Early Can Can Sale at ShopRite brings good news and bad news

Golden Pineapples are on sale today for only $1.99 each at the Paramus ShopRite, 224 Route 4 east.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

The good news is ShopRite isn't waiting for January to kick off its winter Can Can Sale, which usually brings deep discounts on hundreds of items.

The bad news is there aren't that many great deals, at least judging from the Can Can Preview Sale at the Paramus ShopRite.

And store employees seemed to suggest bigger price cuts are still to come.

This morning, I picked up two Golden Pineapples for $1.99 each, the lowest price I've seen at the Paramus supermarket.

Friendly's Ice Cream in a 1.5-quart package was $2.59, a discount of $1.49, but Turkey Hill was only 50 cents off.

BPA-free Ziploc plastic containers for storing leftovers also were only 50 cents off. Two 9-cup containers were $3.49.

The ShopRite-brand was less, and the label said BPA, a chemical called Bisphenol A, isn't used to make the plastic in the containers.

Smart Balance spreads are great butter substitutes, and sometimes they are half-price at the Paramus ShopRite.

But not today, when the price for Smart Balance in 15-ounce containers was cut by just 50 cents.

A 4-pound bag of California Navel Oranges was $2.99.

The Can Can circular that came with the newspaper included a Super Coupon for Poland Spring Water in 16.9-ounce bottles.

But at $9 for three 24-bottle packs, the savings per bottle over Costco Wholesale is less than a half-cent a bottle.

It's not clear whether the sale prices on pineapples and oranges are part of the Can Can Preview Sale, and you need a store card to get any of the discounts.

Costco tomato squeezer, Han Dynasty and ShopRite

Soup with Pickled Vegetable and Flounder at Han Dynasty in Manhattan, a branch of a Philadelphia restaurant known for its spicy, Sichuan-style Chinese food. The soup is rated 4 on a spice-level scale of 1 to 10. Servers wear black T-shirts with "(10)" printed on the back.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss an exchange with a Costco Wholesale shopper who was opening packages of Campari Tomatoes and squeezing them; a Sunday lunch at Han Dynasty, a Chinese restaurant in Manhattan popular with Asians; and a few sale items at the ShopRite in Paramus.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
Editor 

Before I spoke, I watched a man opening two or three plastic clam-shell packages of Campari Tomatoes at the Costco Wholesale in Hackensack, squeezing the fruit and closing them.

"Do you mind my asking why you are touching all of those tomatoes," I said.

"I want to make sure they aren't soft," he replied.

Thinking the only "soft" thing was his head, I asked him if he would want other people touching the food he buys.

"Don't you think people touch the tomatoes when they put them into the packages?"

I said it is probably done by machine, but as he left, I noticed the big letters "EMT" on his jacket and hoped he shows better judgment in a medical emergency.

You don't have to touch Campari Tomatoes to see if they are soft. The redder they are, the riper and softer they are.

If you want a harder tomato, choose those that are a paler red. And they ripen when left out on your kitchen counter; refrigerating them destroys the rich, tomatoey flavor.

Then, because the beefsteak tomatoes didn't look that good, I took his place in front of the Campari Tomatoes and tried to find a 2-pound package with fruit he hadn't touched.

Organic chicken

My Hackensack warehouse store has added antibiotic-free Coleman Organic chicken drumsticks ($1.99 a pound) and thighs to the whole Coleman Organic chickens ($2.49 a pound) it has sold for the last few years.

They are in free-standing refrigerated cases near the produce section. As with all organic products, they contain no genetically modified organisms (GMOs).

Costco Wholesale usually carries sweet potatoes only around the holidays, but I found these in a 6.5 pound bag at my Hackensack warehouse store on Friday for $5.99. A 10-pound bag of Earthbound Farm Organic Carrots was $7.99.

At Costco in Hackensack on Friday afternoon, my haul included 3 pounds of bananas ($1.39), 2 pounds of salted cod-fish fillets from Canada ($11.99),  and two loaves of Kirkland Signature All Natural Multigrain 100% Whole Grain Bread ($4.49). Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix was $4.79 (1 pound).

On Sunday afternoon, we had lunch at Han Dynasty, 90 3rd Ave. in Manhattan's East Village (212-390-8685), and many of the other customers were young Asian couples with big bowls of noodles in front of them.

Han Dynasty

Our lunch at Han Dynasty in Manhattan on Sunday started with the tasty fish soup that was part of my takeout order from the original in Philadelphia last year.

The mildly spicy Soup with Pickled Vegetable and Flounder (4) includes lots of fresh garlic and ginger ($9.95).

Our entree was a non-spicy Scallion Style Shrimp ($19.95), and we also ordered Peas Leaves with Garlic ($12.95).

Brown rice was $1 extra. The serving is generous, much larger than in other Chinese restaurants.

The food was terrific, but the restaurant was full and service was a bit slow. 

We were brought a pot of tea and glasses of ice water when we sat down. I had to ask twice for extra napkins and we never got the fork my wife wanted.

Luckily, the utensil with one end buried under the pea leaves turned out to be a fork.

Scallion Style Shrimp at Han Dynasty.

Pea Leaves with Garlic: A simple, delicious and healthy dish.

Paramus ShopRite

On Monday, I ran out of 1% lactose-free milk and stopped at the Shop Rite in Paramus, where half-gallons of the store brand were $3.29 each, a discount of 20 cents.

Two Golden Pineapples were on sale for $5, and a 5-pound bag of Golden Delicious Apples was $3.99.

The biggest surprise was a 15-ounce container of Smart Balance Original for $1.75 or about half-price.
The sale price was $3.20 with $1.45 off.

At the Englewood ShopRite on Sunday, my wife bought 15 ounces of Smart Balance Original with Flaxseed Oil "on sale" for $3.59.

 

Worth the detour: 99-cents sardines, cheap wine

Bottles of wine imported from Italy, Spain and Hungary were $3.99 to $5 at Corrado's Family Affair on the Clifton-Paterson border.

A bottle of Charles Shaw California Cabernet Sauvignon (Two-buck Chuck) from Trader Joe's, left, supposedly contains the same 750 milliliters as the imported bottle next to it. The Charles Shaw bottle costs $2.98 at the Westfield store.

Editor's note: Today, I discuss a shopping trip to Paterson's Middle Eastern food bazaar; a canned-fish salad with chick peas, feta cheese and spinach; and plastic-bag recycling.

I still jump into my hybrid car and drive 10 miles to Paterson's Middle Eastern food-shopping district for the best prices on sardines, wine, yogurt drink and other products.

At Fattal's Bakery on Sunday, I picked up 20 cans of Al Shark-brand Moroccan Sardines in spicy oil or tomato sauce for 99 cents a can (4.23 ounces and 4.38 ounces, respectively).

A 1-gallon container of Merve Ayran Yogurt Drink was $8.69.

Parking at Fattal's (975-77 Main St.) is far easier than at Brothers Produce in the Paterson Farmers' Market, another source of 99-cents sardines.

Then, I drove a short distance to just over the Paterson-Clifton border and Corrado's  Family Affair for 1-pound bags of salted cod fish, but the store didn't have any.

So, I picked up store-made crumbled feta cheese ($2.99 a pound) and a bunch of fresh spinach ($1.69 a pound) I needed for a recipe.

In Corrado's liquor store, I bought 5 bottles of imported red wine ($3.99 to $5 each).

Canned-fish salad with chick peas, apple, feta cheese and spinach, served over fresh spinach leaves dressed with extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar.

Fishing for salad

I had seen a tuna salad with chick peas, feta cheese and spinach on the cold food bar at the Whole Foods Market in Paramus, and decided to try it with the items I got at Corrado's.

But I didn't stop at tuna, adding cans of pink salmon and sardines with their liquid to my canned-fish salad.

Then, I diced a Gala Apple and celery, including the leaves; drained, rinsed and added a can of chick peas; and crumbled feta cheese.

I washed the fresh spinach leaves and cut them into ribbons and added that to the salad with spinach stems.

The dressing was Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice and ground cumin, all added to taste. 

Canned-fish salad with organic spring mix, beefsteak tomato, olives and garlic cloves.

Recycling bags   

ShopRite is the only supermarket chain in North Jersey that accepts plastic bags for recycling, but we also put plastic food wrapping, plastic food seals and any other flexible plastic in the same bag.

     

ShopRite in Paramus has two large bins for recycled plastic bags.

Golden Pineapples were 2 for $5.

I didn't go home empty handed, picking up 2 Golden Pineapples for $5. 

When I told the cashier I would take the pineapples without a plastic bag, she gave me the 10-cent credit for customers who bring a re-usable bag.