A bountiful seafood meal at a discount

Image by fritzmb via Flickr
At Nisi Estiatorio in Englewood, every server is a fish salesman.


Before dinner service begins, the servers meet with the chef to taste and discuss the texture and flavor of the fresh fish sold by the pound, as well as the special available that evening, so they can brief customers. 


The fresh seafood -- turbot, red snapper, European sea bass, Scottish langoustines and more -- are buried in ice in a beautiful dining-room display set against a soothing waterfall, and the servers encourage customers to look over the choices before ordering.


The motto of this expensive Greek fish house is written at the bottom of every check: "Eat Fish Live Longer." You might think the phrase needs punctuation, but you can't argue with the sentiment.


On Friday, I had my first dinner at Nisi -- using a Groupon for $50 worth of food and drink I bought online for only $25.


I ordered dishes and a glass of wine that added up to $50 exactly, then used my credit card to cover the tax and tip, a total of $11. My $36 bought a four-course seafood meal with a total cost of $61.


I concentrated on small plates, an octopus salad ($18) and two appetizers,  Portuguese sardines and wild-caught Shrimp Saganaki ($12 each), plus a glass of Greek retsina or resin wine ($8).


After taking my order and heading for the kitchen, the waiter returned and said the restaurant was out of octopus, which seemed odd for a Greek place. 


And before I left, I heard another waiter taking a grilled octopus order from another customer, though I didn't actually see the dish delivered to the table.


So, I took another look at the menu and substituted Fasolada ($8), a white-bean-and-vegetable soup, and a salad called Roca Nisi ($10) for the octopus salad.
Image by Getty Images via @daylife


The soup, served in a large bowl, was thick and delicious, and the salad was wonderful, with a winning combination of micro greens, diced beets, cheese, fresh orange pieces and crispy, spiced walnuts.


I got five fresh sardines, simply grilled, and really enjoyed them, even though it took a little work to remove the bones of these mighty little fish.


I was full, and would have been happy to end the meal there, but then the waiter brought me a small ramekin filled with savory, saffron-flavored tomato sauce and melted feta cheese that hid four large, unusually tender shrimp.


I ate it all with a spoon. That meal was what I call a "belly buster." Two could have shared it as a light supper.


At home a couple of hours later, I had dessert: Greek-style non-fat yogurt with honey.


Nisi Estiatorio, 90 Grand Ave., Englewood; 201-567-4700.
Valet and street parking.


Web site: Eat fish, live longer

It pays to comparison shop for fish, shrimp and rotisserie chickens

Whole Foods Market in Paramus has the best seafood counter in northern New Jersey (2018 photo).



By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

You'll find some of the freshest seafood at Whole Foods Market in Paramus -- and some of the highest prices, too.

I was looking over the wonderful fish display on Tuesday and noticed wild-caught Gulf of Mexico shrimp for $16.99 a pound.

I just happened to be carrying the sales flier from Fairway Market in Paramus and pulled it out to show the Whole Foods fishmonger.

Fairway has wild-caught Gulf of Mexico shrimp on sale for $7.99 a pound through Sept. 5. 

Fairway calls its shrimp "jumbo," while Whole Foods says there are 16 to 20 shrimp in a pound. They could very well be the same shrimp.

Whole Foods does have wild bay scallops from Mexico on sale for $7.99 a pound, a discount of $4 a pound -- as part of a "Madness Sale" that ends today.

Wild-caught, meaty hake fillets from the U.S.A. are $5.99 a pound, a savings of $3 a pound. I've tried these and they are terrific eating.

Whole Foods also has a sale on Jersey Fresh peaches at $1.19 a pound -- about what I paid on Monday at Costco for large peaches that were distributed by a New Jersey company, but appear to be from South Carolina.


Image via Wikipedia
I also noticed Whole Foods' naturally raised rotisserie chickens now are $8.99 each -- up a dollar -- but you can save $3 by buying two for $14.98. I rate this chicken tops in North Jersey.

On the coffee line at Whole Foods, I said to the woman in front of me, "This store should give out more free samples."

She agreed, and said that's why she likes shopping at Costco. I told her she'd find great free samples, especially cheese, at Jerry's Gourmet and More on South Dean Street in Englewood, and not to miss Balthazar Bakery on that same street.

This morning at H Mart in Little Ferry, I picked up two dozen black figs from California for $7.99, and the ripe one I ate after breakfast was like sugar.

I had a cheese omelet filled with pesto, accompanied by the Korean supermarket's stewed tofu in red-pepper sauce, and cabbage and radish kimchis.

Cooking for one is no fun

For the past three days, I have been eating black fettuccine with tomato sauce, wild-caught shrimp and arugula that I prepared Sunday night (recipe follows). It's delicious, of course, but with my wife and son away, I am rediscovering how difficult it is to cook for one.

When I was single, I put aside Sunday evenings to cook that day's dinner and four meals for the week ahead. I might roast a chicken and prepare a pound of pasta, diving them into five meals and supplementing them with salad and bread. Friday nights were for takeout and Saturday nights were for my only restaurant meal of the week.

Now that I am married, we cook our five meals individually (until I'm left alone and resort to my old methods).

Black fettuccine for seafood lovers

1 pound wild-caught shrimp

1 can of anchovies in oil

black squid-ink fettuccine, 12 ounces to 16 ounces

1 32-ounce jar of Fairway Market pasta sauce, any variety

large bunch of arugula or basil

red-pepper flakes

dehydrated garlic chips or chopped fresh garlic to taste

Italian seasoning

extra-virgin olive oil

Boil water for pasta, add extra-virgin olive oil to a sautee pan. In a separate pot with lid, heat sauce, anchovies in oil, garlic and Italian seasoning.

Devein and shell shrimp, and season with red-pepper flakes, salt and ground black pepper. Sautee until shrimp curl up and turn pink, turning once. Don't overcook.

The handmade pasta I bought took three to four minutes to cook al dente.

Add drained pasta, shrimp and roughly chopped arugula or basil to pot with sauce and, using tongs, mix well.

Serve with salad, good bread and red wine. Serves four.

Preparation tip: No matter how well I wash arugula, some grit always seems to stay behind. So the next time, I will use fresh basil and plenty of it. You will not taste the anchovies, which dissolve, but they will give your sauce a new dimension.

Image by nhanusek via Flickr

Shopping the sale at Fairway Market

I drove to Fairway Market in the Fashion Center in Paramus in today's heat and humidity, lured by wild-caught jumbo shrimp at $5.99 a pound and fresh mozzarella at $3.99 a pound. But I brought home other good buys: a big bunch of peppery arugula for 99 cents and a cantaloupe for $1.50. Two heads of romaine lettuce were $1.49.

The white shrimp and arugula will pair well in a pasta dish. And I bought some tomatoes -- Jersey beefsteak and on the vine from Canada, both 99 cents a pound -- to go with the fresh, salted cheese, basil from my garden and extra-virgin olive oil as a light dinner with toasted Balthazar Bakery baguette from the freezer.

Other sale items include rotisserie chicken at $4.99, but not the drug-free or organic chicken; and USDA prime boneless sirloin steak at $3.99, labeled "the good stuff," but that boast isn't backed up with any information on how the animal was raised.

I also took a look at the olive selection in Paramus. A half-dozen signs urge customers to:

PLEASE BE CIVILIZED

NO HANDS IN THE OLIVES

VIOLATORS WILL BE EMBARRASSED

I guess New York-based Fairway Market doesn't think much of our manners here in New Jersey. Previously, I wrote Fairway olives sold for $6.99 a pound, but today, the Paramus olives were labeled $5.99 a pound. I'll continue to get my olives at Fattal's in Paterson, where most cost $2.99 a pound.

Fairway's sale prices are good through Aug. 21.