Update: Coffee with free parking in Manhattan

A mug of strong coffee is only $1.50 before 11 a.m. at the Market Diner in Manhattan.

A breakfast bowl of minestrone.

The Market Diner on 11th Avenue and 43rd Street is probably the only Greek diner in Manhattan with free parking.

A mug of strong black coffee costs $1.50, with at least one free refill. The brew is made from beans roasted in Brooklyn.

Before 10 a.m. today, I was able to order a large bowl of minestrone soup with far more vegetables than elbow macaroni ($4.25).

The diner also serves wine and beer.

The entrance to the parking lot, which accommodates six vehicles, is on 43rd Street. The diner is open 24 hours.

The lot was closed on Tuesday, when a TV production crew for "Elementary" was using the diner.

The 11th Avenue view from the Market Diner.

Update

The day after I posted this, I returned for another bowl of soup, this time a thick, vegetarian split-pea soup ($4.25), and another cup of coffee.

When the check came, I saw I was charged $2 for the mug of coffee and refill, and asked about it at the register.

The woman said coffee is $1.50 before 11 a.m. and $2 after.  

I also received a comment that a McDonald's at 34th Street and 10th Avenue in Manhattan is open 24 hours and also has free parking.

Of course, you can't compare the quality of the food to the diner. 

From a communist country to a Costco near you

Costco Wholesale's Kirkland Signature Ground Saigon Cinnamon label is superimposed on a map of Vietnam, a communist country. A run-on sentence with a typo describes the cinnamon trees and the "unmatched" sweet-hot flavor of the cinnamon.

 

I've been using Costco Wholesale's Ground Saigon Cinnamon for years, and love the special flavor it gives to homemade lattes, hot cereal and salt-free roasted almonds.

I also buy Costco's farmed Black Tiger Shrimp from Vietnam, a communist country, and I know that schools of farmed, catfish-like basa fillet land on U.S. shores every year.

I don't really have a problem with Costco selling food from a communist country.

But I wish Costco and other U.S. retailers would sell products from another communist government, the one on the island of Cuba.

The trade embargo imposed on Cuba in the Kennedy administration means any U.S. company that tries to sell island products faces big financial penalties.

And customs officials likely would confiscate and destroy any Cuban products brought home by American tourists returning from the Caribbean's biggest island.

Cuba is known for its wonderful rum, but also produces excellent coffee, and it's the only place I know where you can find 100% mango juice in grocery stores.

Americans buy fresh, wild-caught red snapper from South America, but are denied Cuban pargo, lobster and other seafood.   

Answers to some questions from Costco Wholesale shoppers

This Boskovich Farms Organic Baby Spinach, sold at Costco Wholesale, is triple washed, but shoppers have to hunt for the words around a small faucet on the back label.

The 2.5 pound bag of regular spinach from the same grower is also triple washed.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In all the years I've been buying Earthbound Farm's Organic Spring Mix at Costco Wholesale, I relied on the pre-washing mentioned on the label to cut the time it takes to put a healthy meal on the table.

In the past, the spring mix was "triple washed," but the 1-pound package I bought at my Hackensack Costco today says it is "pre-washed."

I continue to transfer the greens directly into my salad bowl or onto a sandwich for other family members without washing them.

Earlier, I said Boskovich Farms Organic Baby Spinach from California wasn't pre-washed, but that was because I missed the small faucet and the words "triple washed" on the back label.

Costco's broccoli florets were grown in Mexico.

A reader sent in a comment about finding organic broccoli from China at Costco, but I've never seen that at my Hackensack store.

Today, I looked at the label of a 3-pound bag of conventional Eat Smart Broccoli Florets and noticed the words "Product of Mexico." 

Sodium bisulfite is added to this big lobster tail as a preservative.

I also got a comment from a shopper who said the jumbo lobster tail he bought at Costco had a strong smell of ammonia when he cooked it.

The label at Costco lists sodium bisulfite as a preservative.  I've never purchased or cooked that lobster tail.

Today, I bought previously frozen sea scallops for $13.99 a pound at Costco (U-10 or under 10 to the pound, the largest available). 

These are "dry" scallops from the U.S., and no preservatives are used.

A new item at Costco is a hot turkey and provolone sandwich.

 
One question I can't answer is why Costco doesn't sell freshly brewed coffee at its food counter or even have a small Starbucks outpost in the store.

I'm also puzzled by two customers who changed their mind at the last minute today, and placed large packages of hot dogs and sweet peppers on the floor under checkout counters.

Monks stop to refuel on turnpike

Three men who appeared to be monks stopped for coffee and pastry last week at Starbucks in the Vince Lombardi Service Area of the New Jersey Turnpike in Ridgefield.

Can you imagine worse service?

Image by the justified sinner via Flickr
A cup of coffee at the shiny Chit Chat Diner in Hackensack was my first and last there. It might as well as look like this.

Editor's note: We had two vastly different restaurant experiences on Friday. Today, I also discuss continued confusion caused by ShopRite's Can Can Sale, which enters a second week on Sunday.

I had a cup of coffee at the glitzy Chit Chat Diner in Hackensack on Friday and learned a valuable lesson on where not to meet for a bite to eat.


Here is a little history from the diner's Web site:

"The Chit-Chat Diner was opened on January of 2009.  Our recent renovation has yielded us a Classic American joint in a more chic setting.  Our goal is to provide an upscale meal and setting with an affordable price in a comfortable atmosphere."

Conspicuous by its absence is any mention of service.


I'm on diet and ordered only black coffee after the waiter said the diner didn't have 2% milk, only skim. My friend wanted a slice of pie with ice cream, and tea.


Another server poured cold water for us, and then he and the waiter seemed to disappear. A heavyset waitress with a bored expression took their place and was serving people in the next booth.


My friend asked her to refill his small tea cup (with its used tea bag). She returned with his cup only half-full, and ignored my empty coffee cup.


I tried to get her attention as she walked past a few minutes later, but she apparently didn't hear me or didn't want to hear me.


The bill was just under $10, including $1.75 each for the beverages. My friend was upset and left only a $1 tip (a standard 15% tip would have been $1.50), and we complained to the hostess, who was at the register as we left.


I've driven past the Chit Chat on Essex Street since it was renovated three years ago, and have wondered whether I should take my family there for dinner there. Now, forget about it.


I've been meeting a friend at the Suburban Diner on Route 17 in Paramus, and even when it is packed, the service is far superior to what we experienced at the Chit Chat, which was mostly empty during our visit.


Filling Japanese meal


On Friday night, we met friends at Yuki Japanese Restaurant, a popular BYO in Montvale, for a delicious meal.


The other couple brought a bottle of wine and we also drank hot green tea with our appetizers of shrimp and vegetable tempura ($6.95), and a California roll ($4.95). Service was excellent.


Our entree was nabe (the word for "pot") -- lobster, fish and clams; tofu, vegetables; and slippery, translucent noodles in a tasty broth, served in a pot placed on a table burner, with bowls of white and brown rice ($24). 


The menu wasn't clear on whether the entree was for one or two, so I asked for nabe for two, and we were charged $48. Next time, I'll order one nabe and another entree, such as the cooked yellow tail fish that was available on Friday night.


The shrimp and vegetable tempura was beautifully fried and grease-less, good down to the crunchy shrimp tail. We also enjoyed the California roll, which is the only roll my wife will eat, because she doesn't like raw fish.


The other couple had large platters of tuna sushi and rolls, including broiled eel. We split the bill, which totaled $50 a couple, plus tax and tip. 


Though the family running the restaurant don't appear to be Japanese, we were happy with our first meal there and plan to return.


Yuki Japanese Restaurant, 208 Kinderkamack Road 
(at Grand Avenue), Montvale; 201-391-9877. 
BYO. Entrance off rear parking lot.


Can Can confusion


The Can Can Sale at ShopRite starts a second week on Sunday, but confusion remains on minimum purchases needed to get the lowest sale price.


The flier that came with the newspaper today contains a Super Coupon for Progresso Soup at 10 for $10.88. Nowhere on the coupon or the flier does it say the customer must purchase 10 to get the price of about $1.09 each, compared to the sale price of $1.25.


This week, a Bergen County woman said the Paramus ShopRite refused to sell her fewer than 10 cans of Progresso Soup for the lower price. The store was fined. A new Super Coupon was supposed to reflect the "Must Buy 10" rule.


Customers must use their Price Plus Club store card to qualify for Can Can sale prices.

Huong Viet Restaurant in Nutley

Image via Wikipedia

Go for the food, not the service.

We had a wonderful meal last night at Huong Viet, a Vietnamese restaurant in Nutley that is worth the detour, but we could have done without the delays in bringing a drink or a bottle opener for our beer, and uncleared dishes, even though we were the first of the dinner crowd to arrive.

This is a family run place and that is why the food is so good. But the young staff of relatives, though well-meaning, do a poor job of waiting on tables.

The menu is far more extensive than at our two favorite Vietnamese restaurants -- Saigon R. in Englewood and Mo' Pho' in Fort Lee, both from chef-owner K.T. Tran. The Nutley restaurant is in an old storefront with a bright street-level room and an upper level with an uneven floor, where we sat against the wall at a table for four that sloped downward.

Now, to the food. We started with three soups -- wonton with pork, house special egg-drop with crab and asparagus, and anise-flavored pho with noodles and crunchy fish cakes. All were terrific, but my son objected to the wontons' excessive skins, which were overcooked and unpleasantly soft.

Our entrees were fried catfish fillets with a fresh-ginger sauce and pork meatballs with lettuce and fresh mint leaves for wrapping, plus sauteed mustard greens and garlic. We got two big fish fillets, with a small salad and sliced tomatoes and cucumbers, and 10 meatballs on wood skewers, with some vermicelli noodles and fish sauce for dipping. We loved all three dishes and took home leftovers.

We usually don't eat dessert, but the waiter said his aunt had prepared her special "flan." I said did he mean creme caramel, recalling the French influence on Vietnamese cuisine. No, he said, it's flan, so we ordered one. I also ordered black coffee and got a small, silver-colored, French-press pot on top of a cup, and I wasn't sure what to do with it.

So I pushed down on the press and after a few minutes poured the coffee into the cup, adding two small packets of sugar. This was the thickest, most delicious black coffee I have ever had. The "flan" was excellent.

I didn't note the prices of individual dishes, but this BYO represents good value. Our meal cost about $75 for three, including a $9 tip. My thanks to Jason Perlow of Off The Brolier for letting us know about Huong Viet.

Huong Viet Restaurant, 358 Passaic Ave., Nutley, Essex County; 
973-667-0827. Parking in rear. No Web site.

Can coffee be subversive?

Image via Wikipedia

I just loaded the dispenser in my espresso machine with Cuban-style dark-roasted beans I bought from costco.com. A kilo (2.2 pounds) of this Ruta Maya organic Cubita coffee cost  $22.99, including shipping. That's about what I would pay for two pounds of coffee beans at Starbucks. Amazon.com lists the Cubita-style coffee for $36.78.

I haven't brewed a cup yet, but you can read this description from the warehouse store's Web site:

Ruta Maya’s Cubita Cuban Style Dark Roasted Coffee is the smoothest of the Cubita roasts, yet has a rich, dark chocolate roast. Cubita Coffee or “Café Sabor de Cuba” embodies the heady aroma and deep-bodied coffee flavor of Cuba. Styled after the national coffee of Cuba, Cubita is a blend of coffee beans from Latin American countries carefully selected and roasted to match the authentic Cuban coffee experience with lots of flavor and bite.

That could use some editing, but doesn't it sound promising? I hope I'll be able to recapture the taste of the coffee I enjoyed on a half-dozen trips to Cuba from 1998 to 2004 (photo is of Trinidad, Cuba). Here's the link to the site, but you'll have to search for "Cubita coffee."


http://www.costco.com/Common/Category.aspx?cat=3605&eCat=BC|3605&lang=en-US&whse=BC&topnav=

Turkey drumsticks, custom-ground coffee

The crowds are building at the Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff, where we stopped to pick up turkey parts I ordered over the phone and to reserve a heritage turkey for Thanksgiving. All of the birds sold here are raised on a vegetarian diet and without antibiotics.

As a special treat, I also got six duck eggs -- which are yolkier than the ones from chickens -- because we have been using egg beaters for about a year now to help keep our cholesterol down. For the eggs, three turkey drumsticks, three thighs, three wings and four pounds of turkey neck, I paid a total of $26.80. (549 Goffle Road, Wyckoff; 201-444-3238. www.gofflepoultry.com)

Our next stop was Fairway Market in Paramus, because I had run out of their custom-ground coffee. I picked up three pounds of dark- and medium-roasted beans, ground Turkish style, for $4.99 to $7.99 a pound, several dollars below anything available at Starbucks.

But I noticed some of the Fairway sale items weren't all that they seemed. The store is selling three one-pound containers of Campari tomatoes for $5 -- a good buy -- but these were not herbicide-free. Jumbo white shrimp from U.S. waters are $5.99 a pound, which is a good price if they were wild-caught, which they are not.

I did indulge myself with the purchase of a wedge of Spanish fig cake with nuts. However, it seemed pricey at $8.99 a pound.  (Fairway Market, 35 E. Ridgewood Ave., Paramus; 201-444-5455. www.fairwaymarket.com)