Day trip to Closter: Cod cheeks and spicy Korean seafood soup to go

Jampong, a spicy seafood soup with noodles, can be ordered to go from Ewha Won, a Korean Chinese restaurant in the Closter Commons shopping center.

One take-out order of jampong yields two portions ($9.99). Today, I topped my breakfast bowl of soup with a fried organic egg and sauteed spinach.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

After a relaxing haircut, manicure and pedicure in Korean-owned shops in Closter on Saturday, I took advantage of the small town's food offerings.

First, I stopped at Ewha Won, a popular Korean Chinese restaurant just a few steps from the barber and manicure shops in the Closter Commons shopping center on Piermont Road.

Then, I drove less than a half-mile to Closter's tiny downtown to visit The Fish Dock, a market which offers fresh wild-caught and antibiotic-free farmed fish from Iceland.

Ewha Won

If you order jampong from Ewha Won, the kitchen will cook the noodles and package them separately from the spicy fish soup, which includes mussels, shrimp and squid.

A woman who came in after me asked for uncooked noodles, explaining she likes to cook them herself in the soup when she gets home.

At home, I placed soup and noodles in a bowl, and reheated them for 3 minutes in a microwave, adding the black bean paste provided. Just delicious.

You also get raw onions and Korean pickles, but not the kimchi served in the restaurant for some reason. 

A day after I grilled meaty cod cheeks from The Fish Dock in Closter, I added pitted olives before reheating some of the leftovers gently in the microwave, and prepared pesto after they were ready.

Friendly Icelanders

The Fish Dock is owned and operated by four friendly Icelanders.

They say they pick up their fresh Icelandic fish right off of the plane at Newark International Airport only a day or two after it is caught.

You can find fillets of Icelandic cod and haddock at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, but The Fish Dock's variety goes far beyond that.

I've never seen cod cheeks at Costco.

And you only need to cook The Fish Dock's raw-fish and vegetable medleys for under 15 minutes before dinner is served.

Both cod cheeks and the fish medley were terrific.

Dongyang Barber

Why drive 10 miles for a haircut?

At Closter Dongyang Barber Shop, the owner cuts my hair with a scissor, shaves my neck with a straight razor and then finishes by vacuuming and massaging my head ($20).

Perfect 20, the manicure salon, is just across the courtyard, and I can bring in a cup of coffee from the Korean bakery next door.

At The Fish Dock, I bought 1 pound of raw Golden Redfish with tomato, spinach, olives and feta cheese, and only had to pop the uncovered aluminum takeout container into a preheated 400-degree oven for less than 15 minutes before serving the dish ($16.99 a pound).

The Fish Dock also sells the biggest fish cheeks I've ever seen, from Icelandic codfish ($12.99 a pound). I marinated them in the juice of a plump Meyer Lemon (a cross between a lemon and mandarin orange); seasoned them and cooked them for less than 10 minutes on a stove-top grill. 

The Fish Dock's modest storefront. Street parking is free.

A loyalty program earns you money with your initial purchase at The Fish Dock.

A pound of this fish medley can serve two, if you add a side dish or salad at home. The Fish Dock make preparing dinner a snap. An employee even applied spray oil to the takeout container before adding the medley, and wrote the simple cooking instructions on the label.

Details

Ewha Won, 570 Piermont Road, B-9, Closter; 201-767-6610. Web site: Korean Chinese Cuisine

The Fish Dock, 219A Closter Dock Road, Closter; 201-564-7939. Web site: Pure -- Fresh -- Fish

Closter Dongyang Barber Shop, 570 Piermont Road, C-7, Closter; 201-767-4541. Cash only. Closed Wednesdays. 

Perfect 20 Nail and Spa, 570 Piermont Road, B-5, Closter; 201-750-7370.

One stop for Korean haircut, manicure and noodles

At Closter Commons shopping center, Korean merchants offer good grooming, good food and more.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss Closter, a small town with a large number of Korean businesses; 100% grass-fed, antibiotic-free lamb at ShopRite; and how Costco Wholesale's prices are said to be lower than Walmart's.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

You could be in Palisade Park's Koreatown, where restaurants, nail and hair salons, and cafes are within steps of each other.

But the Korean merchants in Closter Commons are actually about a half-mile away from other Korean businesses in downtown Closter.

And they compete with merchants in an adjoining shopping center that has been renamed Closter Marketplace and, after several years of controversy, is getting a Whole Foods Market.

Trim and vacuum

This morning, I had my hair cut for $20 at Dong Yang Barber Shop, where the barber, Mr. Park, literally vacuumed and massaged my head to pick up stray hairs.

He had cut my hair with a scissor, used a straight razor and cream on my neck and trimmed the hair that grows on my ears, more quickly, it seems, then on my head. 

Then, I strolled over to Perfect 20 Nails & Spa several doors away, where my terrific manicure included a treatment to remove dead skin from the back of my hands ($10). 

A recent addition to Closter Commons is The Barn, which offers fruit, vegetables and baked goods. Other businesses have come and gone, including a full-fledged Korean spa and a sword-dancing academy. 

If you're hungry

I walked out of the nail salon, turned right and went over to Homung Nangmyun to check out the menu.

This small restaurant, with indoor and outdoor tables, specializes in traditional Korean sweet-potato-flour noodles that are served in a cold beef broth with boiled beef or marinated skate ($12.95 and up).

I've had the restaurant's delicious mandoo, dumplings stuffed with kimchi, vegetables, vermicelli noodles or other ingredients (10 for $8.95); and the family style pajun, a grilled seafood-and-vegetable pancake ($18.95). 

The soft-tofu stew with rice and complimentary side dishes is $12.95.

A few steps away is a renovated Gateaux Bakery and Cafe, where I stop for coffee and use all the willpower I have to avoid the Korean pastries, cakes and sandwiches.

Around the corner is a Korean-Chinese restaurant I have never tried.

Last summer, Closter Commons hosted one of the best farmers' markets in Bergen County. 

Closter, a borough of less than 9,000, calls itself the "Historic Hub of the Northern Valley."

The shopping center's address is 570 Piermont Road, Closter.

Closter Dongyang Barber Shop is closed on Wednesdays, 201-767-4541; Perfect 20 Nails & Spa is closed on Sundays, 201-750-7370.

The number for Homung Nangmyun is 201-750-1010. 

At the ShopRite in Rochelle Park, I saw Nature's Reserve 100% grass-fed lamb, which is raised without antibiotics in Australia, above and below.

The Semi-Boneless Lamb Leg Roast, above, was $4.49 a pound, and the Rack of Lamb was $9.99 a pound. Both have a lot of fat. Fatty Australian lamb chops also were available in store packaging that had no information on how the sheep were raised.

Australian lamb

On the way home from Closter, I stopped at the Rochelle Park ShopRite to get a refund for a 3-pound bag of Macoun Apples ($2.99) my wife purchased instead of the crisper Red Delicious Apples I wanted.

I found a 3-pound bag of organic Red Delicious Apples for the same price, but the two I tried today were soft and one was partially brown inside.

I went to the meat department to see if Nature's Reserve grass-fed beef from Australia was on sale, and for the first time saw 100% grass-fed, antibiotic-free Australian lamb with the Nature's Reserve label.

The whole beef tenderloin for filet mignon wasn't on sale, and was $9.99 a pound ($8.99 a pound at the Paramus ShopRite).

A Nature's Reserve Rack of Lamb was $9.99 a pound and a Semi-Boneless Leg of Lamb was $4.49 a pound. 

The Rochelle Park ShopRite has added four express checkout stands for shoppers with 15 items or less.

In the parking lot of the Rochelle Park ShopRite, a limo driver with New York plates and a handicapped tag hanging from the rear-view mirror sat in the car and relaxed with his seat back reclined, above and below.

Costco v. Walmart

The May 2014 Consumer Reports magazine includes a report, "Getting more from your store," with ratings of 55 supermarket chains.

The magazine also compared prices for a dozen items, including such staples as flour, coffee, cereal and juice; laundry detergent, toilet paper, diapers and ibuprofen, and other items.

"Store brands and Costco [Wholesale] vied for cheapest. Walmart.com came in third" ... and "Walgreens ... was by far the priciest overall."

The magazine noted Walmart's online and in-store prices "were largely the same."

Consumer Reports mentioned Costco's annual $55 membership fee.

But it didn't mention the free True Earnings credit card from Costco and American Express that gives cash rebates on gasoline (3% back); restaurant meals and travel (2%), and other purchases inside and outside of the warehouse store (1%).

Costco's Executive Members pay $110 a year, but receive a total of 3% back on purchases at the warehouse store.

Many Costco shoppers get rebates that easily exceed their membership fee. 

Small North Jersey town offers big farmers market

Naturally raised whole chickens are $4.75 a pound today at this stand in Closter.

All of the empanadas are available with gluten-free dough.

Closter is a small North Jersey town with about 3,500 people and two faded shopping centers, Closter Plaza and Closter Commons.

But on Sundays, a farmers market blossoms at Closter Commons -- more than two dozen stands offering naturally raised meat, poultry and eggs; prepared food, produce and so much more.

Fresh artisan bread, preserves, sauces and apple-pie filling are among the items offered today at 28 stands. 

I drive to Closter every 5 weeks or so for a haircut at the Dongyang Barber Shop, one of the many Korean businesses in the two shopping centers.

Mr. Park, the owner, cuts my hair with a scissor, shaves my sideburns and the back of my neck with a razor, and vacuums my head to catch stray hairs.


Closter Farmers Market, Piermont Road and Vervalen Street, in Closter Commons. Open Sundays from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Closter Dongyang Barber Shop, 570 Piermont Road, Unit C-7 in Closter Commons; 201-767-4541. Open 8:30 a.m. to 8 p.m., closed Wednesdays.

A cool dish for a hot day

Sagging a bit under today's heat and humidity, I stopped by Homung Nangmyun, a Korean cold-noodle house, to chill with one of their signature dishes. The place was packed and I had to wait 15 minutes for a shared table.

I ordered a regular-size bibim nangmyun ($10.95), traditional buckwheat noodles in a hot and spicy house sauce. First I received three side dishes -- radish kimchi, salad and stewed potatoes -- and a small thermos with hot, milky beef-bone broth. The Korean merchant sharing my table explained the broth would warm my stomach against the shock of the cold noodles.

The waitress used a scissor to cut the long, bundled noodle strands before she set down my bowl. The noodles, which resemble angel hair pasta, are garnished with half of a boiled egg, some boiled beef and thin-sliced cucumber and radish kimchi. Slurping is encouraged. After my cool meal, I felt pleasantly full and my lips tingled.

The cold-noodle house is in Closter Commons, a shopping center on Piermont Road in Closter, near other Korean businesses: bakery, nail and hair salons, spa, rice-cake house and barber, which is where I got my hair cut and vacuumed before lunch. Yes, every haircut includes a vacuuming of your head -- a combination massage and cleaning of stray hairs. (This post has been revised.)