You can salsa with wild shrimp at Whole Foods Market, Rosa Mexicano

Wild-caught shrimp from Whole Foods Market in Paramus cook in minutes in Whole Foods' 365 Everyday Value Thick & Chunky Salsa, below.

Editor's note: Amid a flood of low-quality farmed shrimp from Vietnam and other countries, two reliable sources for wild-caught shrimp are Whole Foods Market in Paramus and Rosa Mexicano, a fine-dining restaurant in Hackensack.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

When you feel like treating yourself to jumbo wild shrimp for Sunday dinner, they may not always be on sale.

We buy wild-caught Gulf Shrimp (16 to 20 per pound) from Whole Foods Market in Paramus, only a few miles from our home.

When on sale, they usually are $14.99, but on Sunday, I had to pay full price, $19.99 a pound.

They were worth it, though. For one thing, the fish counter workers will devein the shrimp for you.

About 1.5 pounds of shelled and deveined shrimp -- turned once -- cooked in minutes in Whole Foods' Thick & Chunky Salsa ($2.69 for a 16-ounce jar).

There were enough crunchy shrimp to feed three with leftovers (for about $10 a person). 

The medium-spicy salsa also served as a sauce for our side dish, yellow rice prepared with organic mixed vegetables.

Behind the biggest fresh seafood counter in North Jersey, a Whole Foods employee deveined my wild-caught shrimp.

Another worker said she adds fresh ice to the display every 30 minutes to replace melted ice. Whole Foods Market is in Bergen Town Center off of Forest Avenue in Paramus (201-226-1244).

At Rosa Mexicano in Hackensack, Veracruz-style Alambre de Camarones are grilled wild jumbo shrimp, marinated in garlic vinaigrette, with grilled onions and serrano chiles served with achiote rice and salsa verde picante ($22).

Wild shrimp at Rosa Mexicano

I immediately said yes when a friend invited me to lunch at Rosa Mexicano, the Hackensack restaurant where authentic dishes are made from scratch.

The kitchen turns out its own salsas and mole sauces, and wonderful, thick corn tortillas are made in one of the nicest dining rooms in Bergen County, decorated with Mexican pottery, textiles, sconces and other items.

The first Rosa Mexicano opened in Manhattan in 1984, and today, the menu in Hackensack offers a $23 lunch to celebrate the restaurant's 30-plus years at that location.

The fixed-price lunch includes sharing one of three starters, including Rosa Mexicano's signature guacamole, prepared at your table; a choice of any entree (normally $16 to $23), and a shared dessert, Churros or a cake called Tres Leches.

Neither of us had room for dessert.

Warm corn tortillas are perfect for wrapping guacamole, refried beans and other food. Extras are available for the asking.

Guacamole en Molcajete (avocado, jalapeno, tomato, onion and cilantro) is served with warm tortilla chips and salsa ($14.50).

I had the Alambre de Camarones, and my friend ordered Chicken Enchiladas smothered in a rich Mole Poblano ($17).

Side dishes included achiote rice, above, and refried black beans, below.

Rosa Mexicano is in the Shops at Riverside, 390 Hackensack Ave., Hackensack (201-489-0151).

Introducing the not-so-happy hour at Rosa Mexicano in Hackensack

At Rosa Mexicano in Hackensack, the terrific guacamole is prepared from a single avocado at your table ($14), but during happy hour you can get unlimited refills. 

The restaurant makes fresh corn tortillas in the dining room.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

For Christmas, my wife bought me a $100 gift card to Rosa Mexicano in Hackensack, a fine-dining favorite of ours where almost everything is made from scratch.

We decided to drive there today and use the card during the restaurant's happy hour from 4 p.m. to 7 p.m. (and all day Sunday).

During happy or cantina hour, bottles of Mexican beer are only $4, appetizers are discounted and you can get unlimited refills of the terrific guacamole, which is made with one avocado and costs $14.

Happy hour scratched

But not today.

When I walked in with my wife and mother-in-law this afternoon and told the hostess we were there for happy hour, she said it was cancelled for the holiday.

I said the restaurant's Web site didn't mention that; she asked another employee, then said she was sorry she couldn't accommodate us.

The bar was about half-full, and the experience was embarrassing, to say the least.

Silent Web site

I looked at Rosa Mexicano's Web site this morning and saw the happy hours listed, as well as special happy hour drink and food menus.

I saw nothing about the happy hour being called off, because Rosa Mexicano is serving a special New Year's Eve menu for $45 a person with unlimited margaritas, beer and other alcohol for another $28 a person.

If one person wants the special holiday menu, everyone at the table has to order it. Ditto for the drinks; I drink, but my wife and mother-in-law don't.

In addition, the menu includes chicken, sausage and Mexican doughnuts (churros), none of which I eat.

Paul the manager 

When we got home, I called and reached the restaurant's manager, who identified himself as Paul.

I mentioned the Web site's silence on happy hour being cancelled for the holiday.

He said I should have asked to speak to him, but also noted "he just got in" to work. He also said he wanted to make things right.

But I said the Web site should be updated, and he should train his hostess to be more flexible.

Then, I wished him a Happy New Year and hung up.

Rosa Mexicano, an old favorite, comes through at a $16.95 lunch

At Rose Mexicano in Hackensack, a large oval plate holding Crepas de Cajeta -- crepes soaked in a sinful caramel sauce, ice cream and fresh strawberries -- one of two desserts available at a fixed-price, three-course lunch during (201) Restaurant Week.

The dining and bar rooms are beautifully decorated, and the kitchen makes just about all of the dishes from scratch.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

After a disappointing (201) Restaurant Week lunch at The Oceanaire Seafood Room on Tuesday, I turned to one of my favorites, Rosa Mexicano, part of a restaurant row in the same Hackensack shopping center.

The $16.95 lunch at the fine-dining Mexican restaurant offers a wider choice than the meal at the pricey seafood place -- five appetizers, five entrees, two desserts or three beverages for people like me who try to avoid sugary, artery clogging food.

I met a friend there on Thursday, and for an appetizer, we shared a chunky guacamole made at our table in the beautiful dining room.

Then, each of us had a large salad with grilled salmon and kale tossed in a delicious vinaigrette.

He finished with a huge dessert, but I chose a freshly made agua fresca, a traditional Mexican drink.

I left stuffed and completely satisfied.

The restaurant's signature chunky guacamole is made with only one Hass avocado and normally costs $14, compared to $10 in January 2010. We asked the server to make it spicy, and it was terrific.

Instead of dessert, I chose a sweetened pineapple Agua Fresca. The waiter brought me a second pitcher and offered a third.

Ensalada Picada with Grilled Salmon includes Tuscan kale, roasted corn, chayote, tortilla strips and roasted poblano peppers tossed in a poblano-pepper vinaigrette. Outstanding.

Restaurant Week menus

I don't eat meat or poultry, but do eat seafood, and I managed to find a salad with heart-healthy fish to satisfy me at Rosa Mexicano.

But judging from the (201) Restaurant Week lunch menus I've seen so far, few concessions are made for vegetarians.

Before we chose guacamole as an appetizer, I asked the waiter if the Sopa de Tortilla, one of my favorite Mexican dishes, usually served fiery, could be prepared without grilled chicken.

He said it could, but warned the soup is made with chicken stock.

A word about ergonomics. We were shown to a booth, but the table was too high in relation to the bench seat. There are plenty of tables and chairs as an alternative.

Service was causal and unrushed, giving us plenty of time to catch up.

Our salads came with two side dishes, refried beans and rice with fresh herbs, evidence of the kitchen's generosity, which I recall from past meals at Rosa Mexicano and cooking demonstrations complete with free breakfasts.

Corn chips and freshly made salsa are complimentary, but I should have asked for small corn tortillas, which are made in the dining room and served warm, instead of the chips, which appeared to have been salted.

The restaurant is decorated with beautiful Mexican pottery, wall sconces and textiles.

The men's room is bigger and far cleaner than the one I encountered at The Oceanaire Seafood Room.

Rosa Mexicano, One Riverside Square (The Shops at Riverside), Hackensack Avenue and Route 4, Hackensack; 201-489-9100.

Rosa Mexicano's Web site

The 6th Annual (201) Restaurant Week promotion continues on Sunday and ends on Thursdays.

A Passover meal with tortillas -- not matzo

Cover of Rosa Mexicano

Rosa Mexicano Restaurant usually delivers delicious food prepared from scratch, as reflected in the cover photo of Chef -Founder Joseifna Howard's cookbook.

My best-laid plans for our one dinner out each week often go awry when my wife and son refuse to cooperate with my vision for the meal.

And on Saturday night, at my favorite Mexican restaurant in North Jersey, the kitchen let me down for the first time with an entree I chose from the "Passover a La Mexicana" menu.

They pass over menu

Although I told my wife and 13-year-old son I wanted to have a Passover meal at Rosa Mexicano in Hackensack and made a reservation, they didn't want to order anything from the special menu, which is available through Monday, April 25.

I couldn't get them interested in the crispy corned-beef tacos or the soft ones stuffed with beef tongue; the roasted brisket in a banana leaf; or the tropical haroset and spring noodle kugel.

No. My son insisted on ordering the restaurant's guacamole, which is made at the table from a single avocado for an exorbitant $12 (with handmade corn tortillas and two salsas). And he ate so much of it, he couldn't finish his entree from the regular menu; nor could my wife finish hers.

Only two non-meat dishes

For me, there was one non-meat appetizer and one non-meat entree on the Passover menu, but it would have been folly to order both at this expensive restaurant, where portions are large and everything is made from scratch.

So, I asked for Salmon-Stuffed Cabbage Veracruzana ($19) -- a twist on stuffed cabbage that my Sephardic Jewish mother made with rice and ground meat, and baked in a tamarind sauce until the cabbage was soft and could be cut with a fork. 

The menu promised a "sweet-and-sour tomato sauce with olives, capers, sweet peppers and raisins," but when my entree came, I found the sauce on the plate, around the two stuffed cabbage, not over or inside them.

And I guess by ordering only one entree from the special Passover menu, we didn't get two side dishes listed as "for the table" -- spicy, pickled cucumber, carrot and cabbage -- and a spicy salsa made with cilantro and garlic.

Undercooked cabbage

I was looking forward to salmon fillet wrapped in cabbage, but the fish was ground up and combined with rice -- a too-literal interpretation of traditional stuffed cabbage, and the cabbage was still crisp, so I need a knife to cut it. It was so bland, too, so I asked the waiter for some chili sauce to pour over it.

My wife ordered Alambra de Camarones ($24) -- shrimp over rice -- and  my son tried the Tablones ($25.75) -- 18 ounces of boneless short ribs in a sauce with onion, carrot and peppers. Two small bowls of herbed rice and refried beans came with their food.

The bill -- $117 with a 15% tip -- included a glass of kosher red wine for me ($9). I guess I'll drink to compromise and family harmony.

Rosa Mexicano, 390 Hackensack Ave., 

in The Shops at Riverside, Hackensack; 

201-489-9100. Web site

Inside Mexico City's taco al pastor

Lebanese and Mexican traditions produce a great taco.

Three winters ago, we discovered the taco al pastor in Mexico City and lost count of how many we wolfed down at El Califa and other restaurants. On Tuesday, I heard from a Bergen County woman who just returned and has been pining for the delightful treats.

These scrumptious tacos are deceptively simple: First, marinated pork is roasted on a vertical spit, in the Lebanese style brought over by immigrants from that country (see photo above).

Then, the meat goes into two corn tortillas with fresh pineapple (that's it, at the top of the spit), onion, cilantro and a great salsa. Yet, I have not found their equal in North Jersey or the city.

A taco al pastor at Taqueria El Califa in Mexico City.

The taco maker in the photo is actually a blur in person -- slicing off meat with his right hand into small corn tortillas held in his left hand. Then, he swings the knife at the pineapple for the sweet garnish, shown above.

In Mexico City, the taco al pastor is served three at a time, with a couple of small cups holding red or green salsa. We sampled the taco at three places before deciding the best ones were being served at Taqueria El Califa, then returned two more times.

Here, I stopped looking for a good taco al pastor more than a year ago, the last time I ate meat. 

But I'm betting you can find something similar at Rosa Mexicano in Hackensack, even if you have to order a pork dish, bring your own fresh pineapple and make your own with the restaurant's scrumptious corn tortillas, which are prepared in the dining room.

Rosa Mexicano, 390 Hackensack Ave., in The Shops at Riverside, 
Hackensack; 201-489-9100.

Taqueria El Califa, Altata 22, Colonia Condesa, 
Mexico City; 5271.6285, 5273.4943.

Family hour at Rosa Mexicano Restaurant

Image by ChrisGoldNY via Flickr

Making guacamole at Rosa Mexicano Restaurant on Union Square in  Manhattan.

If you've never thought of having a family meal during happy hour, you might want to reconsider and go to Rosa Mexicano in Hackensack, where some drinks and appetizers are half price from 4 to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

I've attended cooking demonstrations at this shopping center restaurant, and in the early days, enjoyed the free breakfasts that were served first. I soon learned the cooks make just about everything from scratch, resulting in the best Mexican food in North Jersey, if not the entire state, with prices to match. And it's one of the most beautiful restaurants around.


I've eaten lunch there -- try the fish tacos with a couple of sparkling salsas -- but never dinner. Happy hour gives me a chance to sample more of the food at terrific prices, and my 13-year-old son can participate as long as we sit at one of the tables in the bar area.

Friday night, we got there around 5. My son insisted we order the made-to-order guacamole, which is he addicted to, and I relented, despite it not being one of the discounted appetizers. I love it, too, but at $12 for two avocados ..... We asked for it spicy, and they delivered, along with wonderful, small, warm corn tortillas made in the dining room and red and green salsas.


We also ordered a delicious quesadilla oozing with melted cheese and mushroom-like huitlacoche or corn fungus ($4.40) and an order of two pork street tacos ($3.50) -- both bargains. Each of these appetizers came with its own salsa or salsas, different from the two served with the chunky guacamole.


My wife drank a traditional margarita ($4), I had two bottles of dark Negra Modelo beer ($2.75 each) and our son had two Mango Boing soft drinks ($4 each).

So that's how we turned happy hour into a satisfying family meal.

Rosa Mexicano Restaurant, 390 Hackensack Ave.,
Hackensack (The Shops at Riverside); 201-489-9100.
rosamexicano.com

A delicious lunch at Rosa Mexicano

Image by Rowan Peter via Flickr
A rice field.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

We skipped breakfast this morning to attend a free cooking demonstration at Rosa Mexicano Restaurant in Hackensack, then stayed for a wonderful lunch of freshly made guacamole, fish tacos and jumbo shrimp in a roasted-tomato peanut sauce with green-chili rice.

Coffee and juice were available, but the complimentary breakfast we enjoyed in the past has been eliminated. 

With pottery, textiles, sconces and other decorative touches, Rosa Mexicano remains one of the most beautiful restaurants in North Jersey, and virtually all the food is made from scratch -- paying homage to native, Spanish and French culinary influences.

Two chefs, David Suarez and Dennis Lake, showed their audience of more than 30 how to prepare the labor-intensive roasted-tomato peanut sauce, green chile rice, pork picadillo, homemade marshmallows and other dishes. 

At the end of the "Real Men Cook Mexican" demonstration, we were starving.

Me, my wife and 12-year-old son shared the chunky guacamole ($10) a waiter made at our table, spooning some into thin, warm, homemade corn tortillas, some of the best I have ever tasted, and adding red or green salsa. 

A nice hunk of beautifully roasted Chilean sea bass ($12.75) followed,  served with more tortillas to make tacos, plus salsa and three side dishes -- rice, beans with pumpkin seeds and creamed corn.

We also shared an entree of those jumbo shrimp ($19), stacked in a pool of roasted-tomato peanut sauce and served with a mound of rice, made with mustard greens, scallions, spinach and cilantro. 

Unfortunately, the spicy sauce we tasted during the demo was toned down for the restaurant service.

Rosa Mexicano Restaurant, 390 Hackensack Ave., 
in The Shops at Riverside, Hackensack; 201-489-9100.
www.rosamexicano.com