Friday, we stopped at Whole Foods Market in Paramus for a fully cooked, naturally raised Niman Ranch Applewood Smoked Ham to serve with the turkey ($7.99 a pound), but could find only a drug-free Wellshire Farms Virginia Baked Deli Ham ($6.99 a pound).


Then, I couldn't find the credit card I had used, so returned to the store on Saturday. I didn't find the card, but did find the Niman Ranch ham, which is raised without antibiotics, growth hormones or animal by-products. 


Beef from Australia


The ShopRite circular is advertising Nature's Reserve Boneless Rib Eye Roasts from Australia at $5.99 a pound under the words "All Natural, Free Range, Grass Fed."


For several months now, I've been trying to get updated information on how cattle and sheep are raised in Australia, especially those destined for export.


At ShopRite, Costco Wholesale and elsewhere, Australian lamb often is labeled in the store, and the words "All Natural" and "Grass Fed" don't appear on the labels.


ShopRite is the only North Jersey supermarket I know that sells Australian beef, and it's marketed under the Nature's Reserve label, but the words "Grass Fed" don't appear there, either.


I've been referred to the Web site of Meat and Livestock Australia, a ranchers group, and have found extensive discussions of cattle and sheep being raised on pasture, including the methane gas released by grass-eating animals.


Here's is a link to the Web site: Grazing and Pasture Management

No waiting for $11.95 dinner

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If you go for the early bird dinner at Amici Family Restaurant in Bergenfield, you might find yourself sharing the dining room with the Family in the restaurant's name -- three generations speaking in English and Italian.


For $11.95, you get a chicken, veal, eggplant or fish entree with pasta or vegetables; a cup of soup or a side salad; a soft drink, coffee or tea, and bread.


I dropped in Wednesday about 4:30 in the afternoon and ordered a salad and tilapia in a garlic-and-white wine sauce. 


My diet limits bread or pasta, so I was happy when the waitress offered vegetables with my fish, but the restaurant doesn't have canned seltzer or club soda.


I also liked bringing my own wine to this BYO, and enjoying a couple of glasses with dinner.


The salad was served in a soup bowl -- romaine and iceberg lettuce with tomato, cucumber, red onion and a stuffed olive -- which I dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.


The fish was wonderful in a garlicky, light-red tomato sauce with chopped fresh tomato. On the side were bright-green, crunchy cooked broccoli and yellow squash.


I finished with two cups of strong black coffee from a fresh pot. Only one other table was occupied by customers while I was there.


Even without bread and pasta, this was a satisfying meal. My total was $14.78 with tax and tip.


The early bird special is served Mondays to Thursdays from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Dine-in only.


Amici Family Restaurant, 127 S. Washington Ave., 
Bergenfield; 201-374-1996. BYO.


Web site: All in the family

Turn the corner for a great meal

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Amici Family Restaurant offers glutten-free penne and pizza.

Amici Family Restaurant in Bergenfield has a South Washington Avenue address, but if you approach it from the south on that street, as we did, the papered over door and windows might make you think it went out of business.


Just turn the corner onto East Clinton Avenue to see the real entrance, as well as tables with umbrellas and chairs for outdoor dining, and the parking lot.


Sure, you can get pizza here -- 12-inchers baked in a gas-fired brick oven -- but you'll also find an extensive menu of pastas, veal and other Italian-American food made with care, using mostly good ingredients.


As first-time visitors, we ended up ordering too much food and spending too much money -- over $70 for three, with tax and tip. Filet mignon for $21.95 is the priciest dish on the menu.


I wish restaurants would indicate if salads and other dishes are suitable for sharing or maybe the server could provide that information.


My wife and I ordered salads, and each could have fed two or three people.
   
The bowl of chicken soup my son ordered filled him up, so he hardly made a dent in his prime-rib hero. We took home plenty of leftovers.


My wife chose The Amici Salad, which is diced ham, other meats  and cheese served with tomato, red onions, hot peppers and olives-- sort of a chopped, cold antipasto ($10.95). Still, my wife wanted more lettuce in it.


I had the seafood salad from a list of specials, and was delighted by the fresh shrimp, clams and mussels, as well as squid and octopus, but thought imitation crab had no place in this beautifully dressed dish ($13.95).


I ordered two other items from the specials list for us to share: broccoli rabe with hot sausage, and a fish-cake appetizer made from wild-caught red snapper and potatoes, with homemade tartar sauce ($8.95 each).


I picked out the broccoli rabe, leaving the sausage for my wife and son, but they didn't finish it. The large, freshly made fish cake was the best thing I had.


My son didn't finish his bowl of chicken soup, complaining the white meat was dry ($5.50). Doesn't everyone know the best chicken soup uses dark meat on the bone?


The big, gooey prime-rib hero, made with sauteed onions and melted mozzarella, was delicious, my son said, though he forgot to ask for hot peppers ($9.95).


The restaurant offers glutten-free pizza and penne, but no spinach or argula as a topping for the pies.


Amici has an $11.95 early bird special Mondays to Thursdays, from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. You get a chicken, fish, eggplant or veal entree with pasta, soup or salad, coffee or tea and one soda.


Amici Family Restaurant, 127 S. Washington Ave., 
Bergenfield; 201-374-1996. BYO. Open seven days.