Eating Out & Eating In: Sanducci's takeout, red shrimp, fish tacos and more

LAST BUT NOT LEAST: A day after we ordered takeout from Sanducci's Trattoria, 620 Kinderkamack Road in River Edge, I enjoyed leftover Arugula Salad with shaved cheese in a lemony dressing, and Grilled Vegetables in a balsamic glaze.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

Zoning decisions and dining out don't mix, as you can see at Sanducci's Trattoria and other restaurants along Kinderkamack Road in River Edge.

In their hunger for ratables, town fathers approved restaurants like Sanducci's and Joyce Chinese Cuisine with all or most of the parking in the back, requiring customers to hike up a hill to the front door.

We have always like the food at Sanducci's, but don't go there that often, even though the trattoria has an elevator off of the parking lot that delivers you to the back of a second-level dining room.

So, we called for takeout last Saturday night, and picked up our order, which was enough to feed 3 with leftovers:

From the online dinner menu, I chose an appetizer of Grilled Vegetables ($9.50), Arugula Salad ($10.50), Shrimp Sanducci ($19.95) and a 12-inch, thin-crust Quattro Stagione Pizza ($12.95).

You can have dine-in and takeout coupons emailed to you, but they are valid Sundays to Thursdays only. See: Sanducci's Trattoria

GREEN NOODLES: I asked for the Shrimp Sanducci to be made without the "touch of cream" listed on the menu, and loved the homemade green fettuccine noodles and all of the vegetables.

THIN CRUST: The Quattro Stagione Pizza also is made with lots of vegetables.

FRESH GARLIC: The lemon and oil dressing for the Arugula Salad includes chopped fresh garlic.

MISSING: As for the Grilled Vegetables with balsamic glaze, I got all of the vegetables listed on the menu except radicchio.

OUT OF THEIR SHELLS: I brought home a box of Argentinian Red Shrimp for Sunday dinner, and my wife shelled and deveined them. They cooked in less than 10 minutes in olive oil on top of the stove, and I served them over tri-color organic quinoa from Trader Joe's.

FROM THE DEEP FREEZE: I've paid more than $10 a pound for these Pescanova-brand wild-caught shrimp, which are deep frozen on board the fishing boat and packed into boxes. Last Sunday, H&Y Marketplace, a Korean supermarket at 1 Remsen Place in Ridgefield, had them for $26.99. The box listed the weight as 4.4 pounds (about $6.14 a pound), but the H&Y label showed the weight as 5.1 pounds (about $5.30 a pound).

LEMON JUICE AND OLIVE OIL: I marinated the shelled shrimp in fresh lemon juice, red-pepper flakes and other seasonings, and dumped them into a large pan preheated with olive oil, turning them once. They were done when they curled up.

FROZEN BUT TENDER: Most wild shrimp sold in North Jersey is previously frozen, but these shelled and deveined Argentinian Red Shrimp are unusually tender after cooking, and even a day later after they are reheated in  a microwave. One preparation tip is to place the frozen shrimp in a pot and fill it with warm-to-hot water to make shelling them easier.

WILD SESAME: Jun's Tofu is made in H&Y Marketplace, and mine was still warm when I got home, so I tried a couple of spoonfuls right from the container. The tofu is made with wild black sesame seeds and sea salt.

NON GMO: A 1-pound container of Wild Sesame Tofu is $5, right. Jun's Tofu is free of genetically modified organisms.

FREE SAMPLES: On the weekends, H&Y Marketplace offers free samples of fruit, cooked and raw seafood, noodle soup and other items.

BEST KIMCHI: Arirang Kimchi relocated to a storefront in the H&Y Shopping Center from Englewood. Cabbage and other kimchis are made on site with no preservatives or MSG. A large bottle of Mahk or Cabbage Kimchi is $12.

BETTER BUYS: I saw a few better buys at H&Y than at the H Mart in Little Ferry, and you don't have to ford large puddles or dodge potholes to get them.

PRODUCE: Large heads of Red Leaf Lettuce were 79 cents each, and three Shingo-brand Korean Pears were $5.99. H&Y also charges less per pound for the Argentinian Red Shrimp, which are sold in smaller quantities at the H Mart in Englewood.

NICE SURPRISE: My son went to buy fish at H Mart, and surprised me with a takeout order of Fish Tacos from Taqueria Los Gueros, 48 W. Palisade Ave., Englewood. There are four tacos per order ($8).

STRIPED BASS: My wife prepared a sauce from a Fish Masala, a mixture of Asian Indian spices, above and below. Striped bass were $5.99 a pound at the Englewood H Mart, 25 Lafayette Ave.

FLIP THEM: We prepared the striped bass in a large, covered pan straddling two burners on our stove. They would have been ready sooner, if we had turned them over during the cooking.

GREAT DEAL IN TAKEOUT: Complete, restaurant-quality dinners to go are a great deal at Jerry's Gourmet & More, 410 S. Dean St. in Englewood, especially after 4 p.m., when they are reduced to $5.99 from $7.99.

STEAK, CHICKEN AND FISH: On Wednesday, I picked up three dinners -- steak, chicken thighs and red snapper. My fish dinner included Rigatoni with Eggplant, and three salads, above.

FREE SAMPLES: Jerry's puts out so many free samples of cheese, bread, sausage and other items many customers are constantly chewing as they browse.

SOME LIKE IT HOT: The Green Papaya Salad ($8.95) at Bangkok Garden Thai Restaurant, 261 Main St. in Hackensack. The waitress asked me how spicy I wanted it on a scale of 1 to 10. I said 5, and that turned out to be too hot for me, but I finished it in between frequent gulps of cold water.

NO NEED TO DUCK: My friend Arthur ordered a lunch special, boneless Basil Duck ($12.95), which came with a salad in a peanut dressing, below. 

PASTA AND EGGS: Two organic eggs fried in olive oil with organic guacamole and Mexican-style salsa, all from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro. I ate them with leftover Organic Whole Wheat Fusilli Pasta from Whole Foods Market prepared in a bottled red sauce with anchovies and sardines.

EGG-WHITE OMELET OF THE DAY: I've also used the guacamole and salsa in an egg-white omelet, along with smoked wild salmon and reduced fat cheese. An omelet stuffed with cheese, salsa and Costco's Kirkland Signature Natural Peanut Butter (creamy) also wasn't bad.