Still missing at Costco Wholesale; comforting dim sum on a rainy day

MORE SMOKED WILD FISH: Now you can get Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon two ways at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro. I found this 1.5-pound package of fully cooked salmon fillet among the cans of tuna, pink salmon and sardines.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites still are missing in action at Costco Wholesale, and shoppers hoping to cut down on cholesterol have to settle for less product at a higher price.

We haven't seen the house brand of liquid Egg Whites since July, when we were first forced to settle for Egg Beaters 100% Egg Whites.

With Egg Beaters, you get four 16-ounce cartons for $8.99, compared to six 16-ounce cartons of Kirkland Signature 100% Egg Whites for $9.99.

In response to a previous post on the absence of Kirkland Signature 2% Lactose-Free Milk, Costco said on Facebook the product still is available at "select locations," including the Clifton warehouse store.

If I were to drive out to Clifton, I would be saving 33 cents per half-gallon on lactose-free milk, compared to ShopRite.

But the Costco in Clifton is indistinguishable from the new Teterboro warehouse, so that would be a waste of time.

Smoked salmon

I'm a big fan of Kirkland Signature Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon, a refrigerated product that is great stuffed in omelets or eaten out of hand rolled with cheese and greens and dipped in Dijon mustard.

On Thursday, I found the 1-pound package at a lower price, $14.89. Try to beat that at another store.

Now, Costco has a new smoked wild salmon product, a thicker fillet that is fully cooked, but doesn't need refrigeration until it is opened.

The 1.5 pound package was $15.97. 

Besides salmon, ingredients include salt, brown sugar and natural wood smoke, and the best-by date on my package is June 23, 2021.

The refrigerated smoked salmon lists the same ingredients, but a 2-ounce serving of the new product contains less sodium.

All of the other smoked salmon at Costco is farmed, artificially colored fish.

Wild Atlantic cod

Costco is a reliable source for wild-caught skinless-and-boneless fish fillets, but I'm partial to thick, meaty Atlantic Cod, which was only $7.99 a pound.

On Friday night, I heated up a jar of Roasted Salsa Verde from Whole Foods Market, added the juice of two limes, and when it started to boil, placed serving pieces of seasoned cod into the large pan and covered it.

The fish was ready in about 7 minutes.

Meanwhile, in a large pot, I heated up 2 cups of Kirkland Signature Organic Chicken Stock, filled the pot with triple-washed Kale, adding sea salt and other seasonings, and covered the pot.

Following a simple recipe on the bag, I stirred the chopped kale once or twice until it cooked down and turned a bright green.

After 5 minutes, the tough stems were tender, and I turned off the fire, leaving it covered until the fish was ready.

A 2-pound bag from Nature's Greens was only $3.79 at Costco.

Compared to the old Hackensack warehouse, Teterboro has a much larger refrigerated room for bags of kale, organic spring mix, berries, sweet corn, mushrooms and  other produce.

But fresh herbs are conspicuously absent.

This week, I chopped up a bunch of fresh coriander from ShopRite, and used it to garnish omelets and the salsa-simmered cod I made on Friday night.

FAR FROM A GRIND: Kirkland Signature Himalayan Pink Salt, called "the purest salt in the world," reappeared at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro. The 13-ounce container with a grinder was $3.99.

CAN'T BEAT BREAKFAST: A simple Egg Beaters omelet, stuffed with grated cheese and organic Mexican-style salsa, is part of a hearty breakfast that substitutes organic brown rice and mashed organic sweet potatoes for bread. The side dish is sauteed baby spinach.

FISH AND KALE: Fresh wild Atlantic cod cooks quickly in Roasted Salsa Verde from Whole Foods Market in Paramus, and fresh chopped kale is a great side dish.

SKIMPING ON FISH EGGS: Super Har Gow Jumbo Shrimp Dumplings are one of the many dim sum available at Lan Garden on Route 46 in Ridgefield. The centerpiece of fish eggs is much smaller than in the past.

Dim sum on 46

Thursday was one of those miserable days when heavy rain made driving anywhere a chore, especially on hated Route 46 in northern New Jersey.

Before going to Costco, which is just off the highway in Teterboro, I decided to stop for some comforting dim sum at Lan Garden, a Chinese restaurant at 88 Route 46 west in Ridgefield.

With the closing of Silver Pond Seafood Restaurant in Fort Lee, Lan Garden is the only reliable place near my home for Hong Kong-style dim sum.

The last time I had dim sum at Silver Pond, in July 2012, we were charged 95 cents a person for tea.

At Lan Garden, dim sum is available all day and into the night, not just at lunch, and tea is free.

Prices have stayed the same since my last dim-sum meal in April, but one of my favorites, four Super Har Gow Jumbo Shrimp Dumplings, came with a much smaller serving of fish eggs ($6.95).

The dim-sum menu offers about 50 items, including congee, listed as Small ($3.50), Medium ($4.95), Large ($5.95), X-Large ($6.95) and Super ($8.95).

A meal of four dim-sum selections runs about $30 for two, including tip and tax. 

I ate the shrimp dumplings in the dining room, watching speeding cars splash past the restaurant, and ordered three other items to go to share with my wife at home.

The manager blamed the rain for why he had only a few customers at midday Thursday.

A Lan Garden menu offers lunch specials for $8.95 to $11.95 with soup, rice and tea on weekdays from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m., except holidays.

Seafood Dumpling with Spinach (three for $5.95) was one of the dim sum I ordered to go.

Pan Fried Chive Cake (three for $4.95).

Pan Fried Shrimp Bean Curd Roll ($5.95).

Details

Web site: 

Lan Garden 88: Seafood and Dim Sum

Update: In only a few weeks, Aroma Rice Cooker proves its superiority

NEAT TRICK: The Aroma Professional Rice Cooker has a neat solution for what to do with the spatula server when your rice is cooking or the appliance is just sitting on the counter.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In a random poll, owners of the Aroma Professional Rice Cooker say it makes great rice.

Not too soft, not too hard is the way my wife describes the finished product.

When I walked into my son's college apartment last Friday, I saw an Aroma cooker sitting on the kitchen counter.

The Panasonic SR-G10G 5.5 Cup Automatic Rice Cooker ($17.91) we gave him was out of the way, on top of the cupboard.

He said he only uses the 20-cup Aroma 3000SB cooker, which belongs to one of his roommates, because it makes great rice.

I especially got a kick out of seeing the Aroma spatula server inserted into a holder on the side of the cooker, just below the cover -- a feature I didn't notice on the one we bought at Costco Wholesale for only $29.99.

We also purchased a second one to give to relatives.

Another great feature of the Aroma cooker is BPA-free cooking surfaces.

See:

$29.99 rice cooker beats more expensive ones

FORM OVER FUNCTION: In the more expensive Panasonic SR-DF 181 Rice Cooker, the spatula server doesn't fit inside the steamer basket, above, and causes problems if you try to store it in the inner pot, below.

With the spatula server stored in the inner pot ...

... the steamer basket doesn't seat properly ...

... and the hinged cover doesn't close.

ALL WET: In the 10-cup Panasonic cooker, condensation from preparing rice accumulates inside the channel, top, and has to be blotted up before storing the cooker.

Paradox at Costco: Walk through the entire warehouse to save energy

GOOD EXERCISE: The most efficient way to shop at the bigger Costco Wholesale in Teterboro is to walk each and every aisle, picking up items on your list as you see them, instead of going on individual searches, which takes more time and energy.

HOT AND COLD: After walking aisles with packaged, canned and bottled goods, turn your attention to the section of the store with fresh food in refrigerated cases and rooms, such as seafood and salads, and again, walk each and every aisle, picking up items on your list. Then, it's time to check out.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I've conquered Costco Wholesale's huge new warehouse in Teterboro.

I returned to the Teterboro warehouse on Friday, eight days after a previous visit that exhausted me as I tried to track down items on my shopping list in a totally unfamiliar setting.

Then, I gave up without finding a bouquet of flowers my wife wanted, and when I asked another customer for directions to the bottled water, he pointed to the farthest corner of the huge warehouse.

This time, I walked every aisle and picked up items as I saw them.

Once a week

This year, we reduced our Costco shopping trips to once a week.

We can make the most of those visits by getting in and out as quickly as possible, with a minimum of effort, but we still rely on Costco for most of our food purchases.

On Friday, I spent 1 hour and 15 minutes in the Teterboro warehouse, stopping first at Optical just inside the entrance to pick up two pairs of new glasses I had ordered.

Then, I started to walk the aisles of packaged, bottled and canned goods until I got to Pharmacy at the other end of the warehouse.

There, I picked up a prescription I had called into the smaller Hackensack warehouse before it closed on Oct. 13, about 21 years after it first opened.

Fresh fish

I left the section of the Teterboro warehouse with refrigerated fresh food for last on Friday. 

A highlight was picking up two fresh whole red snappers, which were wild caught in Nicaragua and scaled ($6.59 a pound).

At home, my wife seasoned the fish, rubbed minced fresh garlic inside the body and head, and cut them in half to fit into a pan with hot olive oil.

She fried them for about 7 minutes on each side, and they made a delicious dinner with a splash of fresh lime juice. 

Other purchases

On my stroll through the aisles, I picked up my favorite snack, one that allows me to skip lunch, Nature's Bakery Fig Bar, 36 2-ounce twin packs that are non-GMO, dairy free, kosher and made without high-fructose corn syrup ($10.99).

A 1-pound package of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was a low $4.29, compared to $6.99 in a supermarket.

A 96-ounce jug of Lactaid 2% lactose-free milk was $4.99, a dollar less than at ShopRite.

I returned a grinder of Kirkland Signature Sea Salt ($2.79), because it didn't contain iodide (an important nutrient), but the label on the shaker of Kirkland Signature Mediterranean Sea Salt I bought doesn't indicate whether it does or doesn't ($3.49).  

Limited parking

The new Costco opened on Oct. 14 in Teterboro Landing, a shopping center off of Route 46 that hasn't been completed, and parking is tight.

On Friday, I arrived a little after 10 in the morning, and parked at the back of the lot, which had plenty of empty spaces.

An hour and 15 minutes later, when I rolled my shopping cart to my car, the lot appeared to be full.

One big improvement is that lazy shoppers waiting for spaces nearest the warehouse door in Teterboro don't block the parking lot's entrance road, as they often did in Hackensack.

Costco Wholesale, warehouse and gas station, 2 Teterboro Landing Drive, Teterboro, across from Teterboro Airport; 201-596-7001.

NEW IN TETERBORO: Costco's oversized shopping carts are sheltered at the new warehouse in Teterboro, as well as stored outside in parking-lot corrals.

WE SHALL RETURN: The Teterboro warehouse has a separate entrance for returns. There was no such thing at the old Hackensack warehouse, where the line for returns often blocked the exit.

GROWING SELECTION: Among items I didn't see in the smaller Hackensack warehouse are these Chanterelle Mushrooms from Canada. The woman whose head is visible in the photo methodically examined more than a dozen containers of berries before selecting one. 

BIGGER IS BETTER: California Pomegranates are back in 9 pound boxes for $14.99. At 1.5 pounds each, they are much bigger than pomegranates sold at ShopRite and other supermarkets.

OH SAY CAN YOU SEE: A view of the Teterboro warehouse from the Pharmacy. In the distance is Optical, which is near the entrance.

I'LL PASS: These previously frozen Farmed Black Tiger Prawn are from Vietnam, but Costco provides no information on where or how the large shrimp are raised. I stopped buying them more than a year ago, and wait until I can find wild-caught shrimp at other stores, including H Mart and Whole Foods Market.

Costco also has sold bigger Farmed Black Tiger Prawn for about $15 a pound.

GO APE: Organic bananas ($1.99 for 3 pounds) are a better deal than the conventional bananas sold at Costco ($1.39 for 3 pounds).

SAY CHEESE: Costco is still selling aged Parmigiano Reggiano from Italy, one of the world's greatest cheeses, for a low $8.49 a pound, a few dollars less per pound than before. 

CLEAN BREAK: With Kirkland Signature Dishwasher Pacs, you get more for less money than Cascade Complete Acton Pacs, even with an instant coupon, below. And they do a better job.

With Cascade Action Pacs, I would sometimes find grit on the back of plates, a problem I don't have with the dishwasher packs from Kirkland Signature, Costco's private label.

NAME THAT EGG: The sign says Pete and Gerry's Free Range Brown Eggs, but the package label says Nellie's Free Range Eggs. Anyway, at two dozen for $6.49, it makes more sense to buy 24 Kirkland Signature Organic Brown Eggs, also free range, for $6.99. Costco still sells white eggs from caged chickens years after the company pledged to stop doing so.