Eating Out: Flounder + roe at Lotus Cafe; and the manager wore shorts at Justin's II

A waiter at Lotus Cafe in Hackensack serving Beef and Tofu Chowder for 2. Below, the fresh, wild-caught whole flounder we ordered came with tiny but crunchy fish roe.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

Long-time favorite Lotus Cafe in Hackensack accommodates a wide range of tastes in Chinese food.

Customers can order a casserole of prime beef and mushrooms simmered in X.O. sauce (made from shrimp roe, dried scallops and herbs), or just ask for their food with a "white sauce" or a "brown sauce."

The servers are just as happy bringing you an appetizer of Calamari with Salt & Pepper as they are a half-dozen Bar-B-Q Spare Ribs.

You get a pot of hot tea, small bowls of duck sauce and Chinese mustard, and crispy wonton strips to munch on while you wait for your food, but a wicked red chili paste is available on request. 

We go there for the wide variety of seafood, including steamed whole fish served in a light sauce, and covered in a tangle of shredded scallions and a sprig of cilantro.

Last Saturday night, I was delightfully surprised that our whole flounder with Scallion & Ginger came with a large sack of tiny but crunchy roe. The fish was enough for 3 ($32.95).

Our bountiful meal included soup, dumplings, and side dishes of string beans and tofu, and we took home leftovers.

At Lotus Cafe in Hackensack, my wife and mother-in-law started with Beef and Tofu Chowder for 2 ($6.95), then we all shared an appetizer of boiled Seafood Dumplings, which came with a soy dipping sauce, above (8 for  $7.95). 

Our side dishes were Fried String Beans Szechaun Style, above, and Ma Po Tofu made without minced pork, below ($11.95 each).

Lotus Cafe doesn't charge extra for brown rice.

The tablecloths and cloth napkins come out at 4:30 in the afternoon. Last Saturday, round tables were being set up for fixed-price banquet meals from a special menu available on request.

Details

Lotus Cafe, 450 Hackensack Ave., in the Home Depot Shopping Center, Hackensack; 201-488-7070.

BYO; fixed-price, multi-course meals for 4 to 12 people available on request; free delivery within 3 miles with $12 minimum.

Website: Order online 

Justin's Ristorante II

I was so eager to try the fixed-price, three-course dinner with dessert and coffee or tea for only $21.95 we opened the door to Justin's Ristorante II in Wood-Ridge precisely at 4 p.m.

Not only was the manager still in shorts and a T-shirt, but after we were seated, the waiter told us the early bird dinner isn't served on Saturdays.

So, we ordered a terrific fresh-fig appetizer, big plates of al-dente pasta and delicious seafood, and to go, Dentice alla Tarantina or red snapper fillet prepared with diced tomatoes, shiitake mushrooms, asparagus, basil and garlic in a white-wine sauce. 

We didn't have a reservation so were seated in the bigger and noisier dining room in the back, where staff members were busy setting up a long table for 20 customers, and a man I assumed was a cook talking loudly from behind us to one of the waiters.

The man in shorts reappeared in black slacks, a white shirt and a tie.

Three other tables were occupied while we were there.

There was enough pasta and seafood left over from our mid-October visit for a couple of small meals at home.

At Justin's Ristorante II in Wood-Ridge, Zuppa Di Pesce -- clams, shrimp, scallops, calamari and mussels over capellini in a pleasantly spicy Fra Diavolo sauce -- was $23.95.

My wife chose Gamberoni a Piacere or shrimp prepared any style over linguine ($22.95). The red snapper entree and salad we brought home for my mother-in-law also was $22.95.

The shrimp and scallops in my Zuppa Di Pesce were some of the biggest I've seen.

The house salad served with entrees came on a cold plate with a hard, cold wedge of tomato.

The best dish we had was one of the specials, an appetizer of fresh Black Figs topped with Pistachio-Gorgonzola Cheese in a Raspberry Vinaigrette, served with ham. The waiter described the ham as prosciutto, but my wife, who tried some of it, questioned that.

Complimentary olives and warm bread.

The front dining room at Justin's Ristorante II in Wood-Ridge.

Details

Justin's Ristorante II, 269 Hackensack St., Wood-Ridge; 201-933-4276. BYO, street parking only, closed Mondays.

Website: Justin's Ristorante II

The $21.95 price-fixed menu is served Tuesdays through Fridays from 4 p.m. to 6 p.m., and on Sundays from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m.