A bargain lunch but no surprises at a Greek temple to fresh seafood

An entree of Shrimp Saganaki, above, and a Mediterranean Meze Plate appetizer, below, were among the choices on the $29 price-fixed lunch menu at Estiatorio Milos, an expensive Greek fish house in midtown Manhattan.

The Meze Plate: Hummus, Tzatziki, Taramosalata, Spinach Pie, Greek Olives, Radish and Cucumber

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The New York City Restaurant Week lunch menu at Estiatorio Milos hasn't varied much since my first visit to the expensive Greek fish house in August 2011.

Then, a three-course lunch cost only $24.07, and one of the entrees you could choose on the limited menu was a thick lamb chop.

By August 2013, the same fixed-price lunch, featuring pretty much the same appetizers and entrees, went up to $25.

At the end of July, the price had jumped again -- to $29, plus tax and tip.

Last Thursday at Milos, the lamb chop was a $10 supplement, and you could even get Lobster Pasta in a light garlic tomato sauce for an extra $15.

All-year lunch menu

The Summer Restaurant Week promotion ended last Friday, but Milos serves this $29 three-course lunch year-round.

You might find other Manhattan restaurants extending the promotion until Labor Day. Restaurant Week returns in January.

The New York City Restaurant Week promotion began in 1992 at lunch only (3 courses for $19.92, plus tax and tip).

Each year, the price jumped 1 cent, but in 2010, the lunch went up to $24.07; in 2013, three courses cost $25. 

Last week, lunch for two at Milos cost $74.75, including tax and a 20% tip, but I paid with a registered American Express card and will be getting a $5 statement credit. 

My appetizer at Milos last week: Two perfectly grilled Canadian Scallops served with orange and mint salad. They were smaller than the scallops I was served in 2011.

The open kitchen at Milos boned, butterflied and grilled a whole Dorade Royale or Mediterranean Sea Bream, serving the wild-caught fish with steamed broccoli crown, and extra-virgin olive oil and capers.

My wife chose the Shrimp Saganaki with couscous, Mediterranean Meze Plate and Karidopita or Walnut Cake with ice cream for dessert.

My dessert was Fresh Fruit of the Season, including a wonderfully sweet slice of cantaloupe. Below, the fresh-fruit I was served in August 2013.

On Thursday, deep-sea Cardinal Prawns or Carabineros at $95 a pound were one of the choices from what Milos refers to as the restaurant's fish market, below.

If you love seafood, the display is a feast for the eyes. But who are the customers willing to pay $50, $60 and more for a pound of fresh fish or shellfish, if they aren't on an expense account? The a la carte menu says Milos will grill or fry fish, or serve it as sashimi or tartare.

Small Red Mullet were $61 a pound on Thursday.

We were seated in the dimly lit bar area of Milos, a cavernous space with plenty of exposed concrete, ceiling beams and electrical lines that do little to muffle noise. The wine cellar is on the second level, above right.

After you are seated, a server pours extra-virgin olive oil into a small bowl, snips leaves from an oregano plant on the table and takes both away. But this bottle of My Sister's Extra Virgin Olive Oil on the next table was easily within reach, and I used it once or twice.

A large basket of toasted bread disappeared quickly. We were offered more, but declined.

Estiatorio Milos at 125 W. 55th St. in Manhattan (between 6th and 7th avenues) occupies the first two or three floors of an office building. Milos has branches around the world, including a luxurious yacht called Milos at Sea. Website: The freshest fish on ice

Two can shop faster at Costco, another great fish dinner from Jerry's

The lot at the new, bigger Costco Wholesale in Teterboro appeared to be full less than an hour after the 10 a.m. opening on Friday, but there were plenty of parking spaces on the fringes.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Working together, me and my wife managed to get our weekly food shopping done at Costco Wholesale in about 30 minutes.

That's half of the time I spent on my first two visits to the new Teterboro warehouse, which opened last month.

The new Costco is far bigger than the Hackensack warehouse, with a separate cold room for milk, and three enormous refrigerated units for eggs, yogurt, frozen and prepared seafood, and other items.

I still think walking through the entire store and picking up items on your list as you see them is more efficient than just plunging into unfamiliar territory or going on individual searches.

On Friday, I stopped at the independent liquor store in the warehouse (with a separate entrance) to ask the price for a bottle of new Beaujolais, but my wife went ahead and I caught up to her in the produce section.

I didn't buy the French wine, which was between $8 and $9, a few dollars over my limit for a drinkable red.

Even though Friday's shopping trip was disorganized, we still managed to get in and out in close to a half-hour.

We spent about $185 on fresh and salted fish, smoked wild salmon, antibiotic-free chicken, organic eggs, lots of fresh conventional and organic produce, orange juice, lactose-free milk, peeled California garlic, guacamole and two dozen roses ($16.99).

We bought two fresh wild-caught red snappers from Panama that were nestled in ice at Costco's Seafood Road Show. They were 1.5 pound each and fully cleaned ($6.59 a pound). My wife prepared them for dinner Friday in closed aluminum-foil pouches with fresh lime juice, onions, sweet peppers and seasonings (40 minutes in a 400-degree oven). Delicious.

A wonderful piece of mahi mahi was the centerpiece of a takeout dinner from Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., Englewood.

Seafood dinners at a discount

I lucked out on Wednesday afternoon, when I stopped at Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood, and found five restaurant-quality Meals To Go in a refrigerated case, all seafood.

I picked up two, Mahi Mahi All'Acqua Pazza and Baked Grouper, at the discounted price of $5.99 each (after 4 p.m.)

My poached mahi mahi, with fresh tomato sauce, was accompanied by linguine in white clam sauce, vegetable dumplings, a vegetable frittata and an avocado salad.

I plated and reheated everything but the salad, which I ate cold.

My wonderful dinner only needed a glass or two of red wine to complete. 

My wife's grouper, with roasted peppers, came with gnocchi, sauteed broccoli rabe, vegetable dumplings and an artichoke fennel salad.

She has said the sauteed broccoli rabe in Jerry's dinners is the best she has ever had, and all of his sauces are bursting with flavor. 

At Jerry's, three dinners with Sea Scallops were still available Wednesday after 4 p.m., when the price is reduced to $5.99 from $7.99 (discount taken at the register).

Answers to some questions from Costco Wholesale shoppers

This Boskovich Farms Organic Baby Spinach, sold at Costco Wholesale, is triple washed, but shoppers have to hunt for the words around a small faucet on the back label.

The 2.5 pound bag of regular spinach from the same grower is also triple washed.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In all the years I've been buying Earthbound Farm's Organic Spring Mix at Costco Wholesale, I relied on the pre-washing mentioned on the label to cut the time it takes to put a healthy meal on the table.

In the past, the spring mix was "triple washed," but the 1-pound package I bought at my Hackensack Costco today says it is "pre-washed."

I continue to transfer the greens directly into my salad bowl or onto a sandwich for other family members without washing them.

Earlier, I said Boskovich Farms Organic Baby Spinach from California wasn't pre-washed, but that was because I missed the small faucet and the words "triple washed" on the back label.

Costco's broccoli florets were grown in Mexico.

A reader sent in a comment about finding organic broccoli from China at Costco, but I've never seen that at my Hackensack store.

Today, I looked at the label of a 3-pound bag of conventional Eat Smart Broccoli Florets and noticed the words "Product of Mexico." 

Sodium bisulfite is added to this big lobster tail as a preservative.

I also got a comment from a shopper who said the jumbo lobster tail he bought at Costco had a strong smell of ammonia when he cooked it.

The label at Costco lists sodium bisulfite as a preservative.  I've never purchased or cooked that lobster tail.

Today, I bought previously frozen sea scallops for $13.99 a pound at Costco (U-10 or under 10 to the pound, the largest available). 

These are "dry" scallops from the U.S., and no preservatives are used.

A new item at Costco is a hot turkey and provolone sandwich.

 
One question I can't answer is why Costco doesn't sell freshly brewed coffee at its food counter or even have a small Starbucks outpost in the store.

I'm also puzzled by two customers who changed their mind at the last minute today, and placed large packages of hot dogs and sweet peppers on the floor under checkout counters.

Honesty is always on sale at Whole Foods

Whole Foods Market names the New Jersey fishing port, the day boat and the captain who landed these sea scallops. "Dry" means no preservatives were added.

As someone who prefers fish over fowl, I always look over the seafood counter when I visit Whole Foods Market in Paramus.

Whole Foods doesn't sell live lobster, but remains tops when it comes to fresh seafood -- delivered seven days a week, much of it from its own processing facility.

This past Thursday, I got a kick out of the sign with local day-boat sea scallops -- naming the port, boat and even the captain.

These were big, U-10 scallops -- about 10 to the pound -- and were priced at $24.99 a pound. 

If you eat pork, what more do you need to know?

Opposite the butcher counter, the store advertised its naturally raised bacon with a sign painted on the floor in front of a refrigerated case.

This is the kind of honesty we should find at every food store and restaurant, but sadly Whole Foods is nearly alone in telling consumers where produce, meat and seafood come from and how they were raised, grown or caught.

We have to rely on the store or restaurant for this kind of information, because outside of Consumer  Reports magazine, few newspapers or other publications bother to report on the origin of the food we buy.

The so-called consumer columnist at my local daily newspaper doesn't even acknowledge the existence of organic food.

Pistachio-coated Sea Scallops at Palm Restaurant in Manhattan.

On Thursday, Whole Foods had organic California red grapes on sale for $2.29 a pound -- a discount of more than 30%. I bought 2.65 pounds.

I also picked up naturally raised beef liver for my wife, son and mother-in-law from the butcher counter's frozen meat case, priced at $3.99 a pound.

My daily grind

My first stop on Thursday was Fairway Market, also in Paramus, to replenish my stock of freshly ground coffee.

The Brazil Dark Roast was the only one on sale, for $6.99 a pound, so I asked for 2 pounds Turkish 
grind.

The selection of freshly roasted beans at Fairway Market in Paramus.

I also took advantage of a sale on those wonderful Campari hothouse tomatoes -- three 1-pound packages for $5 (not $3, as I wrote originally).

I love extra-virgin olive oil, but won't pay the $17 or $18 a liter for some of the better ones at Fairway.

Luckily, the store allows shoppers to sample the oils by soaking small pieces of baguette in them.

My guilty pleasure was taking four heels -- the ends of the bread -- and soaking them in expensive bright-  and dark-green olive oils. Delish.

Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Pasta for breakfast.

Whole-wheat pasta

I've been eating whole-wheat pasta for breakfast, lunch and dinner since I gave up virtually all bread and pizza to lose weight.

The pasta, along with brown rice, gives me the same full, satisfied feeling I got from bread, but my body processes it better and I am still able to lose weight gradually.

Now, Consumer Reports magazine has given its "Very Good" rating and recommended organic whole-wheat spaghetti from Trader Joe's and Whole Foods Market.

The magazine's October 2012 issue, which I just got in the mail, calls both "sweet, nutty, whole-grain flavor, chewy texture much like regular pasta."

I've been buying Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Fusilli and Penne for more than a year. A 16-ounce package is $1.39.

Whole Foods sells organic whole-wheat spaghetti under the 365 Everyday Value brand, but it cost more than Trader Joe's version.

In New England, restaurant menus offer seafood galore

There are more than 30 Legal Sea Foods in and around Boston. (Image via Flicker)

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

Our weekend getaway to Boston went swimmingly -- a reference to all the seafood we ate, not to the soupy heat and humidity we endured.

We enjoyed a monster lobster roll, a twin-lobster dinner for $25 and lobster bisque; fresh trout from Idaho, sea scallops, clams, mussels, New England clam chowder with dill, haddock, shrimp, baby squid and soft-shell crabs.

Here are the details, from highs to lows:

Dolphin  Seafood

In our Boston hotel room, we found an ad for this popular seafood restaurant in Panorama magazine, called  "The Official Guide to Boston."

The restaurant is near Harvard University in Cambridge, just across the Charles River. This was by far the best of four seafood meals we had.

The ad also served as a coupon for $24.95 twin-lobster dinners, normally $28.99. The lobster dinners come with two sides, as do other seafood dinners, such as fresh gray sole or brook trout, both under $15.

Dolphin also has a raw bar and a liquor license. The couple next to us on Saturday night ordered raw oysters and clams, as well as two bottles of wine, prompting my wife to say, "I hope they're walking home."

My wife and son each ordered twin lobsters, which yielded perfectly cooked, moist, delicious meat -- and they generously gave me some of the best lobster I've ever tasted.

I ordered the fresh brook trout from Idaho, which was butterflied and prepared with extra-virgin olive oil and capers ($14.99). A glass of retsina wine from Greece was $6.25 and seltzer and soft-drink refills were free ($2.25).

As we walked past the tank near the door, the Maine lobsters swam and moved energetically.

Dolphin Seafood, 1105 Massachusetts Ave., Cambridge; 617- 661-2937. Reservations recommended. Metered street parking.

Web site: Dolphin Seafood Restaurant & Bar   

Legal Sea Foods

Our waitress said this Legal Sea Foods on Long Wharf, opposite the New England Aquarium, is the busiest of 32 such restaurants in Boston and its suburbs.

But you need only one visit to see it is also poorly designed, with a small entrance area crowded with people lining up to speak with the hostesses or waiting to be called when a table is free, as well as baby strollers.

The revolving doors are used both by customers entering and leaving, and servers bringing food and drink to outside tables. Chaotic.

We were seated after about 15 minutes, and had a great lunch on Saturday, though we did argue over whether we'd share dishes.

I had a terrific, entree-size chopped Greek salad topped with grilled shrimp and incredibly fresh and tender baby squid ($15.95).

My 14-year-old son ordered tempura-dipped soft-shell crabs with skin-on potato salad ($26.95), and loved the Dijon mustard crab garnish -- a first for this mustard hater.

I wanted all of us to share the crabs and the chef's selection of three grilled fish, but then I wouldn't have been able to order the fish medium rare. We couldn't share the salad because my wife and son don't eat squid.

So my wife ordered a bowl of silky lobster bisque ($9.95), and refused to eat anything else.

Refills of seltzer ($1.50) and lemonade ($3.25) were free.

Legal Sea Foods at Long Wharf, 225 State St.,
Boston; 617-742-5300.

Web site: It's all legal

The Black Pearl

On the way back to North Jersey on Sunday, we stopped in Newport, R.I., and toured the The Breakers, a Vanderbilt family mansion, but soon wilted in the heat and humidity.

Newport seemed even more crowded than Boston with vacationing families, but we found a space on the street without a meter about two blocks from The Black Pearl, a seafood restaurant on Bannister's Wharf.

The Black Pearl serves fresh seafood, but almost everything seems to be made with sauces containing butter or cream. Only the gray sole special was dipped in flour and pan-fried.

I suggested my wife try the baked cod with jack cheese, but the waitress said it was "greasy" and prepared ahead of time. My wife didn't want the sole, and ended up ordering a hamburger, but left the bun, tomato and lettuce on her plate ($12.50).

My son zeroed on the barbecued shrimp with two side dishes ($21), because he was in the mood for barbecued chicken wings.

I ordered a cup of Newport chowder -- New England clam chowder made with dill ($5.50) -- and an appetizer of The Black Pearl mussels ($16.50), which turned out to have a broth filled with garlic and cream.

So my chowder had cream and my mussels had cream -- not a good day for someone who is lactose intolerant. Neither my son or wife eat mussels.

We were charged $11 for four seltzers, and $3.50 for a small glass of grapefruit juice, which my wife didn't finish. A cup of strong, black coffee was $3.

Despite the heat and humidity, many customers ate outside, and we had no trouble finding a table inside the air-conditioned Tavern.

The tall, blonde hostess, a young woman of college age, seemed melancholy when we arrived and bored when we left, slouching against the wall near the door.

The Black Pearl, Bannister's Wharf, 
Newport, R.I.; 401-846-5264.

Belle Isle Seafood

On "No Reservations," the Travel Channel show with Anthony Bourdain, Belle Isle Seafood in Boston is called a "classic fish shack with just a few stools next to the Winthrop Bridge."

We drove there directly on Friday, before we checked into our hotel, and found a dive whose sweltering interior had only two ceiling fans and a third fan on top of a refrigerator that actually was blowing hot air, even though outside temperatures approached 100 degrees.

A woman behind a seafood case took our order -- a "lobstermeat" roll ($18.99) and a fried seafood combo (shrimp, scallops, haddock and clams), served with french fries, onion rings, coleslaw and tarter sauce for $17.99.

The lobster roll includes a half-pound of meat -- twice as much as in most other rolls.

We had planned to eat our food there, but it was just too hot inside. The place now has nine stools at a counter built into a corner.

Belle Isle is next to a gas station, and the entrance to the gravel parking lot behind the place is on the other side of the station. The bridge? It's just a street-level road  over some water.

By the time we got to our hotel, checked in and sat down in our room to eat the food, the fresh seafood combo was barely warm. The lobster roll was wonderful, though, and none of us bothered to eat the bread.

Belle Isle Seafood, 1267 Saratoga St., Boston; 
617-567-1619. Cash only.

Travel notes

We stayed in the Best Western Plus Roundhouse Suites, which offers free parking, free breakfast and a free shuttle van to restaurants, shopping and subway stations.

The hotel was built in what used to be called The Roundhouse, a cylindrical brick gas tank dating to 1870 (there were metal tanks inside).

Unfortunately, the hotel is near three hospitals and a busy Massachusetts Avenue intersection, and it's noisy. Homeless people also frequent the area, which is on the edge of an industrial section.

My custom-made ear plugs came in handy to deaden ambulance sirens and the roar of truck traffic, but my wife forgot hers at home.

Breakfast is served in the lobby, and we encountered many families from Europe. Guests and employees went outside to smoke, but often stayed too close to the front doors.

In Boston, we left the car at the hotel, except for when we went to Cambridge for dinner on Saturday night. 

We took the subway to the aquarium and to historic sites downtown after the hotel's free van dropped us at the Back Bay Station (subway fare is $2). The van  also picked us up there.

We returned home after a day trip to Newport, R.I., but made the mistake of taking Route 95 along the coast of Connecticut and then the Cross Bronx Expressway to the George Washington Bridge.

Route 95 switches from two lanes to three or four and back with enough frequency to guarantee nail-biting, stop-and-go, bumper-to-bumper traffic every 10 miles or so it seems.

Parts of the highway haven't been improved for more than 40 years, although now there is lots of construction and narrow lanes in the New Haven area that also slow traffic.

Best Western Plus Roundhouse Suites, 
891 Massachusetts Ave., Boston; 617-989-1000.

Web site: A well-rounded hotel

Dinner out is snowed out

Image by taivasalla via Flickr

There were only a few inches of snow on the ground when we set out around 4 this afternoon for Sanducci's Trattoria, which has moved to a new location in River Edge. There were lights out front, but when I drove down into the rear parking lot and took an elevator up one floor, the place was dark.

We wanted to try the new Sanducci's, because it is a BYO that offers lots of choice: an all-you-can eat dinner buffet for $16.95, a three-course, early bird special, with tea or coffee, also for $16.95; a long a la carte menu and pizza. 

We ate at the original location a few years ago and I was impressed with a wonderful squid-ink pasta.

Costco to the rescue

Rather than try to find a restaurant that was open, we returned home and I dove into the freezer, unearthing frozen mahi-mahi loins and Dr. Praeger's spinach-and-potato cakes, both from Costco in Hackensack.

I steamed the meaty fish with sake, sesame oil, citrus marinade and soy sauce, and put the spinach cakes in the oven for 20 minutes. It was a quick, filling dinner.

More frozen seafood

I was delighted with the king crab legs, farmed prawns and sea scallops I picked up at Costco on Friday and served for Christmas dinner the next day. All were previously frozen, but they were as tender as could be after we prepared them.

I cut up the crab legs, which are cooked and more than a foot long, and steamed them for less than 10 minutes. My wife shelled the shrimp, which are deveined, and I cooked them quickly with stewed tomatoes, extra-virgin olive oil and Italian seasoning. I just sauteed the scallops in olive oil and seasoned them. 

Sanducci's Trattoria, 620 Kinderkamack Road, 
River Edge; 201-599-0600.  Web site:

Sanducci's Trattoria

Blessing of the fishing fleet at Barnegat Light

The Fishery (2015).

On Sunday, we attended the blessing of the commercial and recreational fishing fleets at Barnegat Light, famed for its lighthouse and its fresh seafood, including bluefin tuna exported to Japan and monkfish sold in South Korea. 

You can also find fish and scallops from this old port on the ice at Whole Foods Market in Paramus.

The image of the shore town's lighthouse is found everywhere, from the paving stones in a resi

dent's driveway to the striking blue stained-glass windows of St. Peter's at the Light Episcopal Church, which had an Evensong service by the Valley Forge Choir of Men and Boys. 

Unfortunately, a thunderstorm blew in during the blessing of the fleet at the yacht basin, sending everyone scattering to their cars and cancelling the procession of boats through the inlet.

We did takeout from Viking Fresh Off the Hook, including the delicious sea scallops the port is known for, and ate our food at Minerva's, the B&B where we spent the night. 

On the way home Monday, we stopped at The Fishery on Route 35 in South Amboy for a lunch of lobster bisque, clam chowder, steamed Jersey clams and colossal wild shrimp (six to a pound).

-- VICTOR E. SASSON