A few good buys at ShopRite's Can Can Sale and at Super H Mart

At the Super H Mart in Ridgefield on Sunday, king whiting, front, and red snapper, both wild caught, were $3.99 and $4.99 a pound, respectively. Whole porgy (not shown) were only $2.99 a pound.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Now you see it, now you don't.

That seems to be the nature of sales in such supermarkets as ShopRite in Paramus and Super H Mart in Ridgefield.

At the Paramus ShopRite, the second week of the Summer Can Can Sale doesn't offer the same deals as last week.

On Friday, I used a Super Coupon I clipped from a flier to purchase three 28-bottle packs of Poland Spring for $10 with the store card and the purchase of $10 in other items.

My other purchases were Bing Cherries from Washington State for $1.67 a pound, two 1-pound packages of Luigi Vitelli Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli at $1.25 each and a 3-pound bag of Organic Sweet Potatoes for $5.99. 

We used a second Super Coupon to buy three more 28-bottle packs of Poland Spring for $10 at the Englewood ShopRite.

The Summer Can Can flier that came with Sunday's paper no longer offers the Poland Spring deal.

And the Paramus ShopRite last week didn't repeat the deal on six pints of New Jersey Blueberries that I purchased for $6.99 on July 10.

H Mart -- a week later

On Sunday, I found the usually good prices on fresh fish at the Super H Mart in Ridgefield.

I bought two wild-caught whole king whiting that weighed about 2.5 pound each ($3.99 a pound).

My wife cut them into about eight pieces, and seasoned, floured and pan fried them.

Whiting is a mild-tasting fish that flakes beautifully, and the central spine is just about the only bone you have to deal with.

Baby Mustard Greens or Gaichoy were 88 cents a pound, a discount of 10 cents a pound, and two heads of red-leaf lettuce were 99 cents or half-price.

I wanted to buy another large, heavy watermelon like the one I got a week earlier for $6.49, but all of those I saw were smaller and the price went up a dollar per melon.

The produce section of the Super H Mart, the Korean chain's biggest store in Bergen County.

Super H Mart makes its own cabbage kimchi and sells several bottled brands, but I prefer to go to Arirang Kimchee, which specializes in cabbage, cucumber and other kimchi, at H&Y Marketplace, Ridgefield, not far from Super H Mart.

Details

ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east at Forest Avenue, Paramus; 1-201-291-4180. Open 7 days.

Super H Mart, 321 Broad Ave., Ridgefield; 1-201-943-9600. Open 7 days.

Arirang Kimchee, 1 Remsen Place, Ridgefield; 1-201-313-7975. Call for hours.

Can Can Sale isn't worth an exclamation point

There were more packs of Adirondack Seltzer elsewhere at ShopRite in Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

It's time to stock up on Adirondack Seltzer.

But I didn't find a lot of other bargains today -- the start of the 2012 Summer Can Can Sale! at ShopRite, which may no longer be entitled to use the exclamation point in its store flier.

The 12-can packs of Adirondack Seltezer are $1.99 each, a discount of $1.80, and they are actually cheaper than 12-can packs of teeth-rotting Pepsi (5 for $11).

Each pack contains a dozen 12-ounce cans of seltzer, which is available plain and in Lemon-Lime and other flavors. It is sodium and calorie free.

I just so happen to be on my last 12 pack of Adirondack Mandarin Orange Seltzer purchased at the previous Can Can Sale.

I also picked up 2 liters of  ShopRite 100% Italian Extra-Virgin Olive Oil for $4.99 each, compared to $5.99 a liter at Trader Joe's.

That's a discount of $3 a liter. ShopRite also sells a blend of extra-virgin olive oil from several countries, but the Italian product is preferable.

The 10th anniversary Summer Can Can Sale is expected to run through July 21.

Years ago, I stocked up on canned Red Salmon from Alaska during the Can Can Sale, but one look at the prices for a large can tells you it's no longer part of the promotion.

I found only pricey Canadian lobsters at the Hackensack ShopRite on South River Street instead of cheaper ones from Maine, where an oversupply was keeping prices down.

Costco organic eggs

Costco Wholesale's Organic Brown Eggs come 24 in a package.

An organic egg with sun-dried tomato and Parmigiano Reggiano cheese.

Large Brown Organic Eggs from Costco Wholesale are $6.79 for 2 dozen.

They are cage free and contain neither antibiotics nor growth hormones. 

And they are delicious, especially sunny side up, when you break the yolk and mix it with brown rice.

Update: In 2016, Costco lowered the price for 2 dozen cage-free organic eggs to $5.99.