Catherine Lombardi meets George Benson in New Brunswick

"Cumare" Nancy's Stuffed Calamari with Spinach at Catherine Lombardi, an Italian-American restaurant in New Brunswick.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We battled horrendous rush-hour traffic on the New Jersey Turnpike, but the payoff was a wonderful meal of Italian-American comfort food, and the guitar and vocal magic of jazz giant George Benson.

New Brunswick, a vibrant center for the arts, has a lot of great restaurants, and we chose Catherine Lombardi on the second floor of Stage Left, just down the street from the 8 p.m. concert at the State Theater.

Late Friday afternoon, we figured we could drive from our home to the restaurant in an hour, but it took nearly 90 minutes to cover less than 45 miles.

Arugula and Parmigiano Reggiano Salad.

Cold antipasto and salads

We started with a trio of cold appetizers for $10 -- chilled marinated fresh sardines and white anchovies in olive oil, and cubes of Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese aged 1 year.

The sardines were fresh, and the anchovies weren't overly salted, perfect with crusts of the dinner rolls in the bread basket.

The menu lists 18 cold antipasti -- three for $10, six for $16 and nine for $20. You could make a meal of them.

We moved onto salads, which are listed last on the menu and usually served last, as is the custom in Italy.

I loved the tart, lemony dressing of my peppery Arugula and Parmigiano Reggiano Salad ($10.95), this one with cheese aged 24 months and shaved to show off its full flavor.

My wife enjoyed her Caesar Salad (also $10.95), but left the croutons.

A trio of cold appetizers -- fresh sardines, white anchovies and Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese.

Baby squid, meatballs, wine

Our entrees were Spaghetti & Meatballs in Marinara ($19.95), and "Cumare" Nancy's Stuffed Calamari with Spinach, a small school of tender baby squid stuffed with a creamy mixture of bread crumbs, olives and cheese that squirted out when I cut into the tubes (also $19.95).

My wife couldn't finish her entree, and when we asked the waiter to pack it up, he said the restaurant would hold the food in the refrigerator until after our concert.

A carafe holding 8 ounces of a young Chianti was $12, though a better choice would have been the smoother Chianti Classico.

Spaghetti & Meatballs in Marinara.

We were seated at one of the tables for two in front of the fireplace.

The busy bar held champagne on ice and a Spanish ham whose thin slices, we were told, would melt in our mouths.

Earnest servers in dark suits and ties had a hard time keeping up after the dining room filled up.

Coffee and service

We didn't bother looking at the dessert menu, and ordered coffee, which was terrific with a little milk.

But getting a server's attention for a refill proved difficult once the dining room filled up with customers and noise.

The racket from the bar and tables reminded us of Cassie's, a family oriented pizzeria we once patronized in Englewood, where we loved the food, but not the unending din.

We had a wonderful meal at Carherine Lombardi, notwithstanding our first impression of the restaurant -- a dirty, musty smelling carpet on the stairs we had to climb to the dining room.

Catherine Lombardi Restaurant, 5 Livingston St., New Brunswick; 1-732-828-4444. Reservations  recommended.

Web site: Italian-American Home Cooking

George Benson

Given his energy and musicianship, it's hard to believe jazz guitarist George Benson is 71 years old.

At the State Theater on Friday night, he belted out one tune after another in front of his driving band for about 90 minutes, including encores.

The sextet includes a rare congera, a woman who plays conga and bongo drums, and percussion instruments, and provides high-decibel background vocals.

But Benson's voice and the words of his songs often were obscured by his band's electrified instruments, and I missed him singing, accompanied only by his guitar.

Our tickets were free -- one of the perks for joining the Jazz Leadership Society at WBGO-FM, the jazz station in Newark.

Parking tip

The State Theater, a former vaudeville and silent movie palace at 15 Livingston Ave. in New Brunswick, recommends patrons park in the Morris Street Parking Deck a couple of blocks away.

Be sure to buy a $9 parking voucher at the theater or you will have to stand on a long line of more than 100 people we saw paying for their parking at the garage after the concert.

The voucher gives you up to 12 hours of parking, and allows you to go straight to your car, head for the exit, pay and leave.

See: State Theater Directions & Parking

How to get free coffee at a Starbucks store

A company owned Starbucks in Queens.

A licensed Starbucks in a service area of the New Jersey Turnpike.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

Not all Starbucks stores are created equal, and if you know the difference, you might be treated to a free cup of coffee or an espresso drink.

During a stopover at Miami International Airport last week, I caught up with my nephew at a Starbucks operated by HMSHost, the American travel-services subsidiary of an Italian company, Autogrill.

My nephew ordered a venti iced green tea, I had a tall coffee of the day, he had a slice of cake and I selected a tray of vegetables with ranch dressing.

His cake was dry (he got up to get a fresher slice), and my selection couldn't have held more than 3 or 4 ounces of vegetables.

When I looked at the credit-card receipt later, the total of $16.91 seemed high. The "1 Tray Veggie" cost $7.65.

This morning, I called Starbucks' customer service and was told licensed stores, such as the one at the airport in Miami, can charge what they please.

There are other differences, as I've discovered when trying to redeem a promotion, use rewards on my Starbucks Card or recharge the card.

Several weeks ago, at the HMSHost-operated Starbucks on the New Jersey Turnpike, I tried to take advantage of a half-price espresso drink promotion.

I showed the employee who took my order the promotion code on my iPhone, but she conferred with her supervisor, who was helping deal with a crush of customers.

I was told they couldn't honor the promotion, but gave me the espresso drink for free. 

And that wasn't the first time I got free coffee when I tried to use my Starbucks Rewards. It happened once before in Manhattan.

The Starbucks customer-service employee I spoke with today couldn't tell me how many stores are licensed.

But company stores, she said, usually are free-standing.

In Miami, the licensed store couldn't recharge my Starbucks Card -- I had a balance of $3.07 -- so I had to use a credit card to pay.

Coming soon:

A slice of heaven 

on a lush mountain in Jamaica.

 

Why all of us are confused about nutrition

This idealized farm house on the side of Perdue chicken trucks is part of a campaign by that processor and many other companies to trick the public into thinking they are buying food that has been raised or grown naturally on small family farms.

I received a comment from a reader, Emily Wesley, who said:

"You have written a nice blog, and I have learned a lot from you after reading this. 

"Still, you can add some more information about these organic foods sold in markets by discussing their benefits. 

"I am a concerned person on what I eat and in everything I do."

It's no surprise that, like many of us, Emily wants more information about the nutritional value of organic and other food.

I don't hold myself out as an expert, but I do know where she and others can go for unbiased information about food.

It's not the mainstream media, which depend so heavily on advertising from food processors, supermarkets and restaurants.

Forget the papers

It certainly isn't my local daily newspaper, which employs a restaurant reviewer who is so addicted to sugar she occasionally rates the desserts higher than the entrees, and rarely eats salad.

And don't bother with the Food Channel, which is also beholden to advertisers.

Recall recent news reports on a study that supposedly exposed the "empty calories" in alcoholic drinks and compared them unfavorably with such sugary drinks as Coke and Pepsi.  

Red wine may have "few nutrients," but it has proven health benefits, doesn't rot your teeth and isn't linked to the obesity epidemic, as sugary drinks are.

So, does the issue of "empty calories" really matter or is this just another clueless wire-service reporter trying to hype the latest study?


Winking at Twinkies


After Hostess, the company that makes some of the worst processed food known to man, looked like it was going out of business, National Public Radio actually called Twinkies and Ding Dongs "iconic foods."

I feel bad for all the workers who might be joining the unemployment lines.

But if Twinkies can by any stretch of the imagination be called "iconic," then they are another symbol of the obesity epidemic and all that is wrong with the marketing of junk food.  

In fact, "Ding Dong" sounds like a character in a porn movie.

   

What you could look like, if you eat Twinkies and other junk food.

Road to ruin 

On the New Jersey Turnpike, travelers pay for the privilege of stopping for fried chicken, low-quality fast-food hamburgers and other unhealthy food.

They fill the tables in the food courts of rest areas, gorging on greasy french fries and ignoring the few healthy choices, such as salads at an Italian-American concession or the fruit-and-cheese plate at Starbucks.

Watching them eat is almost enough to turn my stomach.

On Monday, I stopped for a cup of coffee on the turnpike, and noticed that the Asian Indian man at the next table was eating a salad he had brought with him.

He said he runs the sunglass concession, and always brings his own lunch. As a Hindu, he doesn't eat meat.

And if he did, he certainly wouldn't be eating any of the garbage served at Nathan's or Burger King.

Cholesterol, he said, clogs coronary arteries and weakens vision.

Most of the food choices on the New Jersey Turnpike are unhealthy.

  

Honest food reporting 

If you want honest, unbiased reporting on food, nutrition, supermarkets and related issues, Consumer Reports is one of the few places to find it.

Consumer Reports magazine and a newsletter, Consumer Reports on Health, are filled with information you will have a hard time finding anywhere else.

They are published by the non-profit Consumers Union, and they don't accept advertising.

Consumers Union recently launched a campaign to get a big food retailer, Trader Joe's, to carry only antibiotic-free meat and poultry.

Have you seen anything on the campaign in the mainstream media? Of course not.  

Jumbo shrimp and mixed vegetables in fresh garlic from Zen Kitchen in Teaneck.

Leftover vegetables made a great side dish at breakfast the next day.

 

Personal tips

You can go a long way toward improving your health by giving up meat and poultry altogether.

Eat as much fruit and vegetables as possible, even non-organic; choose the kind of whole grains you find in brown rice and whole-wheat pasta; buy wild-caught, low-mercury fish, and low-fat milk and cheese; and favor ethnic restaurants that serve tofu and lots of vegetables.

I gave up bread, pizza, meat and poultry, and lost more than 40 pounds. I go to the gym, and walk as much as possible. 

And I have a glass of red wine with dinner two or three nights a week.

I feel great, and look forward to every meal.    

Monks stop to refuel on turnpike

Three men who appeared to be monks stopped for coffee and pastry last week at Starbucks in the Vince Lombardi Service Area of the New Jersey Turnpike in Ridgefield.