Fairway Market's wild salmon costs $7 more a pound than Costco's

At Fairway Market in Paramus, fresh wild Copper River salmon fillet was $21.99 a pound on Tuesday, compared to $14.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack for fresh sockeye from the same Alaskan river, below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I stopped at Fairway Market in Paramus on Tuesday to check out two promotions on the purchase of groceries -- the store is offering a $10 off coupon and American Express will give you $15 statement credit on your registered card.

In both cases, you have to spend $75 in a single visit.

I haven't visited Fairway since last October, and I noticed a number of changes:

More fixtures in the produce department and a new wine department make it harder to maneuver your cart through the store.

"Big Sale" signs are everywhere, but as with Fairway's fresh wild Alaskan salmon for $21.99 a pound, you'll find few bargains or even good buys.

After looking around the store on Tuesday, I decided I couldn't spend $75 on groceries to meet the American Express threshhold.

Instead, I purchased three pounds of coffee beans and had them ground Turkish style: 

French Roast ($7.99 a pound); Brazilian Arabica, a dark roast (on sale for $6.99 a pound); and Fairway Supreme Blend (also $7.99 a pound).

I brewed two small pots with the Fairway Blend, a light-to-medium roast, and no one in the family liked the weak brew that resulted.

Today, I returned the Fairway Supreme Blend for a full refund.

I grilled Costco Wholesae's sockeye salmon fillets on a grill pan placed over two burners on my stove, skin side down, then turned them. I added mint and oregano from the garden, Aleppo pepper and fresh lime juice.

Tonight, I had a leftover portion of wild salmon over salad, including green- and red-leaf lettuces from the garden. It was delicious right out of the refrigerator.

A long wait for fresh wild salmon

The fresh wild salmon we enjoyed on Tuesday night was the first we've had from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack since the season ended last October.

The 1.57-pound fillet yielded six serving portions, and they grilled on the stove top in under 10 minutes.

Although I cooked them through, they remained juicy.

There's no shortage of hype in Fairway Market's produce department.

A liter of pricey Fairway Extra Virgin Olive Oil is labeled "imported from Italy," but if you look carefully, you'll discover it is a blend that might include oil from Spain and Greece.

At Fairway, you won't find any bottles of red wine for $5 or under, as you will at Whole Foods Market, also in Paramus.

The $7.99 Fairway Supreme Blend, front, contains beans that are noticeably lighter than darker roasts in barrels next to it. The resulting brew is pretty weak.

No Fairway would be no loss

I could care less if Fairway's store in Paramus remains open.

The small chain, based in Manhattan, delayed the opening of a New Jersey store for many years, fearing it couldn't compete with low-price leader ShopRite.

Then, Fairway chose the least popular shopping center in Paramus, the so-called Fashion Center, for its first store.

Now, Fairway's competition is Costco Wholesale, Whole Foods Market and H Mart, the Korean supermarket chain, and compared to them, it falls short in so many ways.

Wild salmon with pesto and Jersey peaches

Image via Wikipedia

The fresh sockeye salmon fillets at Costco in Hackensack are from Canada.

Editor's note: When I initially published this recipe, I forgot to mention I sprayed cooking oil on the non-stick grill.

After a break, fresh wild salmon fillets are back on the menu at my house.


The skin-on sockeye salmon I bought today at Costco Wholesale in Hackensack was $8.99 a pound and from Canada, compared to $7.99 a pound for its American cousins.


In another departure, I cooked the salmon on a non-stick, All-Clad grill sprayed with cooking oil, instead of baking it in the oven.  


I cut a 1.36-pound fillet into five nice portions and left it on the cutting board, squeezing on fresh lemon juice, spreading pesto on each piece with a knife and topping them with roughly chopped herbs from my garden -- basil, oregano, rosemary and mint.


I preheated the grill, which covers two burners on the stove, over medium-high heat, then turned that down to medium before I slid the salmon pieces, skin side down, off the cutting board. They hit with a sizzle.


I took two fragrant Jersey peaches off the kitchen counter and cut them into about 12 sections, placing them on the grill with the fish and turning them after a few minutes, exposing grill marks.


I didn't turn the fish, but cooked it for about 10 minutes for rare. Next time, I'll cook the fish at a higher heat: medium-high.


I was in such a rush to try them, I only had time to throw some organic spring mix into a bowl for a simple side salad.


Pre-heating the grill meant the skin didn't stick, but took on a nice color and crunch, and the fish broke away cleanly on my fork.


The fatty fish, pesto, fresh herbs, and intensely sweet peach sections went together well, and I also liked the salty note from the Pecorino Romano sheep's-milk cheese I used in the thick, olive-oil-based sauce.


Sweet, savory and delicious. You can't ask for more than that.