Eating Out + Eating In: $13.50 for a Greek Salad, brunch in Red Bank and fish stories

DID THEY SHRINK THE SALAD? I met a friend for lunch at the Suburban Diner, 172 Route 17 north in Paramus, and paid $13.50 for a Greek Village Salad. He ordered a Turkey Club Sandwich with French Fries, Onion Rings, Russian Dressing, Cole Slaw and Pickles on the side, photos below, and paid $11.95. I feel I was penalized for trying to eat healthy.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

The Suburban Diner in Paramus appears to have downsized some lunch items, judging from the skimpy Greek Village Salad I had there the other day.

The popular Route 17 diner was expanded and completely renovated in 2012, and since then I've enjoyed meeting a friend there, usually ordering one of the big lunch salads.

But after an absence of more than a year (or maybe two), I found that the Greek Village Salad I ordered for $13.50 on Oct. 2 wasn't that big.

And though salads usually are healthy, this one had way too much salty feta cheese and olives, too much bread, and too little chopped cucumbers and greens.

I gained 6 pounds during a vacation in Iceland in August, when I filled up on fish, bread and beer.

Since we returned, I've tried to stick to my traditional bread substitutes -- sweet potatoes, organic quinoa and organic whole-wheat pasta -- and their lower carbs helped me shed the extra weight in about a month. 

So, all that bread in Suburban Diner's Greek Village Salad wasn't welcome, but there wasn't that much else to fill me up.

Meat substitutes

When eating out, I rarely have a problem finding substitutes for the meat and poultry I haven't eaten since 2010, but that wasn't the case on a day trip to Red Bank for a 3-course brunch and a play, "A Raisin in the Sun," at Two River Theater.

The day was arranged by WBGO, the jazz station in Newark, for members who paid one price for brunch and the theater. Jazz 88 is a media partner of the Red Bank theater.

Three of the four main courses listed on the limited menu of JBJ Soul Kitchen on Oct. 8 contained meat or poultry, and I didn't want the fourth choice -- Soul Kitchen Fall Pancakes with Candied Peanuts, Cinnamon Whipped Cream and Home Fries -- which had too many carbs and too much sugar.

A least for dessert, we were able to choose fruit salad over a cake.

BRUNCH IN RED BANK: This Pepper Frittata was listed on the menu of JBJ Soul Kitchen in Red Bank with Monterey Jack Cheese and a side of "Pork and Potato Hash." When I told the server I don't eat meat, she said the restaurant couldn't offer a substitute, so I was served only the small red pepper frittata.

The restaurant described my first course as Farm Vegetable Soup, but the bowl held only this thin broth and a scattering of vegetables.

At JBJ Soul Kitchen, my wife chose Teriyaki Beef with Soy Glazed Fried Rice, Fried Egg and Seasonal Green for a main course, above, and started with the Spring Into Fall Salad with Red Wine Poached Pears, Maple Vinaigrette and Feta Cheese, below.

I tried some of my wife's salad, and was sorry I didn't order it instead of the soup.

JBJ Soul Kitchen, 207 Monmouth St. in Red Bank, doesn't serve "soul food," but takes its name from Jersey shore rocker Jon Bon Jovi's JBJ Soul Foundation. The non-profit community restaurant serves paying customers and those who cannot pay. A second JBJ Soul Kitchen is in Toms River.

EATING IN: I assembled a pocket-bread sandwich with four fish -- leftover fried whiting from a takeout dinner; red snapper and a tuna-and-sardine salad we prepared at home; plus homemade pesto and tzatziki, sliced tomato and organic salad greens.

TAKE-OUT: In September, the opening of Paula's Soul Food Cafe at 331 Main St. in Hackensack proved wildly popular, judging from the crowds we encountered when picking up takeout on two successive Saturday nights. On Sept. 30, my wife picked up three Fried Whiting Dinners ($13 each), but Paula's staff needed an hour to fill the order. Paula's has a full soul food menu, including ribs and fried chicken, but also offers fresh wild-caught fish.

Fresh wild salmon

The four-month run of fresh, wild salmon at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro ended this month.

On Oct. 3, I picked up a skin-on fillet of wild Coho Salmon for $9.99 a pound.

Starting in early June, Costco offered fresh wild Sockeye Salmon from the Copper River, and later Sockeye and King Salmon, which were marked "Product of USA."

Only Coho Salmon was available in the last weeks.

EATING IN: I grilled fresh wild Coho Salmon and served it with a reduction of organic diced tomatoes, red wine and garlic; homemade pesto and fresh herbs, above and below.

A week later, I served grilled Coho Salmon with homemade basil pesto and a homemade yogurt sauce called tzatziki (non-fat Greek Yogurt from Costco Wholesale, shredded cucumbers, minced garlic, extra-virgin olive oil, lemon juice and dried dill).

TZATZIKI: Shredded cucumbers, non-fat Greek Yogurt and extra-virgin olive oil are three of the ingredients in tzatziki.

The skin-on Coho Salmon fillets spend 8 minutes on a preheated stovetop grill with spray oil (6-7 minutes for medium), turned once. 

A week ago, the Teterboro Costco offered only artificially colored farmed salmon, above. Another case held antibiotic-free farmed salmon.

Other wild fish at Costco

Costco's refrigerated case offers other fresh wild fillets, including Atlantic cod and haddock, flounder, ocean perch and monkfish.

Smoked wild Alaskan sockeye salmon is available year-round for use in omelets, salads and sandwiches. 

FISH & VEGETABLE MEDLEY: Serving pieces of fresh wild cod ($7.99  a pound at Costco) coated in Asian Indian spices and baked under a mantle of organic diced tomatoes, pitted olives, capers and grated Parmesan Cheese, above and below.

I lined a large pan with parchment paper, added fresh spinach, extra-virgin olive oil, serving pieces of fish, lemon juice and the other ingredients. The fish was ready after 15 minutes in a preheated 400-degree oven.

CHEESY FRITTATA: With the return of cooler weather, I prepared a 10-inch frittata with eggs (whole or whites or both) grated cheese, seasonings and dried herbs -- 4 cups of liquid in all. I poured the liquid into a preheated non-stick pan with olive oil, and added plum tomato slices, more grated cheese and Costco's Organic No-Salt Seasoning, below. When the crust was set, I moved the pan to broiler until the crust browned. I added homemade pesto as the frittata was cooling on the counter, then cut it into wedges with a spatula.

BREAD SUBSTITUTES: Organic quinoa from Costco Wholesale is one of my bread substitutes (above with  Jamaican-style ackee and salt fish, below with an omelet stuffed with wild smoked salmon.

I put 2 cups of organic quinoa, 4 cups of organic chicken stock, a can of organic diced tomatoes, a can of organic chickpeas or beans, olive oil, sesame oil and a little salt in an electric cooker, and choose the "white rice" setting.

Two more bread substitutes are organic whole wheat pasta, above, and sweet potatoes, below. The best sources for organic whole wheat pasta in a variety of shapes are Whole Foods Market and ShopRite (both charge $1.50 or less for a 1-pound package).

I bake sweet potatoes at 350 degrees until they are soft and the natural sugar oozes out of them (takes at least an hour). I also boil cut-up, skin-on sweet potato with peeled garlic cloves and mash them with extra-virgin olive oil and seasonings, including cinnamon, curry powder and red-pepper flakes.

A wedge of frittata served with a baked sweet potato and Mexican-style salsa.