Tens of thousands are bitten by a pre-Thanksgiving food-shopping bug

About 20 minutes before the 10 a.m. opening today, Costco Wholesale members were crowding into the vestibule and jockeying for position outside the warehouse in the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center off of Route 46 in Teterboro, above and below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

In a mere two and a half hours this morning, I filled the gas tank of my wife's hybrid car at the Costco Wholesale gas station, had a repair made on one of the tires and bought more than $330 worth of food and flowers.

I've been stopping at my favorite food stores since last Friday. Usually, the pre-Thanksgiving crowds have been manageable, and at one or two places they were non-existent.

My major purchase at Costco today was $59.81 for Wild Cooked Red King Crab Legs at $21.99 a pound, about $2 more a pound than last year, according to the Costco employee who weighed and bagged them.

I'll cut the crab meat into large chunks for a cold salad dressed with Dijon mustard, fresh lime juice, cumin and other spices -- a luxurious appetizer for our Thanksgiving dinner on Thursday.

For crunch, I'll add diced celery and sweet peppers.

The rest of our Thanksgiving menu includes: 

Maryland-style jumbo lump crab cakes from Phillips Seafood Restaurants, sold frozen at Costco ($16.99 for six 3-ounce cakes).

We'll also roast turkey drumsticks and thighs from the Goffle Road Poultry Farm in Wyckoff. See:

A trip to the turkey farm

And we'll have a side dish of sweet potatoes mashed with extra-virgin olive oil and a salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix, also from Costco (1 pound is $4.79).

During the holidays, ShopRite supermarkets are selling 5-pound boxes of sweet potatoes for only $2.49.

We'll drink Kirkland Signature Prosecco, a sparkling wine from Italy sold at the Wayne Costco; and have fruit and cheese for dessert, including Lake Country Asiago, a hard, reduced-fat cheese from Wisconsin made with part-skimmed cow's milk ($5.69 a pound at Costco).

Mostly favorites

Most of the food I bought today were items we use year-round, including two dozen Kirkland Signature Organic Cage Free Eggs for $5.99 or $1 less than before.

A 22-ounce jar of Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto was $7.79, an 18-ounce package of fresh Blueberries from Peru was $6.99 and a pound of Wild Alaskan Smoked Sockeye Salmon was $14.89.

A dozen 10-ounce bottles of Naked 100% Juice Smoothies, with no added sugar, were $10.59 with an instant coupon; and a 64-ounce bottle of Naked Green Machine was $5.99.

A pound of fresh Organic Spinach was $3.99 and 3 pounds of Organic Bananas were $1.99.

Shopping tip

The Costco warehouse in Teterboro is too large for a shopper who makes a list and goes looking for individual items on it.

Instead, with list in hand, walk methodically up and down each aisle and when you see a item you need, grab it.

I leave produce, milk, eggs (moved to the cold room marked "Dairy") and fresh fish for last, then head for the checkout lanes.

Red King Crab Legs and Claws at Costco's Seafood Road Show.

I stopped buying Costco's farmed Black Tiger Shrimp from Vietnam, above and below, even though they are a good buy at about $10 a pound, compared to wild Gulf Shrimp from Whole Foods Market. Costco provides no information about how the farmed shrimp are raised.

Nor do I buy Costco's wildly popular but low-quality Seasoned Rotisserie Chickens, which are raised on antibiotics. See: Chicken makes good dog food.

Costco's pre-seasoned chickens arrive in boxes. They are fully cooked at the warehouse, although members complain about bloody and under-cooked birds. Ingredients include sodium phosphate, carrageenan, sugar and dextrose.

From Costco's small selection of hard cheeses, I chose Lake Country Asiago from Wisconsin.

Imagine-brand Organic Free Range Chicken Broth has less sodium than the Kirkland Signature Organic Cage Free Chicken Broth sold at Costco (1 cup contains 5% of the daily recommended intake of sodium compared to 18% in the Costco brand). Six liter containers were $11.49. Both brands have an easy to open screw top, below:

It doesn't happen often, but Costco's price for two 40-ounce jars of Victoria Marinara is a lot higher than the sale price I found at the ShopRite in Englewood on Monday, where each jar was $3.49. Victoria Vodka Sauce, which is free of artery clogging cream, also was $3.49 for a 40-ounce jar. 

I got a good deal at Costco on a 3-pound bag of medium-to-dark-roast coffee beans from Guatemala ($5.26 a pound), but grinding them in a coffee mill near the food court took a lot longer than I expected, below. 

All 3 pounds of beans wouldn't fit into one coffee mill, and they were oily so I had to keep pushing them down with a plastic spoon from the food court. I chose a Turkish grind to expose as much of the coffee to hot water during the brewing process at home.

Regular gasoline for my wife's Toyota Prius was $2.04.9 today, and a friendly Costco employee did the pumping. New Jersey recently raised the gas tax by 23 cents a gallon.

There was only one car ahead of me. The Costco gas station and tire store open before the warehouse.

The fish counter at the Super H Mart at 321 Broad Ave. in Ridgefield offers too much choice. This supermarket is the biggest Bergen County store in the Korean chain. On Thursday, I bought whole wild-caught Porgy for $2.99 a pound.

Tonight, my wife prepared the Porgies in a Fish Masala, a mixture of spices sold at Asian-Indian groceries, and made a sauce using organic chicken broth. I ate mine over organic brown rice prepared in an electric cooker with black-eyed peas and organic diced tomatoes.

Last week, I used the Fish Masala spices to coat pieces of fresh wild-caught Haddock fillet from Iceland ($8.99 a pound at Costco), and prepared a medley with organic spinach, pitted olives, organic diced tomatoes, grated cheese, extra-virgin olive oil and fresh lime juice. My side dish was mashed sweet potatoes.

Once you assemble all of the ingredients in a foil-lined pan, the haddock cooks in about 12 minutes in a pre-heated 400-degree oven.

A 5-pound box of Bagu Clementines from Spain were $5.99 at the Super H Mart, compared to $7.99 for the same clementines I bought at the H Mart in Little Ferry on Nov. 6.

Two 5-ounce containers of Olivia's Organic Spring Mix were $3.99.

The Super H Mart has one of the biggest selection of prepared Korean food, including pancakes, below.

A package of Pan-Fried Seafood and Chive Pancakes was $5.99.

The Super H Mart was a pleasure to shop in on Monday afternoon around 2:15.

At the Englewood ShopRite, 40 Nathaniel Place in the Palisades Court shopping center, where I went later Monday afternoon to fill a prescription, three 15.5-ounce cans of Goya Blackeye Peas, marked non-GMO, were $2. I also bought organic and conventional whole-wheat pasta and two 40-ounce jars of Victoria Vodka Sauce ($3.49 each). The store was mobbed.

Around lunchtime on Friday, Jerry's Gourmet & More at 410 S. Dean St. in Englewood was busier than usual. On the way there, I braved the crowd jammed into the small retail store at Balthazar Bakery, 214 S. Dean St., for a pair of $2 baguettes.

Jerry's complete restaurant-quality Meals To Go are $7.99 and $5.99 after 4 p.m. I bought one fish and two chicken dinners.

I gladly paid full price for my Tilapia Marechiaro Dinner with Linguine in White Clam Sauce, Roasted Potatoes, Broccoli with Garlic and Zucchini Stuffed with Vegetable, above and below.

Dinner was complete with a glass of red wine and an organic spring mix salad.

Ignore the overpriced wine and beer at the International Food Warehouse at 370 Essex St. in Lodi. I only bought a couple of items, including a 3-liter tin of Artemis-brand Extra-Virgin Olive Oil from Greece ($20.99).

Sasoon Lavash, a thin, chewy, addictive Armenian bread, comes all the way from Glendale, Calif., but contains only flour, filtered water and salt. I like to make lavash roll-ups with Greek yogurt, a dried-thyme mixture called za'atar and extra-virgin olive oil. 

Also at the International Food Warehouse, a Whole Wheat Lavash from Damascus Bakeries is labeled "natural," but has a long list of ingredients, including sugar and corn starch, below.

Paramus Trader Joe's could be better, wine at Wayne Costco and more

A 3-pound bag of Organic Sweet Potatoes at Trader Joe's in Paramus is $4.49 or about $1.50 a pound, less than at ShopRite or other stores.

Editor's note: Back from vacation, I've been visiting Trader Joe's in Paramus, Costco Wholesale in Wayne and Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood -- because no one food store has everything.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

If you buy Trader Joe's hot dogs, bacon or cold cuts, make sure you read the labels to find out which package contains antibiotic-free meat.

The specialty grocer has ignored calls to stop selling meat and poultry raised on harmful human antibiotics, so shopping in the Paramus store is a little more difficult than, say, going to Whole Foods Market a few miles away.

For example, both Trader Joe's Beef Hot Dogs and Jumbo Beef Franks are uncured and fully cooked, but the bigger dogs contain antibiotics ($5.99 per package).

Trader Joe's Bacon is both antibiotic and nitrite free ($5.49).

Meanwhile, the selection of Applegate Naturals cold cuts is more limited than before, and I've only been able to find sliced ham and sliced turkey on my last two trips (a 7-ounce package was $4.49).

Applegate Naturals are antibiotic and preservative free, but make sure you read the label if you decide to buy Trader Joe's own line of cold cuts, which are displayed on the same rack. 

In general, prices at Trader Joe's have been creeping up, so some items, including 1-pound packages of organic whole wheat pasta, cost more than at the Paramus ShopRite.

And I ignore all of Trader Joe's prepared food, frozen fish, olive oil, pasta sauces with added sugar and most of the produce, because I can find better quality or better prices elsewhere.

Trader Joe's, 404 Route 17 north in Paramus, is open from 8 a.m. to 10 p.m. daily (201-265-9624).

One of the red wines that caught my eye at Costco Wholesale in Wayne is this Mount Hermon Red from Israel. 

Costco's own wine

The Costco Wholesale in Teterboro has a separate liquor store operated by another company, but the Wayne warehouse is different: 

It has its own liquor license, and sells private label Kirkland Signature wines and spirits, in addition to a large variety of other red, white and sparkling wines.

On Wednesday afternoon, we stopped at Costco on the way to hear jazz singer Karrin Allyson backed by a big band at William Paterson University in Wayne.

You can easily spend more than $100 on a bottle of wine at Costco, but I bought six bottles under $8 each on the theory they are just as healthy as bottles costing two, three or four times as much.

Two of the 750-milliliter bottles were Kirkland Signature Prosecco, a sparkling wine from Italy with a cork that pops like champagne, for only $6.99 each.

A Kirkland Signature Malbec was also $6.99, and a Kirkland Signature Cotes du Rhone Villages was $6.89.

A Merlot from the Bogle Vineyards in California also was $6.99; and a Cono Sur Pinot Noir from Chile was $7.69. 

I bought six bottles of wine, all under $8 each.

Kirkland Signature red wines include a Malbec from Argentina and a Cotes du Rhone Villages from France, above, and 1.5-liter bottles of Cabernet Sauvignon from California.

Costco Wholesale is at 149 Route 23 south, in the Wayne Towne Center Mall. Call 1-973-339-4006 for hours.

Jerry's Gourmet & More disappointed customers who love the store's restaurant-quality dinners to go, but don't eat meat, by wrapping three pieces of monkfish in bacon, above and below.

The takeout dinners are reduced to $5.99 after 4 p.m., if there are any left.

Jerry, there's meat in my fish

I got to Jerry's Gourmet & More in Englewood early on Wednesday afternoon, and found several restaurant-quality takeout dinners in the usual refrigerated case.

I don't eat meat or poultry, but do eat seafood, so I picked up the one with monkfish, only to see the pieces were wrapped in bacon.

My consolation was a large House Salad with mushrooms, arugula, roasted peppers, artichokes and Parmesan cheese with a house vinaigrette dressing ($5.99).

I bought the monkfish dinner and two others with chicken for other members of the family ($7.99 each).

For breakfast today, my stuffed egg-white omelet was accompanied by Eggplant Rollatini, Baby Bok Choy with Garlic and Sweet Baby Peppers left over from the monkfish dinner.

Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St., in Englewood (1-201-871-7108), offers free samples of cheese, bread, olive oil and other items.

The large House Salad from Jerry's Gourmet & More.

Farmed v. wild red snapper; takeout from Seafood Gourmet in Maywood

This bone-in steak from a large, wild-caught red snapper we bought at H Mart in Englewood was prepared with caramel, sweet peppers, onion and garlic.

Editor's note: We love fresh fish -- prepared at home, in restaurants or as takeout. Here is a report on some of our recent meals.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Little did I know the two whole wild-caught red snappers I bought at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro last October would be the last.

The next time I looked for them, I found two red fish labeled "Snapper," farmed in Costa Rica, and they weren't even scaled.

And there was nothing on the label about whether they were raised with antibiotics or treated with preservatives.

The texture and taste of the farmed fish paled in comparison to a firm, flaky, wild red snapper. What a mistake, I thought.

My only comfort was in knowing even farmed fish is good for the heart and the brain, and far better for me than meat or poultry.

Snapped it up

This past Sunday, my wife bought a wild-caught red snapper weighing more than 2 pounds from H Mart in Englewood ($7.99 a pound).

She cut the fish into three parts (head, steak and tail portion); and prepared them with Grace-brand Browning (caramel), sweet peppers, onion and garlic.

I took the steak, and ate it with a salad and a glass of wine. Delicious.

So, my advice when buying whole fish or fillets: Go wild.

A takeout container from Seafood Gourmet in Maywood held one of last week's specials: Grilled Wild Thai Salmon.

I plated the wild-caught king salmon, Thai chili bok choy and jasmine rice, and gently reheated them.

Seafood Gourmet

I've enjoyed every meal I've eaten in the small restaurant behind the fish market at Seafood Gourmet in downtown Maywood.

But the fresh seafood prepared by an adventurous chef is so popular it is often difficult to get a dinner reservation there.

That's when we decided to follow a friend's advice and order takeout from a menu and weekly specials listed online.

Lunch portions

Seafood Gourmet allows to you to order lunch portions from the takeout menu that cost less than dinner, and we found them satisfying, even if you don't finish with a salad.

And the specials listed online often cost less than the same dish served in the dining room.

Late Saturday afternoon, we ordered three lunch portions:

A special of Grilled Thai Wild Salmon ($15); Shrimp Parmigiana over Linguine ($13.99), a house specialty; and Sole Francese with sauteed spinach, both fish and greens made with garlic and oil, not butter ($12.99).

We also ordered a quart of the Soup du Jour, a tomato-based Maryland Crab Chowder ($10).

Rare problem

About 10 minutes after I called, I remembered I forgot to tell the woman who took the order I like my wild salmon prepared medium rare.

But when I called back, she said the cook usually prepares salmon medium, and I said that would be OK.

We enjoyed our takeout, which was ready for pickup in 25 minutes.

As I was paying with a credit card, the cook's helper, wearing plastic gloves, grabbed a couple of fresh fillets from the display case in the market, and returned to the kitchen.

When I got home, I found the king salmon had been cooked through. Though juicy, the fish would have been better if prepared medium rare.

We also found the crab chowder too salty to eat. We exchanged the uneaten portion on Tuesday for a quart of lobster bisque at no charge.

Details

Seafood Gourmet, 103 W. Pleasant Ave., Maywood; 201-843-8558.

Web site: Fresh fish for here or to go

On Wednesday afternoon, a complete takeout dinner from Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St. in Englewood, included a skin-on fillet of orata with sweet peppers, linguine in clam sauce with zucchini, and vegetable dumplings, above. A kale salad also was included, below.

Another Meal To Go from Jerry's included a large fillet of sea trout, above. Complete takeout dinners are $7.99 or $5.99 after 4 p.m., if there are any left. After 4 on Wednesday afternoon, I found three at the lower price.

A pesto-accented egg-white omelet stuffed with smoked wild Alaskan sockeye salmon, which is available at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, but not at the Costco Business Center in Hackensack. I had it for breakfast with leftover Asian greens and boiled Kabocha squash.