Day in and day out, food shoppers love to hate the H Mart in Little Ferry

At the H Mart on Bergen Turnpike in Little Ferry, two of the biggest complaints among shoppers are the potholes and mini lake of water in the parking lot, above, and the dual wheelchair ramps customers must use to reach the entrance, below.

Inside, the shabby entrance way, below, wouldn't be out of place in the third world.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Food shopping can be good exercise, especially if you park your car far from the store entrance.

At the H Mart in Little Ferry, the Korean management doesn't give you much choice. 

On Sunday, the parking lot was flooded from a recent snowfall, and I didn't want to splash through the water in my car, which I had had cleaned the day before.

Employees say H Mart doesn't own the property, and can't force the landlord to repair the parking lot.

Korean specialties

Still, I shop at this H Mart -- the shabbiest major supermarket in North Jersey -- for fresh fish, a wide selection of fresh Asian greens, fruit and California-grown white rice, usually at low prices, and because it is relatively close to my home.

I also love such prepared Korean specialties as stewed pollack, japchae and kimbap, though prices for them have risen dramatically in the past year or so.

The weekends also mean free samples of seafood, noodles and other items, but they tend to come and go at the whim of the managers or you might be scolded for taking more than one piece of a grilled rice-flour pancake.

Many complaints

Shoppers have complained about the Little Ferry H Mart on Yelp:

A woman from Palm Harbor, Fla., said this about her visit in December:

"I'm giving this place three stars because they are smaller than the other HMARTS I have been to. I'm not sure if it was just me, but I couldn't find their prepared foods. I feel like this location definitely needs a renovation as it looks exactly the same as it did fifteen years ago. Their selection is okay but again not the best. I would only recommend coming here if it is the closest Korean market to you, and there is no way you can go to another location. As for me, I don't think I would ever be returning to this location."

A man from Rutherford visited last April and praised only the fruit:

"I think they use The H-Mart parking lot for the filming of 'Battle of Stalingrad', craters, drowning pools with dead sea gulls floating, decaying desolation everywhere to go along with the rundown exterior of the H-Mart building, which itself still contains the closed down hulk of the old Valley Fair department store. Than you need to climb a giant ramp to enter the store, past a dingy liquor store and then, and then, then you find yourself in a oases of colorful fresh fruits. Korean Melons and Pears, Japanese Persimmons, Dragon fruit. Kumquats, Chinese Litchi and Star fruit. Beautiful just beautiful.
This is the best part of the market. After this, it begins to run down again and if you walk to the other end you have the fishy smelling fish market. BLAH.
Who is running this place? Only the produce manager cares; the only reason I come here is for the fruits."

All the other Bergen County supermarkets in the Korean chain (Fort Lee, Ridgefield and Englewood) are newer or have been renovated.

And there have been rumors for the last couple of years that a new store and food court will be built in the vacant half of the sprawling former Valley Fair building at 360 Bergen Turnpike, Little Ferry.

But so far, H Mart has only announced that a new store will open on Route 17 north in Paramus.

Still, there have been signs of construction on the Little Ferry building.

Work on the enormous former Valley Fair building began last year, above and below, but so far appears to be confined to the foundation, which looks like it was built on stilts to avoid floodwaters.

Shoppers put up with the Little Ferry H Mart in hopes of finding bargains on produce, such as two heads of red-leaf lettuce for 99 cents, above.

A 5-pound box of Spanish Clementines was $3.99 on Dec. 4, but on Sunday, the price was back to $7.99. The day before, Whole Foods Market in Closter also was selling a 5-pound box of clementines for $7.99. A 15-pound bag of California-grown Kokuho Yellow Label Rice was $9.99 at H Mart.

Korean-style Stewed Alaskan Pollack is a long-time favorite, but I was alarmed to see for the first time that monosodium glutamate, a controversial ingredient, is being added to the prepared fish dish I brought home on Sunday from the Little Ferry H Mart. Jinga of Queens, N.Y., also is adding corn syrup to the pollack (see label below), so I'll have to look for the dish from another outside Korean food company.

A Costco with no parking problems, no crowds, no waiting to check out

Costco Wholesale members who fight for a parking space, then fight the crowds inside the store, fantasize about shopping in a near-empty warehouse, such as the one shown above and below.

This warehouse even has a food court with 18-inch pizzas and all of the other Costco favorites you find elsewhere.

Editor's note: We prepare most of our meals at home, so I'm still waiting for the one food store in northern New Jersey that has organics and everything else at great prices. Meanwhile, I continue to make the rounds of my favorites, including Costco Wholesale, H Mart and ShopRite.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

You died and went to Costco Wholesale shopping heaven in Hackensack, N.J.

That sums up the experience of walking into a Costco warehouse where you'll encounter only a handful of other customers and cashiers waiting to check out your purchases.

This warehouse closed in October 2015, when a bigger and far busier Costco, plus a gas station, opened in the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center off of busy Route 46.

Five months later, a renovated Hackensack warehouse opened as a Costco Business Center, where the focus is on such small businesses as restaurants and caterers, and delivers their orders.

That's why the parking lot and the store are such a pleasure.

The old food court also was renovated, but you won't find a pharmacy, optical services, photo department, tires, clothing or a separate store with wine.

True. The selection is limited. 

But you can pick up produce, eggs, milk, bread, water, snack bars, candy and many other items stocked by a regular Costco Wholesale.

Instead of fighting the crowds at the Teterboro Costco on Saturday afternoon, I dashed out to the Hackensack warehouse for:

One of the best salads in the world, Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix ($4.79 for a 1-pound package); incomparable Campari Tomatoes ($5.49 for 2 pounds), 6 pounds of large Bosc Pears ($6.99), 2.5 pounds of Starbucks French Roast Coffee Beans ($15.49 with an instant coupon), and KIND snack bars ($18.99).

The Costco Wholesale Business Center in Hackensack carries hothouse-grown Campari Tomatoes from both Canada and Mexico. They prove winter tomatoes don't have to be watery or mealy or both. For a real treat, pop one whole into you mouth and bite into it.

The Business Center also carries 22-ounce jars of Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto, a refrigerated product. Here, I dressed organic whole wheat pasta with pesto and organic pine nuts, and washed them down with a glass of Kirkland Signature Malbec, a red wine from Argentina.

After my pasta, I enjoyed a salad of triple-washed Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, including peppery arugula, dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

 

The Costco Wholesale Business Center at 80 S. River St. in Hackensack is open until 6 p.m. on weekdays, 4 p.m. on Saturdays and closes on Sundays. It's also closer to my home than the new Teterboro warehouse.

Although the H Mart supermarket in Little Ferry is as shabby as ever, managers have added dividers in the fresh fish case, as well as new signs, above and below. On Sunday, the store had no heat, so a free sample of hot noodle soup with fish cakes was greatly appreciated.

An employee acknowledged the new signs are missing a required piece of information -- whether the fish is wild or farmed -- and said the store will be remedying that. I bought three whole wild-caught red snappers for pan frying at home, and munched on free seafood samples at a nearby counter while my fish was cleaned.

I also bought Organic Brown Shimeji Mushrooms.

At the Little Ferry H Mart, the price of a 5-pound box of Spanish Clementines has fluctuated -- from $7.99 on Nov. 6 to $3.99 on Dec. 4, above, and to $5.99 on Sunday.

At the ShopRite in Paramus this afternoon, 1-liter bottles of Alonia-brand Extra Virgin Olive Oil from Spain were only $3.99 each, an unusually low price for an EVOO that isn't a blend from several countries. I bought three bottles with a best-by date of January 2019 for dressing salads, adding to pasta sauces and eating with bread. 

The ShopRite in Paramus, at 224 Route 4 east, also is accessible from Forest Avenue.

Amid the widely publicized adulteration of some extra-virgin olive oils in Italy, the price of this heart-healthy oil has risen dramatically, and producers have been shrinking the traditional 1-liter bottle and 3-liter tin, and selling what are called Mediterranean blends of EVOOs from several countries, including Greece, Spain, Tunisia and Portugal. Above, Colavita "100% Certified Italian" Extra-Virgin Olive was $14.99 for less than a full liter at the Paramus ShopRite.

A blend of extra-virgin olive oils was $7.99 for a half-liter bottle. A full liter is 33.8 ounces.

ShopRite says it imports extra-virgin olive oil made from Italian-grown olives. Here, a 1-liter bottle was $8.99, but I've seen it on sale for $6.99.

'Eat fish and live longer' is a year-round mantra, not just for my birthday

A hearty frittata layers slices of fresh tomato, boiled organic sweet potato and Costco Wholesale's wild Alaskan smoked sockeye salmon in a seasoned egg-white mixture. I added roasted green salsa in the last few minutes of cooking under the broiler.

My pasta-and-eggs breakfast on Saturday included a thick wedge of wild-salmon frittata and leftover organic whole wheat pasta with anchovies, sardines and sliced garlic.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Thanks to an abundance of wild-caught seafood -- fresh, smoked, salted and frozen -- I've been able to completely avoid eating meat and poultry for more than 6 years.

I rely mostly on fresh skinless-and-boneless fillets from Iceland sold at Costco Wholesale for $7.99 or $8.99 a pound, fresh whole fish at H Mart that sell for as little as $1.99 and $2.99 a pound, and wild-caught Gulf Shrimp from Whole Foods Market.

Don't overlook canned seafood, such as sardines and anchovies, those mighty little fish that can turn a simple bottled marinara into a heart-healthy dressing for organic whole-wheat pasta.

For dinner on Monday night, I enjoyed a handmade Maryland-style lump-meat crab cake from Phillips Seafood Restaurants, sold frozen at Costco Wholesale (six 3-ounce crab cakes were $16.99).

Costco also sells frozen fillets, including wild sockeye salmon from Alaska and mahi-mahi.

If you buy wild-caught seafood, you won't have to be concerned about the antibiotics, growth hormones and low-quality feed used to raise animals on the factory farms that supply the vast majority of the nation's supermarkets and restaurants.

The Jamaican national dish, Ackee & Saltfish, is made with salted cod, a fruit called ackee, and sweet and hot peppers, here served with a non-traditional side dish, sweet potatoes mashed with extra-virgin olive oil.

At Seafood Gourmet in Maywood on Saturday night, I splurged on a 2.5 pound lobster to celebrate my birthday ($48.40). I asked for it steamed, but the blackened shells at the claws suggest the crustacean was broiled, and it was overcooked.

Birthday dinner

If you love fresh, wild-caught seafood, no local restaurant can match Seafood Gourmet in Maywood, which is both a fresh-fish market with lots of prepared food to go and a restaurant.

But when the 38-seat dining room is nearly full, as it was Saturday night, there can be a long wait for your entree, and the kitchen may overcook your favorite seafood.

That's what happened with the 2.5-pound lobster I ordered steamed; the blackened shell looked like the crustacean was left under a broiler too long.

My wife complained the kitchen also overcooked the shrimp in the dinner special both she and my mother-in-law ordered:

Seafood Festival -- wild shrimp, lobster meat and crab meat tossed in a sherry wine cream sauce served over imported fettuccine noodles ($26 each with a cup of soup or salad).

A half-dozen oysters were the perfect appetizer ($14), above. Below, the salad that came with the lobster.

I also received this side dish of sauteed spinach.

My son ordered Seafood Gourmet's Catch of the Day, Red Snapper and Manila Clams over very thin spaghetti in an Amatriciana Sauce, a spicy dressing usually made with cured pork jowl or pancetta ($25).

We drank a bottle of Kirkland Signature Asolo Prosecco, a sparkling white wine from Italy ($6.99 at Costco Wholesale in Wayne).

Seafood Gourmet is at 103 W. Pleasant Ave., Maywood; 201-843-8558. BYO, closed Sundays, free street parking. Reservations recommended, especially for dinner. Website: Fish Market-Restaurant

Most of the fish you see in the market is served in the restaurant. 

On Friday morning, my wife took me to The Golden Grill, a family restaurant in Teaneck that serves breakfast and lunch 7 days. My favorite is a $7 Egg Special with broiled whiting fillet and home fries (hold the toast), above.

My wife's Spanish Omelette with toast and potatoes was $7.95.

Everything tastes better with this Mexican hot sauce.

The Golden Grill is at 1379 Queen Anne Road, Teaneck; 201-837-1078. Open 7 days, 6 a.m. to 3:30 p.m. Free parking on street or in rear lot.

Most seating at The Golden Grill is in booths.

On the way home Friday morning, we stopped at Annapurna Indian Grocery, 561 Cedar Lane in Teaneck, for spice mixtures used to prepare fish, called Fish Masala ($2.49 each), above and below.

A few doors away we picked up a menu for an Indian restaurant that serves both vegetarian and non-vegetarian dishes, above.

Our Sunday dinner was pan-fried whole wild-caught Porgy from H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike in Little Ferry ($1.99 a pound). Four porgies (averaging more than 1 pound each) were $8.84.

I was tempted to ask the fish monger to fillet wild-caught Albacore Tuna ($2.99 a pound), but didn't think other members of the family would go for them. Large Bluefish also were $2.99 a pound.

Enjoying homemade pesto, pan-fried fish, pasta with sardines and more

Homemade pesto -- basil from my garden, garlic, grated cheese, pine nuts, salt and extra-virgin olive oil -- is a savory accent on a wedge of sweet-potato frittata.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Fragrant basil leaves growing abundantly in my garden are just a distance memory, but I still have one decent portion of homemade pesto in the freezer.

Although pesto is most commonly used as a dressing for pasta, it's versatile enough to spread on a sandwich or to accent a fish fillet just off the grill.

I also use it in omelets and on frittatas. 

Until Costco Wholesale unveiled Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto in 2013, I always made my own pesto in large batches using a blender recipe that could be frozen before the addition of grated cheese.

You'll find the recipe here: 

How to enjoy pesto without pasta

Now that my plants stand withered from the summer heat, I'll return to enjoying Costco's refrigerated pesto, which uses basil leaves from Italy.

Season one carton or 16 ounces of liquid egg whites mixed with grated cheese before adding the mixture to a 10-inch preheated pan with olive oil. As the crust sets, you can add sweet potato slices, boiled separately until you can pierce them with a fork. Then, move the non-stick pan into the broiler until the crust browns (about 15 minutes at a low broiler setting).

Pesto, which requires no heating, can be added to a frittata after it is removed from the oven. I also added crushed Aleppo pepper.

I used homemade pesto and organic pignoli nuts to dress an 8.8-ounce package of Delverde-brand Tagliatelle Nests with Spinach from Italy. These mouth-filling noodles take only about 5 minutes to reach al-dente perfection. I use unsalted water because there is plenty of sodium in homemade or Costco pesto.

A 10-inch egg-white omelet can be stuffed with Costco's smoked wild salmon, pesto and Mexican-style salsa, all sold under the Kirkland Signature house label. I made this omelet with my own pesto.

I had my omelet for breakfast with a baked sweet potato and grilled Chinese eggplant.

I thought I had found a good buy on wild-caught Gulf Shrimp at H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike in Little Ferry, above and below, but when I turned over the bag, the ingredients included salt and sodium bisulfite, a preservative. I passed.

An unusual item at the Little Ferry H Mart is jackfruit, sold in large pieces for around $5 to $6. If you buy one, make sure you refrigerate it when you get home.

I rely on the Korean supermarket for fresh whole fish at low prices, such as this porgy my wife seasoned and pan fried in olive oil ($2.99 a pound). Three porgies came in under $10. I also picked up baby mustard greens, which were on sale for 78 cents a pound.

Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti from ShopRite in Paramus dressed in Victoria Marinara, Moroccan sardines and fresh cherry tomatoes. I added a little extra-virgin olive oil and a few ounces of red wine to the sauce, plus dried Italian herbs and red-pepper flakes.

A heart-healthy dinner for four with leftovers: A 1-pound box of whole-wheat pasta, a 40-ounce jar of marinara and three or four cans of sardines, mashed with a fork before you add them to the sauce. I left a few ounces of sauce in the bottle and used them to poach two organic eggs for breakfast the next day.

Leftover whole-wheat pasta is a great bread substitute at breakfast.

Dozens of free samples, including the full-fat cheeses I rarely buy, are available at Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St. in Englewood, above and below.

I had a hard time resisting marinated cherry size fresh mozzarella, left, and sampled three with a toothpick.

On Friday, I hit the jackpot with one of Jerry's restaurant-quality take-out dinners made with a soft-shell crab. The complete dinner included string beans, pasta, a stuffed mushroom and a cucumber salad, marked down to $5.99 after 4 p.m.

Other Meals To Go were built around a grouper fillet, chicken picata or sausage. 

At ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east at Forest Avenue in Paramus, the store-brand of Greek Non-fat Yogurt with Fruit was on sale this week (75 cents each), and seemed a better buy than other brands, including Oikos, Chobani and Fage. At home, I opened one of the ShopRite cups, below, but found it wasn't full. The cup holds 8 ounces, but contains only 5.3 ounces of thick yogurt and fruit, the net weight listed on the side.

Tropicana Pure Premium Orange Juice carries a badge from the Non-GMO Project, telling consumers the oranges weren't grown using genetically modified seed. 

At the Costco Wholesale Business Center, 80 South River St. in Hackensack, a 2-pound bag of triple-washed kale was $3.89 on Thursday. A week earlier, I saw the same bag of kale being sold at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro for $5.39 -- a dramatic example of how prices can vary at the two warehouses.