A bountiful seafood meal at a discount

Image by fritzmb via Flickr
At Nisi Estiatorio in Englewood, every server is a fish salesman.


Before dinner service begins, the servers meet with the chef to taste and discuss the texture and flavor of the fresh fish sold by the pound, as well as the special available that evening, so they can brief customers. 


The fresh seafood -- turbot, red snapper, European sea bass, Scottish langoustines and more -- are buried in ice in a beautiful dining-room display set against a soothing waterfall, and the servers encourage customers to look over the choices before ordering.


The motto of this expensive Greek fish house is written at the bottom of every check: "Eat Fish Live Longer." You might think the phrase needs punctuation, but you can't argue with the sentiment.


On Friday, I had my first dinner at Nisi -- using a Groupon for $50 worth of food and drink I bought online for only $25.


I ordered dishes and a glass of wine that added up to $50 exactly, then used my credit card to cover the tax and tip, a total of $11. My $36 bought a four-course seafood meal with a total cost of $61.


I concentrated on small plates, an octopus salad ($18) and two appetizers,  Portuguese sardines and wild-caught Shrimp Saganaki ($12 each), plus a glass of Greek retsina or resin wine ($8).


After taking my order and heading for the kitchen, the waiter returned and said the restaurant was out of octopus, which seemed odd for a Greek place. 


And before I left, I heard another waiter taking a grilled octopus order from another customer, though I didn't actually see the dish delivered to the table.


So, I took another look at the menu and substituted Fasolada ($8), a white-bean-and-vegetable soup, and a salad called Roca Nisi ($10) for the octopus salad.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife


The soup, served in a large bowl, was thick and delicious, and the salad was wonderful, with a winning combination of micro greens, diced beets, cheese, fresh orange pieces and crispy, spiced walnuts.


I got five fresh sardines, simply grilled, and really enjoyed them, even though it took a little work to remove the bones of these mighty little fish.


I was full, and would have been happy to end the meal there, but then the waiter brought me a small ramekin filled with savory, saffron-flavored tomato sauce and melted feta cheese that hid four large, unusually tender shrimp.


I ate it all with a spoon. That meal was what I call a "belly buster." Two could have shared it as a light supper.


At home a couple of hours later, I had dessert: Greek-style non-fat yogurt with honey.


Nisi Estiatorio, 90 Grand Ave., Englewood; 201-567-4700.
Valet and street parking.


Web site: Eat fish, live longer

What makes Greek yogurt so pricey?

Image by Newbirth35 via Flickr

You have to dig deep for some Greek-style yogurts.

Greek-style yogurt is strained to make it thicker, but what makes it so expensive?

Fage, Oikos and Chobani are not only hard to pronounce, their inflated prices are hard to stomach.

At ShopRite supermarkets, a 32-ounce container of Chobani Greek-style yogurt is $5.99. Trader Joe's own brand of non-fat Greek yogurt is $4.99 for 32 ounces and $2.99 for 16 ounces. 

They're made here, not in Greece.

Now, Costco Wholesale in Hackensack has brought the price of Greek-style yogurt down to earth -- $6.49 for two 32-ounce containers of Kirkland Signature non-fat yogurt (about $3.25 each).

I tried a free sample with honey before I made the purchase and could not believe this thick, mouth-filling yogurt has no fat.

Up and down prices

Also at Costco, Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix is up to $4.99 for 16 ounces, but those incredible, small, round Campari tomatoes  are down to $4.49 for a 2-pound package.

Fairway Market in Paramus sells two 1-pound packages of these same Sunset-brand Campari tomatoes for $5, but their taste doesn't compare to the ones from Costco.

On Tuesday, I bought a large seedless watermelon at Costco for $4.99, the lowest price so far this season. 

Today, ShopRite put seedless watermelons on sale for $3.99, a $2 discount.

Not recommended

I drove to Trader Joe's in Paramus this morning to check Greek yogurt prices and pick up a few pounds of its imported Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti ($1.39 for 16 ounces).

As good as that product is, I was disappointed with a can of Wild Pink Shrimp that I tried for the first time ($1.99 for 4 ounces).

The label says, "Crisp, tiny Oregon shrimp."

They are tiny -- about the size of the nail on my smallest finger -- but I found them far from "crisp" when I ate them over a big salad. "Mealy" is more like it.

Yuck.

Follow the tracks to great food buys

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I've enjoyed shopping and eating in Paterson's Middle Eastern food bazaar for nearly 30 years, but haven't paid much attention to the city's bustling, year-round Farmers' Market.

Today, I met Chuck, one of my loyal readers, at the market on East Railway Avenue and he led me to some remarkable food bargains, most of which are gone by Sunday. Besides produce stores, there are butchers, a fish market, restaurants and non-food merchants. Parking is free.

My first stop was Eastern Groceries Inc. at 459 E. Railway Ave. (look for the number, the name on the door says something else). None of the following prices are typos.

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 I picked up a dozen 5.3-ounce cups of Stonyfield Farm organic, fat-free Oikos, Greek-style yogurt for $2 -- that's less than 17 cents each. They were stamped with a date of Feb. 8, meaning we will have about two weeks to finish them. A simple drizzle of honey turns this yogurt into a great dessert.

Earthbound Farm organic heirloom lettuce leaves were $1 for 7 ounces -- or $2.28 a pound. Organic spring mix was $1.99 for 12 ounces -- or $2.65 a pound -- far less than at Costco. Both had use-by dates of Feb. 10. A 5-pound box of Spanish clementines was $3.49 -- by far the lowest price of the season.

A 1-pound package of large, Sunset-brand, herbicide-free tomatoes was $1.50. A bunch of radishes was 50 cents. I had to pass up a lot of  other bargains -- my refrigerator and freezer are bulging as it is. 

Despite the sub-freezing weather, there was a beautiful display of produce outside Brother's, 327 E. Railway Ave., but all I needed were lemons (four for $1). Olives are only $1.99 a pound. This store also carries a good selection of Middle Eastern food, such as imported tahini sauce, fava beans, hummus and so forth.

Then I drove over to Main Street, lined with Turkish and Middle Eastern restaurants, shawarma shops and markets, to shop at Nouri's and Fattal's bakeries, two longtime Syrian rivals I have patronized for decades.They are at 999 and 975-77 Main St., respectively, and both have their own parking lots and carry so much more than just bread.

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At Nouri's, I found three liters of Greek extra-virgin olive oil for $17.99, among bottles and tins  from Syria, Lebanon and Turkey. At Fattal's, I picked up five cans of Moroccan sardines in spicy oil at 99 cents each and large, store-made spinach pies ($8.99 for six).

A big thank you to Chuck.