Fattal's falafel, Corrado's 2-for-$10 wines, wild salmon medley and more

One of my favorite dishes growing up in Brooklyn, N.Y., was my Syrian Jewish mother's okra, which she prepared with tomatoes and a tamarind sauce. Okra was the meal of the day on Thursday in the cafe at Fattal's in Paterson.   

Syrian butcher, baker, grocer, jeweler and falafel maker -- Fattal's in the South Paterson section of Paterson is all of that and more. One big plus is that the store is set back in a spacious parking lot.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The quickest way to get into an argument with the head cook in the Syrian cafe at Fattal's is to ask whether he ever makes his falafel only with fava beans.

"That's how the Egyptians make it," I said on Thursday, referring to the wonderful  ta'amia (falafel) I enjoyed many years ago on a trip to Cairo.

"And that's how my mother, who was from Aleppo, used to make it."

"I'm from Aleppo, too," the cook said firmly, adding that using only fava beans produces a falafel that is too dark inside.

So, I ordered nine falafels to go, and looking at the takeout menu later, I saw he grinds both chickpeas and fava beans with parsley, garlic and spices before frying them.

Fattal's falafel are sold in threes for a little over 40 cents each.

They are bigger, lighter and tastier than the falafel from Salah Edin, a Middle Eastern restaurant on the next block, where a bag of five falafel are only $1.

Fattal's falafel also reheats better at home.

The menu in Fatal's cafe resembles that of a full-service restaurant. 

Syrian-style pies with za'atar and other toppings, sandwiches, salads, soup, hot appetizers and a meal of the day are available for takeout or to eat there.

In Fattal's grocery section, I picked up 20 cans of Al Shark-brand Moroccan Sardines in Tomato Sauce (99 cents each), and a half-dozen large Spinach and Cheese Pies ($8.99).

From the spice counter, I got a small container of za'atar, a dried thyme mixture ($5.99 a pound), and a larger one of crushed Aleppo red pepper ($6.99 a pound). 

Crushed red Aleppo pepper from Fattal's ($6.99 a pound) provides a mildly spicy accent on egg and fish dishes, hummus and so much more.

On Friday, I threw together falafel sandwiches at home with Fatal's pocket bread and hummus from a can, adding garlic, lime juice, extra-virgin olive oil and ground cumin.

Details

Fattal's, 975 Main St., Paterson; 1-973-742-7125. Open 7 days, Syrian cafe, parking lot.

Website: Syrian delights since 1968

Corrado's Family Affair is a large, full-service ethnic supermarket near the Clifton-Paterson border once known for low prices.

Red, white and sparkling wines from Italy and France were 2 for $10 in Corrado's liquor store. I bought six bottles of red wine, including a ventoux from France.

Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli and Rigatoni from Italy were $1.69 each at Corrado's (16 ounces) -- 40 cents more than at ShopRite in Paramus.

That's a good price, but Corrado's Tomato Basil and Arrabiata Pasta Sauces both contain added sugar.

A pint of blueberries from Argentina was $3.99. I did find peaches for 99 cents a pound, my only purchase besides wine.

Among the non-food items at Corrado's are these rugs, which were displayed outside.

Details

Corrado's Family Affair, 1578 Main Ave., Clifton; 1-973-340-0628. Open 7 days. Website: Corrado's

A medley of fresh wild coho salmon I prepared at home with a fillet from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro ($9.99 a pound) includes chopped kale, cherry tomatoes, pitted black olives and grated cheese.

I grilled the salmon skin side down on the stove top for 4 minutes before placing the serving pieces in a large pan that held the other ingredients, a generous drizzle of extra-virgin olive oil, fresh lime juice and seasonings. The medley was ready after 7 minutes in a preheated 400-degree oven.

You can buy a ready-to-cook fish-and-vegetable medley, marinated Icelandic fish and prepared seafood at The Fish Dock, 219A Closter Dock Road in Closter (1-201-564-7939; closed Sundays and Mondays). Here, I had leftovers of my wild salmon medley with organic brown rice and oven-roasted sweet green peppers from our garden.

A 2-pound bag of pre-washed Chopped Kale was only $3.89 at the Costco Wholesale Business Center in Hackensack.

This much kale with Costco's Organic No-Salt Seasoning (21 spices and other ingredients from around the world), sauteed in olive and sesame oils in a 10-inch nonstick pan ...

... produces this much kale as a side dish.

Also at the Costco Business Center, 80 S. River St. in Hackensack, I found a package of frozen Alaskan Pollock Burgers, which join a longtime favorite, Alsakan Salmon Burgers. The pollock burgers also are made from fillets of wild-caught fish, according to the Trident Seafood Corp. A dozen salmon burgers were $13.99 and a dozen pollock burgers were $11.49.

The ingredients of the Alaskan Pollock Burger includes 2% or less of sugar. I cooked one in the oven and slipped the burger into a warm Fattal's pocket bread with salad greens, tomato and Dijon mustard. Just wonderful.

From the roar of the Great Falls to a bustling Middle Eastern bazaar

Paterson's Great Falls, now part of a national park, is a major tourist attraction in a city that also boasts a bustling neighborhood of Middle Eastern and Turkish restaurants and bakeries.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

If like me you hate traffic noise and all of those annoying motorcycles, I've found a roar both of us can live with.

On a visit to Paterson's Great Falls, you'll witness the power of Mother Nature and hear the glorious roar of falling water, which completely drowns out the human cacophony.

Then, you can drive a couple of miles to the city's South Paterson neighborhood for a snack of freshly prepared falafel, and to shop in Fattal's, where you'll find bread, pastries, meat, olives and olive oil, shelves of groceries and even gold bracelets.

Fattal's Spinach & Cheese Pies have no artificial ingredients, and they freeze beautifully.

Good food, free parking

Fattal's isn't the only Main Street store with free parking, but the lot is one of the biggest and on the weekends, a tall man acts as part guard, part traffic cop, directing you to a free space and helping you back out when it's time to leave.

After I visited the Great Falls on Saturday, I stopped at Fattal's for 18 cans of Al Shark-brand Moroccan Sardines in Tomato Sauce (99 cents each) and a tray of Spinach & Cheese Pies ($8.99).

I also picked up a half-gallon of Ayran Original Yogurt Drink, which has a lower sodium content than competing brands ($5.49).

On the next block, I went into Salah Edin Middle Eastern Restaurant and ordered $4 worth of falafel balls (7 for $1) and a small container of tahini sauce ($3).

I had to wait about 15 minutes while they were prepared, but when I got to my car, I ate two of the piping hot falafel dipped in tahini.

I could taste them all the way home.

Lunch spot

If you want more than a falafel snack, Aleppo Restaurant at Main and Thomas streets serves an array of Syrian specialties.

Three of my favorites are lentil soup; muhammara, a spicy dip made of sweet and hot red peppers, and the chopped Arabic Salad. 

Details

Great Falls National Historical Park, 72 McBride Ave., Paterson. National Park Service Welcome Center open 7 days.

Fattal's, 975-77 Main St., Paterson; 1-973-742-7125. Open 7 days, free parking lot.

Salah Edin Middle Eastern Restaurant, 995 Main St., Paterson; 1-973-225-0575. Open 7 days. Credit-card minimum is $10.

Aleppo Restaurant, 939 Main St., Paterson; 1-973-977-2224. Open 7 days. Call for hours during the holy month of Ramadan, which ends July 17. No alcohol allowed. 

Marriage of eggs and pasta in the morning is made in cooking heaven

I poached two organic eggs from Costco Wholesale in marinara sauce and extra-virgin olive oil with shredded Parmigiano Reggiano Cheese, a little basil pesto and chopped herbs from my garden, and served them for breakfast over leftover organic linguine with sardines.

Editor's note: Eating a heart-healthy diet doesn't mean you have to give up on flavor or comfort foods, such as organic whole-wheat linguine eaten with the yolks of organic eggs, poached in marinara sauce, sunny side up.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I poached two organic eggs in marinara left over from making organic whole-wheat linguine with sardines the night before, and served them with the pasta for a hearty, rib-sticking breakfast.

Twirling the linguine in the broken yolk and marinara adds layers of sensual flavor.

Since embarking on a heart-healthy diet more than five years ago, organic whole wheat pasta is one of my bread substitutes at breakfast -- good with whole eggs, egg-white omelets, frittatas and other foods.

I used a 10-inch GreenPan, about a cup of marinara and a few ounces of extra-virgin olive oil.

When the mixture started to simmer, I broke two eggs into the pan and added shredded cheese and, later, chopped fresh mint, parsley and oregano from my garden. 

Organic eggs over organic whole-wheat linguine.

Linguine with sardines

I heated up leftovers from 1 pound of linguine I had made for dinner the night before with:

Victoria Marinara Sauce, red wine, extra-virgin olive oil, a can of drained and rinsed anchovies, three cans of Moroccan sardines in tomato sauce, capers and such seasonings as black pepper, ground garlic and red-pepper flakes.

The Luigi Vitelli-brand Organic Whole Wheat Linguine came from ShopRite in Paramus, and many of the other ingredients are from Costco Wholesale in Hackensack.

See more heart-healthy ideas below:

An egg-white omelet stuffed with fresh spinach, smoked wild salmon and reduced-fat cheese, served over leftover organic quinoa prepared in an electric cooker.

For an egg-less breakfast, I heated up leftover whole wheat pappardelle from Jerry's Gourmet and More in Englewood, dressed in Costco's Basil Pesto and pine nuts, and stewed tofu from H Mart in Little Ferry, and served them with fresh spinach sauteed in olive oil.

H Mart in Englewood usually sells fresh wild-caught whole red snapper for $7.99 a pound ($26.37 for three). Here, my wife seasoned the fish, added fresh tomato, okra and onions, closed the aluminum-foil to form a pouch and roasted them for 30 minutes in the oven at 450 degrees.

$1 bag of falafel, 99-cents sardines, 9-inch whole-wheat pocket bread

And then there were none .... Five of the original seven falafel in a paper bag were still warm when I came home. They are only $1 at Salah Edin Middle Eastern Restaurant, 995 Main St., Paterson, below, part of a Middle Eastern bazaar known as South Paterson.

Around noon on Saturday, my order of tasty falafel -- ground chickpeas mixed with parsley -- was deep fried to order.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

I dashed out to Paterson on Saturday for a refresher course on Middle Eastern flavors after a bitter winter that kept me close to home.

My first stop was Fattal's -- which sells freshly baked pocket bread and a wide array of food and spices, even gold necklaces and bracelets -- at 975-77 Main St. 

Fattal's has its own parking lot and, on the weekends, a guard will help you find a parking space and, with gestures and waving arms, will help you back out when it is time to leave.

I stocked up on Al Shark-brand Moroccan Sardines in Tomato Sauce, the variety that has the least sodium. I bought two dozen cans at 99 cents each (125 grams). 

I use them in pasta dishes or add them to canned-seafood salads.

I also bought a half-pound of crushed Aleppo red pepper ($6.99 a pound), perfect for garnishing egg and fish dishes.

A gallon of refrigerated Merve Ayran Yogurt Drink -- with live active cultures -- was $10.99, compared to $8.69 two years ago.

Fattal's has one of the largest parking lots in South Paterson.

Crushed red pepper is perfect for fish or egg dishes. I store it in the freezer of refrigerator.

I used Aleppo pepper this morning on an egg-white omelet stuffed with smoked wild salmon, fresh spinach sauteed in a separate pan, marinara sauce and reduced fat cheese.

King's Whole Wheat Pita is baked in Paterson without preservatives, and sold at Fattal's alongside its own bread.

This bread is impossible to resist

Even though I've been on a no-bread diet for years, I couldn't resists buying a bag of 9-inch pocket bread called King's Pita ($1.39 for six loaves).

This is a thin whole-wheat bread in the Lebanese style, perfect for wrapping or stuffing.

At home, I ate spoonfuls of leftover canned-salmon salad with sweet peppers and celery in the soft, chewy bread. Fantastic.

I can just imagine scooping up hummus with it.

The ingredients are bran, whole wheat flour, water, salt and yeast.

Bag of falafel

I asked the guard in Fattal's lot if I could leave my car there and walked over to Salah Edin Middle Eastern Restaurant on the next block for a $1 bag of seven falafel balls.

They were fried beautifully, leaving only a little oil on the paper bag. I ate two of the piping hot falafel immediately, and took the rest home for family members.

A small cup of tahini would be perfect with the delicious falafel, but then they probably wouldn't cost only $1.

My Jewish mother, who was born in Aleppo, Syria, made falafel at home not with chickpeas, but with fava beans, the way it's done in Egypt, where they are called ta'amia.

I prefer fava-bean falafel, but the only place I know that serves it is an expensive restaurant in Tenafly with an Egyptian chef/owner.

Enjoying meatless meals at Wondee's and at home

Wondee's Som Thom ($8) -- a salad of crunchy, fresh green papaya, peanuts, tomato and green beans in a tart dressing -- is my favorite way of starting a meatless meal at the Thai restaurant on Main Street in Hackensack.

Thome Yum Koong is a spicy soup of shrimp, mushrooms and chili paste ($4).

By Victor E. Sasson
Editor

A Vegetarian Menu and a large selection of seafood and other meatless dishes makes it easy for me to eat well at Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles in Hackensack.

And family members who eat pork and poultry have plenty to choose from, too.

On Saturday night, three of us enjoyed salad, soup, a whole fish and a sauteed tofu dish with small bowls of white or brown rice.

 

A steamed whole fresh red snapper with chili pepper, garlic and lemon juice is called Pla Ma Now ($18). Three of us shared the fish with bowls of white or brown rice.

Kraprow Tofu is made with fresh basil leaves, onions, scallions and fresh chili ($11).

Wondee's is a BYO.

Wondee's Fine Thai Food and Noodles, 296 Main St., Hackensack; 201-883-1700. BYO, parking in rear, serves lunch and dinner, closed Mondays.


Going meatless at home

I continue to co-exist peacefully with members of the family who eat meat and poultry -- from organic chicken feet to grass-fed filet mignon.

We prepare food at home 5 or 6 days a week, using good ingredients from Costco Wholesale, Trader Joe's, ShopRite, Whole Foods Market, H Mart, Fattal's Bakery in Paterson and other stores.

Organic brown eggs with pesto (from Costco), smoked wild salmon and sun-dried tomatoes served over organic quinoa prepared in an electric cooker.

Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix topped with smoked wild salmon and reduced-fat Swiss cheese, and served with prepared sweet-potato salad. All the ingredients came from Costco. The dressing is extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Ackee and salt fish, a Jamaican specialty, served with sauteed collard greens from H Mart and quinoa with organic diced tomatoes.

A gooey frittata with pesto, smoked wild salmon, sliced tomato and reduced-fat Swiss cheese served over organic brown rice.

Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Pasta with Victoria Marinara Sauce and Al-Shark brand Moroccan Sardines in Tomato Sauce, which have dramatically less sodium than the same sardines in spicy oil. I used 1 pound of pasta, a 40-ounce jar of sauce and 2 cans of sardines. I added grated Pecorino Romano, an imported sheep's milk cheese.

Leftover frittata and pasta with sardines made for a filling breakfast today.

Related articles

• Clothes too big? Rush down to Costco Wholesale
• Two real time savers: Cooking ahead and leftovers

Black Tiger Shrimp, salty sardines, whole-wheat pasta and more

Farmed Black Tiger Shrimp, above with pasta and below, are imported from Vietnam, sold by Costco Wholesale and labeled "Best Aquaculture Practices Certified."

We shell the deveined shrimp, marinate them in fresh lime juice, a little salt and Organic No-Salt Seasoning, and cook them quickly in olive oil with garlic and sweet pepper, turning them once.

Editor's note: Today, I present an information buffet about Black Tiger Shrimp, sodium in Al Shark-brand Moroccan Sardines, ShopRite Whole Wheat Pasta, home-grown salad; and visits to the Tick Tock Diner and Trader Joe's, both in Clifton.

By Victor E. Sasson

Editor

Farmed-raised Black Tiger Shrimp from Vietnam are one of the most popular seafood items sold at Costco Wholesale, but there is conflicting information on just how safe they are to eat.

If you buy 4 pounds of the previously frozen shrimp, they come in a heavy plastic bag with labels that assure consumers they made "the responsible seafood choice."

The bag also carries the seal of the Best Aquaculture Practices Program, which is an industry group based in St. Louis, and a Web site: 

www.responsibleseafood.org

Monterey Bay Aquarium Seafood Watch lists Black Tiger Shrimp from Ca Mau Province of Southern Vietnam and other areas of Southeast Asia as a "Best Choice."

But below the chart, this warning appears:

"Most imported farmed shrimp should be avoided due to habitat damage, the risk of pollution and the introduction of non-native species to the surrounding environment."

"An exception is shrimp from farms using fully recirculating ponds in Thailand, which reduce the risk of escapes and disease." 

Costco's Black Tigers

Costco sells deveined Black Tiger Shrimp imported by the Illinois-based Mazzetta Company, which says its SEAMAZZ "shrimp products are farm-raised under the strictest conditions and quick frozen at the peak of freshness."

The SEAMAZZ bag I got from Costco is labeled "Product of Vietnam Farm Raised," "Black Tiger EZ Peel" and "13-15" to the pound. Ingredients listed are "shrimp and salt."

Al Shark-brand Moroccan sardines come in tomato sauce, left, or spicy oil.

Salty sardines

Heart-healthy sardines -- with and without skin and bones -- are great over salads, warmed up and eaten over rice, or chopped up in pasta sauce.

For years, I've been buying Al Shark-brand Moroccan Sardines for 99 cents a can at Fattal's Bakery and Brothers Produce, both in Paterson.

The mighty little fish come in tomato sauce or lightly smoked in spicy vegetable oil, and I buy both.

This year, I've been draining the sardines in spicy oil and actually rinsing them before I put them in bottled pasta sauce.

That's because I finally looked at the label and saw 1 can contains 603 mg of sodium or 25% of the recommended daily intake.

On Monday, I went to Fattal's to replenish my supply and took a look at the label on Al Shark sardines in tomato sauce.

I was pleasantly surprised to see they contain nearly a third less sodium than the ones in spicy oil: 220 mg or 9% of the daily recommended intake.

I bought 11 cans with tomato sauce, 3 with spicy oil and 1 pound of crushed red Aleppo pepper ($6.99 a pound) for seasoning eggs, fish, hummus and other dishes.

The boxes of 100% Whole Wheat Pasta at ShopRite are not what they seem.

Shrinking pasta

Since I switched from regular pasta to whole wheat a couple of years ago, I really haven't looked at ShopRite's offerings.

In the past, I've only seen "whole grain" pastas that were more expensive than 100% whole wheat and came in boxes of around 13 ounces.

On Monday, I stopped at the Hackensack store and for the first time saw ShopRite 100% Whole Wheat Spaghetti, Thin Spaghetti and other shapes for $1.49 a box -- only 10 cents more than Trader Joe's whole wheat pasta.

But there's a catch: When I looked at the ShopRite boxes, I saw they contain only 12 ounces, and the price isn't being cut during the Summer Can Can Sale.

At Trader Joe's, the whole wheat pasta is organic and comes in a 16-ounce package for only $1.39.

What I did find on sale at ShopRite were 4 BPA-free plastic Ziploc containers for leftovers (9.5-cup capacity) at $1 each after the Can Can Sale discount and a $1 instant coupon on the package.

And I continue to stock up on 1-liter bottles of Adirondack Seltzer at 4 for $2, a better buy than the Adirondack Seltzer 12-pack (cans) that is also on sale.
 

A salad of green-leaf and red-leaf lettuce from our garden, dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

A cucumber flower like the one we were served this month at Vanhorne Restaurant in Montreal. We're still waiting for the cucumbers.

Herbs and lettuce from our garden.

I stopped at the Tick Tock Diner in Clifton on Monday for soup, but the waitress said Yankee Bean, the soup of the day, was made with beef broth, and that split pea is served only on Thursdays.

Is the Route 3 diner the only one in the state that sells its own T-shirts?

The clock was running about 30 minutes slow.

I eat a lot of seafood, but I'm not familiar with a fish called "sol," which was on the Tick Tock lunch menu on Monday.

If you consistently make the wrong choices at the Tick Tock, you could end up in the cemetery across Allwood Road long before your time.

The clock is ticking

The consolation prize for not being able to find a vegetarian soup at the Tick Tock Diner was a visit to a new-to-me Trader Joe's next door.

I picked up:

A 3-pound bag of organic sweet potatoes for $3.69; 2 28-ounce cans of Trader Joe's Marinara with Extra Virgin Olive Oil at $1.99 each; 2 pounds of Trader Joe's Organic Whole Wheat Pasta (Fusilli and Spaghetti) at $1.39 each; and a bottle of fruit and vegetable wash for $3.99.

Rib-sticking breakfast: Mashed Trader Joe's organic sweet potatoes and Costco Wholesale's purple fingerling potatoes with extra-virgin olive oil, upper right, served with a fried organic brown egg (I broke the yoke), stewed tofu and Costco's Tasty Bite Channa Masala, prepared chick peas in Asian Indian spices.