Costco Wholesale's food and prices are the best revenge

This omelet uses Kirkland Signature Real Egg Product, which is 99% pure egg whites. I served it with leftover whole-wheat pasta for a rib-sticking breakfast.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The phrase, "Eating well is the best revenge," often echoes in my head when I'm enjoying a good meal or find another surprisingly delicious item at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

On Friday, I came across wonderful marinated white anchovies from Italy, and I haven't been able to stop eating them.

On Saturday, my 14-year-old son wanted to have dinner at T.G.I. Friday's, a chain restaurant in Hackensack. 

My wife had coupons I had given her, so I urged her to take our son and his best friend to dinner there, and leave me to my white anchovies.

Grazing for dinner

I started with a plate of the chewy, vinegary little fillets; grainy slices of Grana Padano cheese, also from Italy; and plenty of crunchy Arirang cabbage kimchi from Englewood.

Later, I had melon and a leftover sweet potato, plus tea.

I enjoyed the plate's contrasting textures and flavors, but realized, too late, I could have added Kirkland Signature U.S. No. 1 Supreme Whole almonds to the plate.

For $9.89, I buy a 3-pound bag of the salt-free raw almonds at Costco, then roast them in the oven for 1 hour at 275 degrees until they crack between my teeth.

Anchovy omelet

For a Sunday morning breakfast, I made an open-face omelet with three organic brown eggs from Costco, along with reduced fat Swiss cheese, smoked wild salmon (also from Costco), white anchovies, Aleppo red pepper and Mexican green salsa or salsa verde.

I make omelets in an 8-inch, non-stick pan and never fold them -- allowing me to add more filling. It cooks through from the bottom, which is beautifully browned.

Kirkland Signature Organic Brown Eggs are a relatively new item. Two dozen eggs in a single container are $6.99 or about $3.50 a dozen.

I saw organic eggs at ShopRite for $3.99 to $4.99 a dozen.

White anchovies circle smoked wild salmon.

The Seagarden white anchovy fillets are wild caught, and come in two trays sealed with clear plastic. They are marinated in vegetable oil, wine vinegar, parsley, garlic and salt.

Far less sodium

The fish and marinade weigh 14 ounces and cost $8.99, but the white anchovies are far more delicious and far less salty than the usual canned anchovies.

For example, half of a 2-ounce can of Season-brand Flat Fillets of Anchovies provides 36% of the recommended daily intake of sodium, compared to 34% sodium for 7 ounces of the white anchovies, drained.

Beefsteak tomato with za'atar thyme mixture, and Arirang cabbage kimchi are tasty side dishes for breakfast or any other meal.

Comparing nut bars

Another new item at the Hackensack warehouse store are Kirkland Signature Variety Nut Bars (Kirkland Signature is Costco's house brand).

You get 20 1.4-ounce bars for $10.99, compared to 30  1.2-ounce bars in Kashi Trail Mix Chewy Granola Bars for $11.79. But those are not the only differences.

The Kirkland bars have more calories, more fat, more sugar and less protein than the Kashi bars. Neither has high-fructose corn syrup. 

The Kirkland bars -- Nut & Fruit and  Nut & Seed -- have more calcium, Vitamin C and iron than the Kashi bars.

I tried a Kirkland Nut & Fruit bar, finding it pleasantly chewy and sweet, and I could taste an unusual ingredient, orange peel. It also contains pistachios.

Most of the ingredients for a canned-fish salad come from Costco Wholesale, including limes (not shown). I also add powdered cumin to taste.

Smart Balance spread

I also picked up two 32-ounce tubs of Smart Balance, the faux-butter spread we have been using for years, for $6.69 or about 10 cents an ounce. 

At ShopRite, I saw 15 ounces of Smart Balance on sale for $3 or 20 cents an ounce.

Apples at DiPeiro's in Montvale were $1.89 a pound.

$15+ liter of EVOO

After a meeting in Chestnut Ridge, N.Y., I stopped at DiPiero's Country Farm at 300 W. Grand Ave. in Montvale to pick up apples, but thought the price per pound was too high.

I walked through the store and saw a 5-liter tin of 100% Italian extra-virgin olive oil from Italy for $78. Pasta from Italy was $7.89 for 500 grams or 17.6 ounces.

At the Off The Hook seafood counter, which is independently owned, fresh hake fillets were $11.99 a pound, compared to $7.99 a pound on sale at Whole Foods Market in Paramus.

King salmon fillets were an outrageous $21 a pound.

These prices seem to be aimed at the wealthy executives who work in the headquarters of BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Free 5-cheese lasagna

I stopped at the Hackensack ShopRite on Saturday after having my car washed across the street, and walked away with a free Stouffer's 5-Cheese Lasagna as part of a holiday promotion (96 ounces, normally $13.99).

A half-gallon of Smart Balance Fat-Free Lactose-Free Milk was on sale for $2.99 ($1 off), but with a doubled 75-cent coupon, I got it for only $1.49.

Unfortunately, I had only one coupon and had to buy a half-gallon of ShopRite 1% Lactose-Free Milk for $3.29 (a discount of 10 cents).

Sources

A reliable source for cumin, ground Aleppo red pepper and za'atar thyme mixture is Fattal's Syrian Bakery at 975-77 Main Street in Paterson.

Arirang Kimchi is available at the source, 191 W. Englewood Ave. in Englewood.

Spicy Syrian food -- and all that jazz

Image via Wikipedia

The Christian Quarter in Aleppo, Syria.

I haven't been to Aleppo Restaurant in Paterson's bustling Middle Eastern bazaar for several months, but our meal late Saturday afternoon couldn't have been better.

We started with pureed lentil soup scented with cumin, served with a lemon wedge and crunchy bits of toasted pocket bread; and muhammara, a dip of sweet red peppers and walnuts, made spicy with dried and ground Aleppo red peppers the owner gets from Syria.

Another appetizer is my son's favorite, meat arayes or seasoned beef inside toasted pocket bread, served in wedges.

Our whole, grilled red snapper was rubbed with more Aleppo red pepper and hot sauce. My son chose the Aleppo kebab, four skewers of ground meat. Both entrees were served with rice.

We cooled down the fire of the muhammara and fish with a refreshing dish of yogurt and cucumbers, and I finished the meal with a cup of thick Arabic coffee. My son couldn't finish his food.

This meal was both delicious and reasonably priced: $2 for a bowl of soup, $4 for the muhammara or yogurt, $6 for the arayes, $10 for the kebabs and $14 for the whole fish.

Image via Wikipedia

Baron Hotel in Aleppo.

During our meal, a group of nine men and women sat at a table, discussing and debating the meaning of the Koran, as Arabic music played in the background. 

I noticed that a Turkish place called Hummus, just across Main Street, had gone out of business. 

We could have gone food shopping at Fattal's Syrian Bakery, on the next block, or at Brothers Produce in the Paterson Farmers' Market near the Clifton border.

But we had tickets to a concert in The Jazz Room of William Paterson University in neighboring Wayne.

Drummer Roy Haynes, who is 86 years young, led a quartet in a half-dozen standards, bouncing around the stage, attacking his drums and playing just about everything in sight, including the mike stand and the edge of his cymbals. 

Aleppo Restaurant, 939 Main St., Paterson; 973-977-2244. No liquor allowed. 

A North Jersey-style food run

Image by John Walker via Flickr

We found a well-stocked store on our visit to Alstede Farms in Chester.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

An Israeli cheese maker, a farm store as American as cherry pie and a Lebanese chef were among the elements of a food-filled afternoon on a sunny but blustery day in northern New Jersey.

Our excursion on Saturday took us from Bergen County to two farms and on our return, to a restaurant and bakery in Paterson's Middle Eastern bazaar -- a round-trip of about 100 miles.

I'll have to find a route with more two-lane blacktop on our next visit to Valley Shepherd Creamery, a sheep-and-goat dairy that makes and sells artisan cheese and a lot of other food in Long Valley, a lovely little town with antique stores and restaurants.

We started out on Route 80 west, headed south on Route 206 and drove two-lane roads past horse and produce farms until we reached the dairy.

As usual, cheese maker Eran Wajswol was busy in the back of the cozy retail store, dubbed the Sheep Shoppe, "making cheese."

There were only a few other customers in the store as I looked over the sheep's-milk cheese, yogurt, ravioli and other products in the cold case, and my wife and son sampled a semi-soft goat cheese.

Some of the cave-aged cheeses are $24 a pound, so I bought only a quarter-pound of Oldwick Shepherd cheddar and a third-of-a-pound of a parmagian-romano style cheese called Hunterdon. 

We also picked up four plain ewegurts ($2 each), a walnut-raisin baguette ($3.29) and that Crotin goat cheese ($5), which my 13-year-old son loved.

Valley Shepherd Creamery, 50 Fairmount Road, 

Long Valley, N.J.; 908-876-3200, call for hours.

Alstede Farms in Chester 

We've taken hay-wagon rides and visited the pumpkin path at Alstede Farms, but we were happy with shopping in the store on Saturday.

There was more fresh produce than I expected, probably grown in hot houses, including beefsteak tomatoes, red cabbage, arugula, dandelion and other greens. Coffee and hot soup were available, too.

We took home a large tomato, a head of red cabbage and a homemade cherry pie ($13.99). My son asked for a large cone of farm-made rum-raisin ice cream and raved it was the best he's ever had ($5.99). I needed a pick-me-up cup of black coffee ($1).

Alstede Farms, 84 Route 24, Chester; 908-879-7189.

Early dinner in South Paterson

Our first stop in Paterson was Fattal's Bakery, where the Al-Shark Moroccan sardines are only 99 cents a can, in spicy or regular oil. I picked up 14 cans of the spicy, plus yogurt drink ($1.49) and a mixture of olives ($2.99 a pound).

I love Fattal's Syrian bread, but didn't buy any, because I am cutting down on all bread and losing weight as a result.

For dinner, I couldn't decide on whether to go to our favorite, Aleppo Restaurant on Main Street, or La Ziza, a Lebanese place on the Paterson border we've tried several times despite the availability of hookah smoking.

It was early, about 3 in the afternoon, so we chose La Ziza, knowing there would be few other customers and little smoke to contend with.  

But we've probably had our last meal there after we were overcharged, the credit-card machine ran out of paper and the adjusted bill included a 15% tip on the original, inflated total.

That's a shame, because the food was as good as ever: 

Cold grape leaves stuffed with rice and vegetables ($5.95); cumin-flavored hummus ($4.50); lentil soup with fresh lemon ($2.95); a tart, finely chopped Lebanese salad ($6.95); and meat arayes, a toasted pocket-bread sandwich of seasoned meat ($5.50).

Only the overly sweet La Ziza lemonade disappointed ($2.95 each).

 In addition, we ordered one entree, fried, whole whiting with rice ($12.95), and asked the waiter to hold the greasy fried bread usually served with the three fish.

During our meal, customers at only two other tables were smoking water pipes, and they were nowhere near us. 

When I looked over the itemized bill, I noticed we were charged for an appetizer we didn't order. I called the waiter over and pointed that out to him and later, my son and wife said he "smirked," and they thought that meant he overcharged us on purpose.

Although the smoke was hardly noticeable, except for the sweetish smell, the air-conditioning was turned on as the staff, including the female chef, hunted for more paper for the credit-card machine. That took forever, and I had to put on my jacket because it was so cold in the place.

I paid the adjusted bill, but noticed only later the tip hadn't been adjusted downward. 

This morning, I joked with my wife: "Do you know where the restaurant that overcharged us is located?" 

"Crooks Avenue." 

Fattal's Syrian Bakery, 975-77 Main St., Paterson; 973-742-7125.

La Ziza Restaurant, 341 Crooks Ave., Clifton; 973-772-2700.

99 cents sardines are alive and well

Image via Wikipedia

Sardines at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in California.

Seafood is a crucial part of my non-meat diet and those plump, little sardines are one of my favorites -- as part of a breakfast sandwich with hummus, cheese, lettuce and tomato, or with spaghetti and red sauce.


For the past two or three years, I have been buying Moroccan sardines at Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson, where the price of 99 cents a can is lower than at Corrado's, Costco, ShopRite or any other North Jersey store I know. Of course, if you insist on skinless and boneless, you'll pay more.


Today, I drove to Paterson to replenish my supply and found that while the price remains at 99 cents, Fattal's now carries both Moroccan and Thai sardines. I bought 15 cans -- 10 from Morocco and five from Thailand. I also picked up Fattal's small spinach pies, canned hummus from Lebanon, canned large fava beans, string cheese and a yogurt drink.


For dinner, I emptied four cans of Thai sardines, including their spicy oil or hot tomato sauce, into a covered pan large enough to hold a pound of spaghetti, and broke up the fish with a wooden spoon. I added about half of a bottle of arrabbiata sauce from Modena, Italy (red like a Ferrari), dried Italian seasoning, red pepper flakes, black pepper and dried and powdered garlic, and heated it over a medium flame.


Meanwhile, I heated water for thick spaghetti, and when it started to boil, I blanched two heads of fresh spinach in two batches, transferring it into another pan with hot olive oil. Then the pasta went into the same water, while I seasoned the spinach, covered it and turned off the heat.


When the pasta was cooked, I drained it and dumped it into the pan with the sauce and sardines, mixed it well and served it with grated Parmigiano Reggiano cheese, Italian red table wine and the spinach. Mangia bene.

Fattal's Bakery, 975-77 Main St., Paterson; 973-742-7125. 
Open seven days, free parking in lot.

An unusual breakfast in South Paterson

Image via Wikipedia

I dashed out this morning for bread, sardines, canned hummus, spinach pie and Lebanese extra-virgin olive oil from Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson, then went looking for breakfast.


I drove a few blocks to Luna Bakery & Sweets (1071 Main St.), and asked for a Turkish breakfast (thick bread, hard-boiled egg, cheese, tomato and cucumber, and strong tea). 

Not wanting to turn a customer away, the Syrian baker served me tea; strained yogurt with nuts, which I ate with a spoon; a round, thin, flat bread spread with the thyme-based za'atar mixture; dough and cheese baked into a boat shape, and a pizza made with Syrian and mozzarella cheeses that was dusted with mint and a little red pepper. 


There was enough food for two and I took a few items home. After I told the baker my parents were from Aleppo, he said he was a native and described the many changes he's witnessed. Change also was evident around his business in South Paterson, he said, but he believes the quality of his dough has kept him afloat.


Across the street, the shuttered Syrian bakery Mondial is getting a makeover and a stylish, brick restaurant called Grill House is expected to open soon. On Getty Avenue, near Main Street, a storefront that once claimed to have the best falafel sandwich in the world has closed.



At Fattal's (975-77 Main St.), the sardines from Morocco and canned Lebanese hummus can't be beat (99 cents a can). Three liters of La Ziza-brand Lebanese extra-virgin olive oil rang up at $17.49. Six of Fattal's long, sesame-seeded spinach pies are $8.99, and freeze beautifully.


I turned off Getty at East Railway Avenue to check out produce in the Farmers' Market. But I ended up buying a small dogwood tree at Brothers Produce for $10, and driving home. 

(Photo: Aleppo, Syria)

Small package travels a long way

Image by luluinnyc | Amy Dreher via Flickr

I was paying for Syrian bread at Sahara Stores in Hackensack the other day when I noticed a small package marked "maamoul" --  a date cookie with the same name my mother gave her round, walnut-stuffed cookies, dusted with confectioner's sugar or dipped in marshmallow spread.


The single, round cookie was made in Saudi Arabia with "selected Saudi dates."  Grace Sasson, my mother, also made cookies with dates, but they were small, cigar-shaped and open at both ends -- more dates than dough -- and she called them date-and-walnut crescents.


I tried the Saudi cookie after dinner last night, and it was delicious, though not the equal of my mother's version. This wasn't a madeleine moment, but it reminded me of all the wonderful cookies and pastry my mother turned out in Brooklyn -- to serve to her friends with coffee or at parties and to put out with our weekly dairy meal.


My father's Sephardic Jewish family were halwani, or pastry makers, in Aleppo, Syria, and my mother learned how to make baklava and other delights from him. Her maamoul used rose water in the dough, and her date-and-walnut crescents included grated orange or tangerine rind.


The cookie I bought in Hackensack for 55 cents was made by Halwani Bros. The ingredients are simple: wheat flour, date paste, butter, sugar, yeast. I'll have to check out Fattal's and other pastry makers in Paterson for their fresh-baked versions.

Sahara Stores, 242 S. Summit Ave., Hackensack; 
201-487-7222.

Fattal's Syrian Bakery, 975-977 Main St., Paterson; 
973-742-7125.

Layers of flavor for breakfast

Image via Wikipedia

How much can you cram into your breakfast sandwich?


This morning, I started with two toasted slices of 100 percent whole grain bread, spread hummus on one and added organic salad greens, a small egg-white omelet with Aleppo pepper, a slice of muenster cheese, smoked wild sockeye salmon and Dijon mustard.


If  I had pesto, it would be at home in this sandwich. I ate a Campari tomato with za'atar thyme mixture on the side, along with kimchi, but tomato slices with za'atar would work, too. I'll try that tomorrow. Everything in my sandwich -- except Aleppo pepper and za'atar -- can be found at Costco. Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson stocks the pepper and thyme mixture.


My eating habits have come a long way since the 1980s, when I'd eat an Egg McMuffin (photo) for breakfast, drink coffee and finish with a cigarette.

99 cents sardines in Hackensack

Image by Ahron de Leeuw via Flickr

I was delighted to find the Moroccan sardines I have been buying in Paterson for 99 cents a can at Sahara Stores -- the Middle Eastern deli and grocery in Hackensack where I stopped for bread on Tuesday.

Sardines are so versatile -- they make a great sandwich with hummus, cheese, greens and tomato; they're wonderful added to rice or spaghetti and tomato sauce; and they are a tasty component in canned fish salad (sardines, tuna, red salmon, chopped red onion, cumin and Dijon mustard).

I have been buying Al Shark-brand Moroccan sardines from Fattal's Syrian Bakery, which has the lowest prices around, even lower than the much bigger Corrado's supermarket about a mile away. They come in oil, spicy oil and tomato sauce -- usually 99 cents for a 4 and three-eighth ounce can.

On Tuesday, Sahara Stores had the Al Shark sardines in spicy oil for 99 cents, and I picked up 10 cans. I also bought California Gardens-brand fava beans with mild chili for $1.09 a can and grape leaves stuffed with rice (Turkey) for $2.79. This is a well-stocked grocery and I didn't check out all the items.

Chef-owner Mohsen Mekawi, who is Egyptian, also prepares a large number of Middle Eastern dishes. Falafel are four for $1 and a pound of stuffed grape leaves is $5.99. Sandwiches range from falafel for $2.99 to egg and basterma for $5.99. Dinners with rice, salad and bread are $9.99 to $11.99.

Sahara Stores, 242 S. Summit Ave., Hackensack; 

201-487-7222.

Fattal's Syrian Bakery, 975-977 Main St., Paterson; 

973-742-7125.

Why Fattal's bread doesn't travel well

Image by graciepoo via Flickr

I have been eating bread from Fattal's Syrian Bakery in Paterson for decades, but have always wondered why I don't see it in served in restaurants or sold in grocery stores.


Down to my last two loaves and not wanting to drive the 20-mile round trip to South Paterson, I stopped for bread Tuesday at Sahara Stores on South Summit Avenue in Hackensack and discovered canned goods for the same prices as at Fattal's.

After I paid, I asked Mohsen Mekawi, the friendly proprietor, why he doesn't carry bread from Fattal's, which I consider the best in North Jersey. It's simple, he said. Fattal's is the only Middle Eastern bakery that doesn't credit him for unsold bread.

The others take back the day-old bread and deduct it from the bill for the loaves that are delivered fresh daily, he said. With Fattal's, he is stuck with old bread.

I bought two packages of Kings Pita (no hyphen), a thinner, larger, Lebanese-style pocket bread, for $1.50 each. The bread is baked in Paterson, unlike Fattal's bread, which is now baked in Fair Lawn.

But Kings Pita is only a stopgap, because it isn't as tasty or as good a value as Fattal's loaves. I'll have to try some of the other brands sold at Sahara Stores (despite the name, it's only one store) when I'm out of Fattal's and don't want to drive to South Paterson.