In Westfield: A $150 dinner for three, first Trader Joe's in New Jersey

Lamb Chops, above, and Charcoal Grilled Mediterranean Sea Bass, below, are two of the entrees at Limani Seafood Grill, a pricey Greek restaurant in downtown Westfield.

On Saturday, the restaurant listed a whole farmed sea bass or branzino as one of the diner specials for $35, but my waiter cut me a break and charged me by the pound. At $26 a pound, my 1.2-pound fish cost $31.72.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

On a visit to bustling Westfield, leave it to this fish lover to find one of the priciest restaurants in a downtown that is the envy of officials in many other New Jersey communities.

I'm no stranger to Westfield, which I visited when I lived in nearby Elizabeth, and since then to shop at the first Trader Joe's to open in New Jersey more than 20 years ago.

On Saturday, we drove to Union County to pick up our son, who had caught a ride to New Jersey with another college student for the Thanksgiving break.

I couldn't get an early dinner reservation at my first choice, 100 Steps, a raw bar and supper club in Cranford, so searched for something in neighboring Westfield.

Limani Seafood Grill seemed like a good restaurant for me (I eat only seafood); my son, who is a meat lover still experiencing growth spurts; and my wife, who eats both meat and fish.

$9 cup of bisque

But once we were seated, a glance at the menu showed dinner would easily exceed $100.

My son wanted to order Lobster Bisque, but skipped it when I told him a cup of the soup was $9. The restaurant also offers caviar for $69 to $149 an ounce.

We ordered a cold appetizer to share, Pikilia Spread ($19), with tsatziki (yogurt-cucumber-dill-garlic), skordalia (whipped potato-garlic) and taramosalata (fish eggs whipped with lemon and oil), plus spring mix, olives, beets, feta cheese, herbed crostinis and Greek pita.

Our entrees were Greek Style Lamb Chops for my son ($36), a misnamed Jumbo Shrimp Scampi over linguine for my wife ($28), and a whole charcoal-grilled Branzino for me ($26 a pound).

I asked the waiter to hold the potato that came with the fish, and he doubled the other side, sauteed escarole.

The food was delicious, the service efficient and we left stuffed.

With a 20% tip, our total bill with two iced teas ($2.50 each) was just over $150.

Sauteed escarole came with my whole grilled fish.

Jumbo shrimp with linguine dressed in a sauce made from olive oil, fresh garlic, lemon juice and white wine.

Fresh whole branzini are nestled in ice in a display case near the front of Limani Seafood Grill.

Limani Seafood Grill is a BYO at 235 North Ave. West in Westfield (1-908-233-0052). Parking in rear, and metered parking on street and in large nearby lot.

The first Trader Joe's in New Jersey opened about 20 years ago at 155 Elm St. in Westfield, above, and the store is one of only two in the state that sells wine, beer and spirits. Open daily 8 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Red wine, uncured meats

After our big dinner, we drove over to Trader Joe's to buy preservative- and antibiotic-free hot dogs and bacon for my son, and red wine for me.

I picked up six bottles of Charles Shaw Wine at $2.99 each, and a bottle of D'Aquino Chianti Reserva for $5.99.

I also got a 5-pound bag of Organic Sweet Potatoes for $4.99.

A 12-ounce package of naturally raised bacon was $5.49, and a 16-ounce package of uncured beef hot dogs was $5.99.

Trader Joe's Charles Shaw varietals -- Shiraz, Merlot, Nouveau and Cabernet Sauvignon, plus three whites -- are only $2.99 a bottle, but the store also sells red wine for $40 and more, below.

Wild catfish from Whole Foods, farmed branzino from Costco

Wild-caught catfish fillets poached in sweet-and-savory 365 Everyday Value Al Pastor Salsa, both from Whole Foods Market in Paramus. I served them with organic brown rice prepared with organic diced tomatoes and chopped garlic in an electric cooker.

Editor's note: Cooking fresh fish at home is a snap, whether it is wild-caught or farmed. And fresh spinach is a nice addition to homemade pasta or egg dishes. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Whole Foods Market in Paramus has the biggest and best seafood counter in North Jersey so I shouldn't have been surprised to find wild-caught catfish there the other day.

And the boneless and skinless fillets were on sale for $7.99 a pound. Most other stores offer only farmed catfish.

On Monday afternoon, once I had my fillet, I walked over to the store's selection of 365 Every Day Value-brand medium-hot salsas and picked out a 16-ounce jar of Al Pastor, which blends mildly spicy peppers with sweet pineapple ($2.99).

At home, I poured about three-quarters of the salsa into a non-stick pan, squeezed some fresh lime juice into it and brought it to a boil.

Then, I placed five lightly salted serving pieces of the catfish into the salsa and covered the pan. They were ready in under 10 minutes.

This branzino is dynamite

Fishing with dynamite or blast fishing has been common in Greece for decades, and that is probably why a farmed Mediterranean sea bass started showing up on U.S. menus in the past decade.

In 2006, the restaurant reviewer for The Times complained farmed branzino, also called sea bass or loup de mer, was so common on Manhattan menus "it's the fish that ate New York."

A few years after that, the fish started appearing on North Jersey menus, especially in upscale Greek fish houses that sell fresh wild fish displayed on ice in their dining rooms for $30 to $40 a pound.

When Costco Wholesale in Hackensack started offering farmed whole branzino from Greece, the fish was sold with the scales still on it.

Now, farmed branzino comes scaled and ready to cook.

At Costco a week ago, I paid $8.99 a pound or $32.27 for three whole fish shrink wrapped on a tray.

At home, my wife cut each fish into two pieces and seasoned them.

I cooked them with olive oil, white wine, organic chicken stock and fresh lime juice in a covered non-stick pan.

I sauteed them in the oil, then added the other ingredients. The whole fish took about 15 minutes to cook through with the cover on.

Branzino is a great eating fish that flakes beautifully and doesn't have too many bones.

I prepared 1 pound of Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli in bottled Victoria Marinara Sauce with added anchovies, red wine, extra-virgin olive oil, dried Italian herbs and fresh spinach. The dried pasta is available at ShopRite for $1.25 a pound; the sauce in 40-ounce bottles and most of the other ingredients are from Costco.

A two-colander pasta dish

I used one colander when two would have been better in preparing organic whole-wheat pasta with spinach.

Pouring hot pasta water over fresh spinach in its own colander would have allowed me to press out excess moisture before adding pasta and spinach to the sauce.

Then, I could have drained the pasta and the remaining water in a second colander.

I put the fresh spinach in the colander I used to drain the hot water and fusilli or corkscrews, which I cooked for 8 minutes, 1 minute less than the cooking time listed on the package. Then, I transferred the pasta and spinach to the pan with the heated sauce, mixed them well and added shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese from Costco. 

This morning, I used leftover Victoria Marinara Sauce from the pasta-and-spinach dish to poach two organic eggs from Costco and wilt more fresh spinach. I wanted soft yolks, but I covered the pan and they cooked through, below. 

For a filling breakfast, I ate the two eggs with leftover whole wheat fusilli and spinach. Wonderful.