A coffee bar's nutritious food is a big lure

A Personal (Half) Steak Sandwich on whole-wheat bread, above, at Aroma Espresso Bar in Paramus, an Israeli chain's first U.S. branch outside of Manhattan and Miami.

Aroma's Vegetable Jambalaya delivers a chewy, spicy meal in a bowl without the usual sausage.

An Israeli import is showing more established coffee shops how to lure and keep customers with great food.

With a white, red and black color scheme, Aroma Espresso Bar at the Garden State Plaza shopping center in Paramus resembles an outdoor cafe brought indoors.

The menu offers 13 sandwiches, 10 salads, all-day breakfast, fresh juices, pastries and, of course, lots of coffee, including Turkish Coffee ($2.25), which I've never seen before outside of South Paterson's Middle Eastern food district.

Take that, Starbucks. 

Customers order at the counter, right, then wait for their food or drinks near the kitchen, left. Sandwiches are prepared to order, according to the menu.

  

Just the names of some of the salads make my mouth water: Sweet Potato Lentil, Warm Garbanzo, Organic Quinoa and Halumi. Salads are $7 and up.

Besides Turkish Coffee, Aroma Espresso Bar's Israeli origins are evident in such menu offerings as  Hot Sachlav Pudding, described as "a sweet, milk-based pudding flavored with rose water and garnished with coconut walnuts and cinnamon" ($3.95).

Shakshuka, one of the breakfasts, is a mild tomato, onion and pepper sauce topped with 2 eggs sunny side up, served with tahini sauce, and bread and butter ($9.90).

On Tuesday, my teenage son raved about the spicy Steak Sandwich ($6.50 for half), and he convinced my wife, who arrived later, to order one, too. 

I loved the thick, chewy, meat-free Vegetable Jambalaya, one of the soups of the day ($4.95).

When I ordered my wife's half sandwich and the soup at the same time, I got a discount for a "double-up combo," paying $10.50 for both instead of $11.45.  

The menu is so extensive, Aroma Espresso Bar qualifies as another casual-dining option at the Paramus mall, which has a California Pizza Kitchen and a Zinburger nearby.

But Aroma's menu seems to offer more healthy fare than the others, and lots of vegetarian or non-meat dishes. 



Aroma Espresso Bar, Westfield Garden State Plaza, 1 Garden State Plaza (use J.C. Penney entrance), Paramus; 201-556-1700. Closed Sundays. 

Web site: Wake up and smell the Turkish Coffee   

My cup runneth over

I was really fortunate to be invited last night to one of my favorite Middle Eastern restaurants by an acquaintance, who also was nice enough to pick up the bill.

My 12-year-old son tagged along for a great meal at Aleppo Restaurant in Paterson, including one of his favorite appetizers, arayes, seasoned meat sandwiched between two halves of toasted pocket bread. But he also loved the lamb-and-beef kabobs with bread, both soaked in an imported sweet-sour cherry sauce.

The five of us started with a bunch of appetizers besides arayes: pureed lentil soup with cumin and lemon, stuffed grape leaves, raw kibbe, meat pies, spicy muhammara dip, small, donut-shaped falafel with tehina sauce, and salad.

Our entrees were the kabobs with cherry sauce and charcoal-grilled quail, whole red snapper and chicken served over red rice and peas with yogurt. For dessert, we shared a dense honey cake.

I made sure to stop first at Fattal's Bakery to pick up Syrian bread, sardines (99 cents to $1.29), olives ($2.99 a pound) and two kinds of sour-salty thyme mixture, called za'atar. The one from Lebanon  (Salloum Bros., $3.49 a pound) contains thyme, sumac, sesame seeds and salt; the one from Syria (Al-Amin, $3.39 a pound) adds cumin, fennel and anise.

I sprinkle za'atar over sliced tomatoes and eggs or press it onto chicken pieces before roasting. You can also dip bread into olive oil and the thyme mixture (store-bought za'atar bread is in photo above).


Aleppo Restaurant, 939 Main St., Paterson; 
973-977-2244. No alcohol permitted.

Fattal's Bakery, 975 Main St., Paterson; 
(973) 742-7125
 

Hummus Restaurant in Paterson

Image via Wikipedia

We spent a quiet New Year's Eve last night, starting off with an early dinner at Hummus, a small Turkish restaurant on Main Street in Paterson's bustling Middle Eastern bazaar.

This wasn't the first time I visited Hummus, but I was eager to try some of the regional dishes highlighted in a July 10, 2009, review in The Record that incorrectly called the South Paterson neighborhood "Little Istanbul." As it turned out, the review was off the mark about the food as well. (Photo shows Paterson.)

Don't get me wrong. We had a fine meal, but you will find tastier fare and better value across the street at Aleppo, a Syrian restaurant at Main and Thomas streets.

For one thing, I found Hummus' signature hummus somewhat bland, tasting neither of lemon juice or garlic, the same reaction I had to the hummus at Hamsa in Tenafly last year. I prefer even the canned Lebanese hummus with tehina I buy at Fattal's down the street that calls for the addition of lemon juice, garlic and olive oil. But we especially liked the puffy Turkish bread, served sliced and hot with a crackling crust, and a chopped salad with feta cheese. The dip called ezme lacked punch.

Our entrees were  lamb kebabs with pistachio nuts and small, sun-dried tomatoes and eggplants stuffed with meat and rice. Two glasses of strong tea ended my meal.

 Hummus Restaurant, 942 Main St., Paterson,
973-247-0066, open seven days.
Hummus Turkish Restaurant