An ethnic-food run for Mexican, Peruvian and Syrian specialties

An order of Fish Tacos at Taqueria Los Gueros on Main Avenue in the city of Passaic, above. Below, store-made Spinach & Cheese Pies, Mini Vegetable Pies, Fig & Walnut Roll and more at Fattal's in Paterson.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

This past Saturday, we went on an ethnic-food run to the cities of Passaic and Paterson for Mexican, Peruvian and Syrian specialties.

See The Sasson Report for all the details.

Enjoy.

Is this restaurant a honey?

Image by Another Pint Please... via Flickr

We had dinner last night in an Iranian grocery store with several tables that calls itself Honey Mediterranean Gourmet & Market.

The tables, which seat 20 to 25 people, seem to be an afterthought. Service in this family run place was well-meaning but slow. We were seated at a glass table near the front door, which proved drafty when a group of six or seven people took their time leaving.

We told the waitress we didn't want to eat meat, but could have fish, and she pointed out meatless soups, appetizers and an entree on the limited menu. My wife and I  liked everything we had, but the real specialties here are kabobs of well-seasoned beef and lamb, filet mignon and chicken, and the place was filled with their cooking aroma and the sound of Iranian music.

Frankly, I am all kabobed out, if there is such a word. Every Syrian, Lebanese, Armenian, Turkish and Iranian restaurant in North Jersey offers kabobs, but at most places you can find much more interesting food that isn't served on a skewer.

When we sat down, the waitress brought us a plate of parsley and raw onion (to eat with our meal, we were told), and a tasty, round flat bread baked in the restaurant. We got a second one with our soup, a thick preparation of spinach, cilantro, parsley, noodle, bean and lentil called ash reshteh. My son -- a soup-lover -- only had a couple of spoonfuls.

We tried three appetizers -- bland hummus; cold rice-and-lentil stuffed grape leaves; and a vegetable souffle called kookoo sabzi. Falafel also is served. Our entree was sabzi pollo -- tilapia and basmati rice green with dill and other herbs.

To finish, I had unsweetened tea, and we shared some nice coconut macaroons. Our meal cost $52 with tax but not tip, which you have to ask the woman at the register to include in your credit card total or  leave in cash.

Honey Mediterranean Gourmet & Market, 
1150 Teaneck Road, Teaneck; 201-530-5082.
No American Express cards.
Honeymarket1150@gmail.com

Our half-turkey Thanksgiving

Faced with a 13-pound heritage turkey and the inevitable leftovers of mostly white meat (not our favorite), I've decided to cut our fresh bird in half and roast it with Middle Eastern spices, sweet white potatoes and yams, and dried apricots. The other half will go into the freezer. Next year, we'll invite relatives or friends or go back to preparing only turkey drumsticks, thighs and wings from Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff.

I got into this mess because I wanted to try one of those sleek turkey breeds that were around for hundreds of years before the industrial white broad-breasted turkey was developed and pumped full of antibiotics and butter and who knows what else. When I was growing up in Brooklyn, my Sephardic Jewish mother would roast a turkey for Thanksgiving, but always prepare side dishes of  white rice, sour sauce with kibbe, stuffed grape leaves and other specialties.

Here is the rest of this afternoon's menu in Hackensack:


Sausage-apple stuffing and cranberry relish form Abma's Farm
Quick collard greens with garlic
Pumpkin pie from Mazur's Bakery in Lyndhurst
Spanish fig cake served with Manchego cheese and almonds
New beuajolais wine

Happy holiday to all.

Middle Eastern fare in Hackensack

Sahara is a small Middle Eastern market in Hackensack crammed with fresh and packaged foods, including hundreds of imported items. You'll also find homemade meat pies, fried kibbe and stuffed grape leaves, plus pita bread from bakeries as near as Paterson and as far away as Montreal.

The store also stocks pickled lemons from Egypt, like the ones I used in my tuna-sardine salad last week. See earlier post, "Cleopatra's tuna-sardine salad." Sahara is at 242 S. Summit Ave., Hackensack; 201-487-7222.

Meanwhile, based on two visits in August, a new Middle Eastern restaurant in Hackensack called Cafe Arabica is a disappointment. It opened in the large space on Main Street once occupied by The Stealth nightclub and before that Lowits clothing store.

I had lunch there soon after it opened, but me and a friend were the only customers and the falafel sandwich was pretty standard fare. I returned around 6 on the evening of Aug. 22, the first day of Ramadan, because the owner said there would be music, yet the place was empty. I walked in, calling hello, but there were no employees in sight. I left, never to return.