Mini oyster festival at BCD Tofu, a sweet ending at Simply Vietnamese

A combo of Oyster Deluxe Rice (topped with Ginko Nuts and Seaweed) and Tofu Soup, above and below, was the Chef's Special on Saturday afternoon at BCD Tofu House in Fort Lee, a Korean restaurant that boasts a bigger menu than its North Jersey rivals.

I asked for my tofu soup with only seafood, including oysters, instead of the beef-seafood combination that comes with the Oyster Rice.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

Organic tofu, free side dishes that include a scrumptious fried fish and a varied menu are just three reasons BCD Tofu House in Fort Lee stands out among its Korean comfort-food competitors.

You pay a couple of dollars more for a complete meal of organic soft-tofu soup, fresh egg, complimentary side dishes and rice, but you get more ($11.99 at lunch). 

On Saturday, this oyster lover was drawn immediately to a Chef's Special -- a lunch combo of Oyster Deluxe Rice with Tofu Soup, plus seven side dishes, a belly busting meal I couldn't finish ($16.99 plus $1 for an all-seafood tofu soup).

My ravenous son also ordered too much:

The LA Gochujang Pork Combo -- marinated pork belly cooked in the kitchen with a spicy red-pepper paste, and Tofu Soup, but he asked for the standard size of soft-tofu soup and was charged a la carte ($20.99 plus $11.99) instead of the combo price of $18.99.

We took home leftovers, including a couple of wedges of the terrific Haemul Pajun or Seafood Pancake, which is made with squid, small shrimp and scallions ($9.99).

Seven side dishes, including crunchy broccoli, seaweed, cabbage kimchi and shredded radish, come with every meal.

The fried, batter-dipped yellow croaker is so popular extras cost $1 each, unlike the other side dishes, which are replenished for free.

In addition to side dishes, you get a fresh egg to crack into the bubbling broth of the soft-tofu soup.

Spicy LA Gochujang Pork.

BCD Tofu's rice-flour Seafood Pancake is one of the best I've ever had.

One of the bonuses of the Oyster Rice prepared in a hot stone bowl is a crunchy crust.

We encountered a short line on Saturday a little after noon. No reservations are taken. Parents can monitor the children's playroom from flat-screen TVs in the dining room.

BCD Tofu House is part of a Korean chain with restaurants in Los Angeles, New York and New Jersey. In Fort Lee, the restaurant is at 1640 Schlosser St., in the shopping center that once had a Barnes & Noble bookstore and cafe; 1-201-944-2340. Open 7 days, large parking lot, playroom for children.

As a loyal customer of Simply Vietnamese in Tenafly, I received a complimentary Vietnamese Coffee at the end of our meal last Tuesday. Strong black coffee drips into a glass with sweet condensed milk.

Simply Vietnamese

At Simply Vietnamese, my wife can't resist a bowl of Pho with Pork ($12), made with an anise-flavored broth that sets its apart from all other Asian noodle soups.

As for me, my weight has been creeping up lately, so I was trying to avoid all the carbs in the rice noodles.

I ate modestly -- an appetizer of Broiled New Zealand Mussels ($9.50), a side of Bok Choy sauteed in garlic sauce ($6.50) and a small bowl of brown rice ($2).

You get 10 green-lipped mussels with a wasabi-ginger sauce.

A side of Bok Choy comes with fresh cilantro.

I ate my brown rice and bok choy wth a spoon.

More fresh cilantro floats atop the beef broth in Pho with Pork, and it's also part of the garnish that comes on the side (with bean sprouts, fresh lime and sliced jalapeno pepper), below.

The addictive shrimp chips and chili sauce are complimentary.

Simply Vietnamese, 1 Highwood Ave., Tenafly, is a BYO; 1-201-568-7770. Open 7 days, free street parking.

In New Orleans, you really have to go out of your way to find a bad meal

When I'm in New Orleans, Acme Oyster House, a dimly lit, crowded and noisy dive in the French Quarter, is the first place I head to for a half-dozen plump, freshly shucked oysters from the nearby Gulf of Mexico ($8.99). Acme's Web site lists customers who eat 15 dozen oysters in one sitting (15 Dozen Club), but gives the title to a tourist from Illinois who managed to down 44 dozen at one sitting. 

When you don't read the menu description carefully, a half-dozen of Acme's chargrilled oysters turn out to be a guilty pleasure ($11.99). The bread is for sopping up their bath of herb butter sauce and grated cheese.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

NEW ORLEANS -- On my first visit in 1968, I discovered why this city's widely praised Creole and Cajun specialties taste so good.

Butter and cream are used liberally, and just about everything can be ordered fried. 

This month, I returned for my sixth visit, and tried to select my food carefully to agree with the heart- and brain-healthy diet I follow at home.

The good news for non-meat eaters is an abundance of fresh, wild-caught seafood from the Gulf of Mexico, rivers and bayous -- oysters, black drum fish, peppery crawfish tails and much more.

The bad news is that unless you order oysters on the half shell or grilled fish or go to one of the many Vietnamese restaurants, dishes usually come bathed in sauces that invariably contain butter or cream or both.

And those irresistible fried-oyster po-boy sandwiches are heavy on bread and unwanted carbs, though I allow myself one on every trip to what is certainly the tastiest city in the United States. 

The bottom line is you have to go out of your way to have a bad meal in New Orleans.

A glass of Sutter Home Cabernet Sauvignon is only $5 at Acme Oyster House.

Another great way to enjoy a freshly shucked Gulf oyster is Acme's Oyster Shooter. The oyster comes in a shot glass filled with vodka and hot sauce ($2.99). Our server said this Acme sells 5,000 to 10,000 oysters a day.

You'll usually find a line at Acme Oyster House, 724 Iberville St., in New Orleans' French Quarter (1-504-522-5973). A second Acme Oyster House is in the suburb of Metairie, but the one I usually patronized at the airport, before boarding a plane for home, has closed. Web site: New Orleans Seafood since 1910.

At Galatoire's, a French Quarter temple to Creole cuisine, many dishes are made with hollandaise, bechamel or meuniere sauces containing heavy cream or butter. Gumbos are made with roux -- a mixture of flour and butter or other fat. We steered clear.

The Italian Salad with anchovies and pitted olives at Mandina's, an Italian-American restaurant on Canal Street, is enough for three, though the iceberg lettuce and the limp, canned asparagus were disappointing ($11.50).

A simply grilled fillet of Black Drum Fish with potatoes was delicious and filling ($19.95), but the canned string beans were awful.

My wife ordered the Meatballs & Spaghetti, and they were some of the biggest I've ever seen ($14.50). She took home leftovers.

Our friend couldn't finish the Grilled Shrimp Plate ($17.95)

Italian immigration to New Orleans began after slavery was abolished in the United States. Mandina's Restaurant has been open since 1932. Originally, the building was operated as a grocery store, starting in 1898, by Sebastian Mandina from Palermo.

A full glass of Chianti was $9.

Mandina's, at 3800 Canal St., is in the Mid-City section of New Orleans (504) 482-9179. Web site: Mandina's New Orleans

At Doson Noodle House, a family owned Vietnamese restaurant on North Carrollton Avenue in New Orleans, these rolls made with shrimp and translucent rice paper are called Spring Rolls ($5.95). Other Vietnamese restaurants call them Summer Rolls. The peanut dipping sauce was spiked with hot chili sauce.

A large bowl of Pho with Beef, made with a fragrant anise-scented broth, is served with bean sprouts and fresh basil for garnish ($10.95)

A special of Flat Noodles with Shrimp, Broccoli and Bok Choy ($15.95), and a second dish of Noodles with Chicken ($12.95) came with a small bowl of delicious soup, below.

The no-frills Doson Noodle House is at 135 North Carrollton Ave., also in Mid-City New Orleans (504) 309-7283. No Web site.

At the Acme Oyster House, 3000 Veterans Highway in Metairie, three employees shucking fresh Gulf oysters worked hard to keep up with orders at the height of the dinner hour last Sunday (504-309-4056).

Next to the shuckers, two other employees work behind glass, chargrilling fresh oysters on the half shell after adding the herb butter sauce and grated cheese, left.

We ordered a dozen Gulf oysters on the half  shell ($13.99), and I split them with our friend, a New Orleans native.

This time, I ordered a half-dozen chargrilled oysters without the herb butter sauce ($11.99).

My entree of Black Drum Fish, which is similar to Redfish, couldn't have been better, especially the crunchy cooked vegetables that came on the side ($15.99).

Acme's Caesar Salad with Grilled Shrimp ($10.99).

Acme's Crawfish Cake ($8.99).

My last meal in New Orleans last Monday morning was this Shrimp Omelet with Creole Sauce ($9.50) at Betsy's Pancake House, a popular spot for breakfast and lunch that appeared in "Treme, the HBO series about a diverse group of New Orleans residents in the months after Hurricane Katrina.

In New Orleans, Mondays is the traditional day for soupy Red Beans and Rice. I asked the waitress at Betsy's to hold the grits and toast that came with my omelet, and to bring me a small bowl for $2 more, but ended up picking ham and bacon out of it.

My wife ordered Banana Nut Pancakes, hold the whipped cream ($6.25).

Our friend ordered the Breakfast Special available weekdays until 10:30 a.m. for $5.50, above and below: Two Eggs Any Style, Bacon and Grits, Choice of Toast or Pancakes.

Betsy's Pancake House, 2425 Canal St. in the Mid-City section of New Orleans, is where lawyers, police officers, city employees and others, black or white, working class or wealthy, gather for breakfast and lunch (504-822-0213). Open 7 a.m. to 2 p.m., closed Saturdays. No Web site.

A tasty dinner at Simply Vietnamese is the best Tenafly has to offer

Drip coffee with condensed sweet milk capped my New Year Eve's meal at Simply Vietnamese, still the only restaurant in Tenafly that is worth the detour.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

As we walked to our car on New Year's Eve in Tenafly, I looked around for dining options besides Simply Vietnamese, where we had just enjoyed a delicious dinner.

A block away, I saw an Asian Indian restaurant I knew nothing about.

Then, two deliverers came out of Mr. Wok, a second-floor Chinese restaurant that seems to have been open forever and now is called, Mr. Wok & Sushi.

I remember eating there once, never to return.

Down the block, a restaurant with an unusual fish-shaped window is probably the second or third to occupy the same space.

Years ago, when it was a spot for Korean-style Chinese food, I had lunch there, and saw a cockroach on the carpet.

One of the worse plates of hummus I ever had was served in a now-defunct spot in Tenafly, the pricey Hamsa.

For some strange reason, Tenafly has no appeal as a restaurant destination, despite all of its well-heeled residents.

There's far more variety and quality in neighboring Englewood, where Simply Vietnamese owner K.T. Tran operated Saigon R for many years before moving to a bigger space in Tenafly.

Maybe, there's something in the water.

And, perhaps, it's only a coincidence that nearly a decade ago, the publisher of northern New Jersey's major daily newspaper -- who lives in Tenafly -- folded the paper's award-winning Food section.

A great start to our late-afternoon meal was sharing a Vietnamese Salad ($7.50), crunchy cabbage, cucumber and carrots crowned with fresh herbs and peanuts, all in a sweet chili dressing.

My wife doesn't eat them, so I had another appetizer to myself, Broiled New Zealand Mussels in a wasabi-ginger sauce ($9.50).

Pho, the Vietnamese soup with a distinctive, anise-flavored beef broth, also is available with a vegetarian broth. My wife chose Pho with Pork ($12), which is served with bean sprouts, fresh herbs and hot peppers, below.

I should have stopped at sharing the salad and eating the mussels, but I ordered Steamed Asian Angel Hair rice thread noodles served with cooked vegetables, fresh herbs, cucumbers and red-leaf lettuce leaves for wrapping ($15.95). Unfortunately, this dish was a mess to eat, because the lettuce leaves were small and broken.

Complimentary Shrimp Chips and a spicy chili dipping sauce.

Simply Vietnamese is a BYO.

Details

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

Web site: Fine Vietnamese Cuisine