At Aroma Espresso Bar and Simply Vietnamese

At Aroma Espresso Bar in Paramus, Shakshuka is described as a mild tomato, onion, and pepper sauce topped with 2 eggs sunny side up and parsley. The menu says it is served with tahini, but I didn't see or taste any.

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

I had been looking forward to trying Shakshuka, a saucy egg dish from Israel that is one of the all-day breakfasts at Aroma Espresso Bar in Paramus.

But when I ordered it last Thursday, it came without the tahini sauce described on the menu -- the second straight glitch I've experienced with Aroma's food service.

The Aroma Espresso Bar at Westfield Garden State Plaza is the only New Jersey branch of an Israeli chain with other shops in Manhattan, Maryland and Florida.

The single employee I've seen in the Paramus kitchen doesn't seem up to the task of including everything described on the menu.

And the manager appears to spend a lot of his time walking around or sitting at empty tables, all the while chatting on a cellphone.

I recall ordering the Organic Quinoa Salad ($8.50), and wondering why it was so tasteless. 

I got the salad, but not the Lemon Olive Oil Dressing, which is supposed to be served on the side. 

Shakshuka is a great dish ($8.90), but why doesn't Aroma serve pita, the Hebrew word for Middle Eastern pocket bread?

A spoon is ideal for enjoying all that sauce. Still, I thought the dish could use hummus.

Corner tables at Aroma Espresso Bar.

When I got home and looked at my copy of the menu, I saw the dish is supposed to be served with tahini.

Shakshuka comes with bread and butter, but I didn't want them, and asked if I could get some veggies instead (they're listed on menu for 50 cents extra).

No substitutions are allowed, said the employee who took my order.

So, I paid $1.25 more for feta cheese, but it came in a small bowl, not sprinkled over the top of the warm eggs and sauce.

My wife enjoyed a Steak Sandwich with mayo, jalapenos, sauteed onion and red pepper, and Swiss cheese ($6.50 for half), and a 20-ounce Lemonade ($4).

"Chik chak" is an Israeli phrase meaning "pronto," "quickly" or "chop chop," but I've found the kitchen at Aroma Espresso Bar in Paramus doesn't know it.

After you place your order and pay at the register, be prepared to wait until your name is called for you to pick up your coffee or food at the counter.


Aroma Espresso Bar, 1 Garden State Plaza, Paramus; 1-201-556-1700.

Seniors get a cool reception at the AMC movie theaters in another part of the Paramus mall. Discounts on the $11.25 tickets are available only after 4 p.m. and all day Tuesdays.

Simply Vietnamese

We had no service or food problems on Saturday night at Simply Vietnamese in Tenafly, one of the half-dozen Asian restaurants we return to time and again.

I love Chinese, Thai, Korean, Japanese and Vietnamese restaurants for their abundance of seafood and vegetables.

At Simply Vietnamese in Tenafly, a steaming bowl of Chef's Noodle Soup -- a combination of shrimp, pork, chicken, noodles and greens ($14).

On Saturday night a little after 6, Peter greeted us and told us to take any table. 

We sat in the quieter of the two dining rooms, the original one with the entrance.

Look for the word "Saigon" in red neon hanging in the window -- a vestige of the old Englewood restaurant.

Outdoor seating under umbrellas also was available. 

Peter said Chef-Owner K.T. Tran was in the kitchen, too busy to come out and say hello, so we sent her our regards.

An appetizer of Summer Rolls with Shrimp ($8.50). Translucent rice paper is stuffed with rice noodles, lettuce, cucumber and carrot, and served with a mildly spicy peanut sauce.

Grilled Pork Chops in a caramelized lemongrass sauce ($16.50).

Broiled Basa Fillet, a farmed catfish from Vietnam, is served on a bed of greens with either a sweet-spicy ginger-scallion sauce, above, or with curry coconut milk ($19.50). Brown rice is available for $2 more.

Free Shrimp Chips with a spicy dipping sauce.

Simply Vietnamese is a BYO.

Simply Vietnamese, 1 Highwood Ave., Tenafly; 201-568-7770. Open 7 days for lunch and dinner. BYO, free street parking.

From a communist country to a Costco near you

Costco Wholesale's Kirkland Signature Ground Saigon Cinnamon label is superimposed on a map of Vietnam, a communist country. A run-on sentence with a typo describes the cinnamon trees and the "unmatched" sweet-hot flavor of the cinnamon.

 

I've been using Costco Wholesale's Ground Saigon Cinnamon for years, and love the special flavor it gives to homemade lattes, hot cereal and salt-free roasted almonds.

I also buy Costco's farmed Black Tiger Shrimp from Vietnam, a communist country, and I know that schools of farmed, catfish-like basa fillet land on U.S. shores every year.

I don't really have a problem with Costco selling food from a communist country.

But I wish Costco and other U.S. retailers would sell products from another communist government, the one on the island of Cuba.

The trade embargo imposed on Cuba in the Kennedy administration means any U.S. company that tries to sell island products faces big financial penalties.

And customs officials likely would confiscate and destroy any Cuban products brought home by American tourists returning from the Caribbean's biggest island.

Cuba is known for its wonderful rum, but also produces excellent coffee, and it's the only place I know where you can find 100% mango juice in grocery stores.

Americans buy fresh, wild-caught red snapper from South America, but are denied Cuban pargo, lobster and other seafood.   

Here's the only reason to dine out in Tenafly

At Simply Vietnamese in Tenafly, complimentary shrimp chips and hot sauce will awaken your taste buds for the bright flavors of appetizers, soups and entrees.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

As an Englewood resident for decades, I had little reason to drive to the neighboring town of Tenafly for something to eat.

Tenafly is a wealthier town, but in the past, its lack of diversity made for a lackluster restaurant scene.

I did have a couple of wonderful meals at the Green Door Cafe, which served organic and naturally raised or grown food before it was closed by a fire.

Then, in 2010, Chef K.T. Tran moved her popular restaurant from its cramped quarters on Palisade Avenue in Englewood to Highwood Avenue in Tenafly, and renamed it Simply Vietnamese.

It has proven such a big hit, she expanded and closed Mo' Pho, her soup-focused restaurant in Fort Lee, to devote full time to the venture.

Now, we drive to Tenafly from Hackensack for a regular fix of this delicious, reasonably priced food.

My favorite entree is basa fillet in a spicy curry coconut-milk sauce.

Appetizers include New Zealand Mussels; Vietnamese Salad, right; and a Summer Roll.

A bowl of Pho noodle soup with pork and a plate of garnishes.

Chef/Owner K.T. Tran taking a break from cooking.

  

On May 1, we had another terrific meal at Simply Vietnamese, where great service is provided by waiters Joe and Peter, and the rest of the staff.

I started with those green-lip mussels from New Zealand in a wasabi-ginger sauce, and had some Vietnamese Salad, chopped vegetables and mango dressed in fish sauce ($8.95 each).

The rest of my family shared a special, a Summer Roll with Chicken and Asian Pear with dipping sauces ($8.95).

My entree of basa, a farmed catfish from Vietnam, was served over a bed of bok choy in a spicy coconut-milk sauce, with a side of brown rice ($19). 

I took more than a third of the generous portion home, and ate it for breakfast the next day.

For meat eaters

My wife had Pho, an anise-flavored noodle soup that is the specialty of the house; my son chose the House Noodle Soup with Ribs, which has thicker noodles ($12 each); and my mother-in-law-enjoyed Garlic Beef ($17).

The two simply decorated dining rooms have walls painted a deep red. 

Unfortunately, like too many restaurants in North Jersey, the menu doesn't tell you much about the origin of the poultry, meat and seafood served here.

Still, once you've eaten at the Vietnamese BYO, it likely will be the only reason to dine out in Tenafly.

Korean restaurants

Down the street from Simply Vietnamese is a Korean-style Chinese restaurant with an unusually large, fish-shaped window, and on Washington Street, you'll find a Korean fried-chicken restaurant, Unidentified Flying Chicken.

Washington Street also has a kosher deli, a pizzeria; Chez Cheese, a gourmet shop with homemade soups for takeout, and other food businesses.

Simply Vietnamese, 1 Highwood Ave., Tenafly; 201-568-7770. BYO, free street parking. 

Hong Bo Suk is a Korean-Chinese restaurant in Tenafly.

Simply delicious Vietnamese food

Image via Wikipedia

Fish, bok choy (above) and rice make a great one-dish meal.

It's been more than a year since we had our first meal at Simply Vietnamese in Tenafly, and on Saturday evening, we discovered three one-dish dinners that will keep us coming back for more.


When we walked up to the entrance, we found Chef/Owner K.T. Tran having an early dinner with friends at an outdoor table. And inside, we learned the restaurant has expanded and doubled in size.


The new room has the same red walls as the original, with Vietnamese accents here and there.


I chose the broiled basa fillet, which is a member of the catfish family farmed in Vietnam and Thailand ($19). I asked for the spicy version with a ginger-scallion sauce.


The generous fillet was served on a bed of leafy bok choy, and topped with carmelized onions and sweet pepper, as well as crisped onion, with a big bowl of white rice on the side. Beautiful.


What more could you ask for in one dish: tasty fish, greens and a starch. Brown rice ($2) and scallion rice with fried eggs ($4) also are available.


Joe The Waiter recommended his favorite, the House Noodle Soup with ribs ($12), to my 14-year-old son, who was wowed by the sweet, pork-infused chicken broth and how the meat fell off the bones of the slow-roasted pork ribs. He also enjoyed gnawing the soft bones and marrow.


My wife ordered the specialty of the house, pho soup, with its heady anise-scented broth, and asked for the shrimp version ($14). We've been eating Tran's pho since 2001, when she opened opened Saigon R in Englewood (closed in the summer of 2010) and Mo' Pho in Fort Lee.


The soups came with a garnish plate of crunchy bean sprouts, sliced jalapeno peppers, fresh cilantro and fresh lime, and there were hot, chili and oyster sauces on the table.


My family yells at me when I tell them what to order or suggest we share dishes, so I remained silent when my mother-in-law picked a Vietnamese Salad with shrimp ($11), expecting a Western salad with tomatoes. 


The dressing was made with fish sauce and peanuts were added to the cabbage, cucumber and carrot salad. She took most of the salad home.


We also shared an appetizer, translucent rice-paper summer rolls stuffed with vegetables and shrimp, with an unusual peanut-fish sauce for dipping ($8).


I thought I'd end my meal with a cup of Vietnamese drip coffee, which is served with sweet condensed milk (on the house). The small pot with a powder of coffee and hot water is placed directly over the cup.


I love strong coffee -- and this was one had bulging muscles -- but it kept me up, tossing and turning long after midnight.


Simply Vietnamese, 1 Highwood Plaza, Tenafly;
201-568-7770. BYO. Free street parking.

Dining out on four courses for only $10

Image via Wikipedia

The Habanero pepper is one of the hottest in the world.

You won't find this fine-dining restaurant in one of North Jersey's recession-ravaged downtowns or in a mall sandwiched between P.F. Chang's and Maggiano's Little Italy.

The service could be snappier, but all of the food we had at dinner on Thursday night was well-prepared and delicious -- from a sweet roasted-corn soup to a Boston lettuce salad to a terrific fish fillet in a coconut-Habanero sauce.

When we asked for the check, I saw $19 written on it for two meals, with no tax added, and left a $20 bill.

Welcome to The Bergen Room Restaurant on the campus of Bergen Community College in Paramus, where students in the restaurant, hotel and culinary program welcome the public, cook, wait on tables, and wash pots and pans -- all under the supervision of a restaurant veteran.

Thursday's meal was a "Taste of Latin Cuisine," and the food was a sophisticated version of the many Hispanic dishes I've enjoyed here and in the Caribbean.

My wife started with the thick corn soup and I chose an appetizer described on the menu as an "open empanada" -- a large green-plantain disc topped with pureed spinach and manchego cheese. Both were wonderful.

 

Donald Del Nero, an associate professor who stopped by our table a few time, said the broth for the soup came from cooking the cobs.

Refreshing salads of Boston leaf lettuce and frisee in a mango dressing followed. Rolls were studded with pumpkin seeds.

We both chose the same entree -- a farmed basa fillet in a mild coconut-Habanero sauce, served over yuca fries. A spicy, fresh mango salsa was served on the side. The tasty fillet is in the plant-eating catfish family.

Image by k-ideas via Flickr

Basa is a type of catfish native to Vietnam.

Also offered was a roasted chicken breast with "charred pineapple and red-chile sauce over cilantro-lime rice and black beans."

We're not dessert eaters, but my wife sampled two -- an ice cream parfait and a "flourless chocolate with saffron custard." I was stuffed without dessert, having left some of my fries on the plate.

At these prices, why complain? But we had some minor problems -- weak lemonade and coffee,  tasteless tomatoes with the salad, and yuca fries that could have been hotter. 

The surroundings couldn't be any drabber or more institutional, and a short in the speakers deprived us of music in the dining room, which is next to a large, professional kitchen.

Getting a reservation wasn't easy and seating is limited. I had to leave a few messages with my phone number before anyone called me back. There were about 30 to 35 diners on Thursday night, but I was told up to 60 people can be accommodated.

A friend who told me about The Bergen Room had dinner there on March 17, when a four-course Japanese meal was served. He was told to pay $10 a person, with no tip required.


I made a reservation the next day, but that call and others were never returned, and when we showed up on March 24, the restaurant was closed for spring break.

The Bergen Room Restaurant, in the Pitkin Education Center at Bergen Community College, 400 Paramus Road, Paramus; for reservations, call 201-447-7222.