When you buy an Italian takeout dinner at Jerry's, appetizers are free

At Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood on Friday afternoon, there were free samples at stations throughout the store, including hard and soft cheeses, bread, crackers and focaccia, above and below.

At other stations on Friday, customers could sample farm-fresh milk, extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar. On Fridays and Saturdays, you can try Italian wines. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

When I'm in Englewood once or twice a week, I always try to stop at Jerry's Gourmet & More for a delicious Italian takeout dinner at an unbeatable price.

I usually don't get to the specialty food store until late in the afternoon, so I make a beeline for the refrigerated case holding the complete dinners, called Meals To Go, which are marked down to $5.99 from $7.99 after 4 p.m., if there are any left.

On Friday afternoon, I  could choose between dinners with grilled branzino or tilapia, along with vegetable dumplings, cooked carrots with garlic; and two salads, snap peas and fava beans with walnuts.

I grabbed a branzino dinner, and then set out to have a few appetizers, courtesy of Jerry's, before paying and driving home.

I tried a half-dozen cheeses, three or four slivers of focaccia, farm milk and crackers.

If it's from Italy and you can eat it or drink it, you usually can find it at Jerry's, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood (201-871-7108).

Jerry's Meals To Go also are available on weekends.

One of the samples was a spicy Wasabi Gouda ($4.99 a pound), a different take on green cheese.

 

Jerry's own Neapolitan-style Pizza Margherita was $5.99.

After 4 on Friday afternoon, the remaining Meals To Go were marked down with a $5.99 sticker. The restaurant-quality dinners are said to be prepared from Jerry's family recipes.

At home, I plated the Grilled Branzino with Balsamico and Cherry Tomatoes; vegetable dumplings, snap peas and carrots, and reheated them for 2 minutes in a microwave. I also poured a glass of red wine.

My takeout dinner also included a Fava Bean Salad with fresh fava, walnuts, arugula, fennel, radish and radicchio, and I ate that cold from a separate plate. This is a great salad, but I've never seen it on a restaurant menu.

I also purchased a 20-ounce container of pitted olives for only $3.99.

Takeout from Homung Nangmyun in Closter and Jerry's in Englewood

The Shrimp and Vegetable Dumplings from Homung Nangmyun Restaurant in Closter were still warm when I got them home.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Closter Commons is the other shopping center in the wealthy Bergen County community, the one that isn't a big, noisy redevelopment zone, and it has a pronounced Korean accent.

That's good for me and anyone else who enjoys Korean food and services, such as the haircut I get once a month at Closter Dongyang Barber Shop, complete with a head vacuuming that usually puts me to sleep ($20).

A few steps away is Perfect 20 Nails & Spa, where you can follow the haircut with a manicure and pedicure, including a no-charge back massage.

Then there is a small restaurant, Homung Nangmyun, which specializes in nangmyun, chewy cold noodles in an icy beef broth.

For non-meat eaters, the restaurant serves tasty Shrimp and Vegetable Dumplings to eat in or take out (10 for $9.45).

The other dish on the place-mat menu that caught my eye is a Soft-Tofu Stew with clams and other seafood, served with several complimentary side dishes ($12.95).

You'll also find Gateaux, a Korean bakery and cafe, in one of the bigger spaces, usually filled with Korean housewives catching up on the latest community gossip.

Other businesses include a Korean-Chinese restaurant that I've never tried. 

Closter Commons

All businesses are at 570 Piermont Road, Closter.

Homung Nangmyun Restaurant, 201-750-1010,

closed Tuesdays.

Dongyang Barber Shop, 201-767-4541, closed Wednesdays.

Perfect 20 Nails and Spa, 201-750-7370, closed Sundays.

At Homung Nangmyun Restaurant, I was told a takeout order of dumplings would take 15 minutes, and given a cup of hot tea while I waited. 

I'm guessing Homung Nangmyun has about 30 seats, and if you are by yourself and want to eat in, you might be seated with another lone diner.

The House Salad from Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood includes a small cup of Italian dressing made with mustard, anchovies, garlic, vinegar and olive oil.

Salad, salmon and more

On my weekly visit to Jerry's Gourmet & More (410 S. Dean St. in Englewood), I picked up a wonderful dinner salad for me and a complete, restaurant-quality meal with salmon, beet salad and crabmeat-stuffed zucchini for my wife ($5.99 each).

The next night, the Eggplant Parmigiana side dish from her dinner made a light meal for me with some leftover whole-wheat pasta.

This Baked Salmon Dinner and other Meals To Go are marked down to $5.99 from $7.99 after 4 p.m., but make sure you remind your cashier about the discount, if the container doesn't carry a $5.99 price tag.

Jerry's has an incredible selection of Italian wines.

I saw one bottle of Italian wine for $6.99, but this Montepulciano d'Abruzzo elicited sticker shock.