Eating Out: BCD Tofu House in Fort Lee; Burger Walla, cherry blossoms in Newark

KOREAN BELLY BUSTER: Look for Lunch Combo Special L7 at BCD Tofu House in Fort Lee for a belly busting meal of broiled Croaker or Mackerel (above), small Soft Tofu Soup, complimentary side dishes and rice ($17.50).

ORGANIC TOFU: BCD Tofu is our go-to place for the comforting soup made with organic soft tofu and seafood, beef, pork or vegetables. You can chose the level of spiciness: Plain, mild, medium, spicy or danger.

DELICIOUS NO MATTER THE SPELLING: A half-dozen Kale Vege Dumplings, stuffed with kale, spinach, vermicelli noodles and tofu --fried or steamed -- are $6.25 at lunch, $7.25 at dinner. Every meal at BCD Tofu comes with seven free side dishes, including a small battered-and-fried croaker, below.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

NEWARK, N.J. -- We agreed on going to see the cherry blossom trees in Branch Brook Park last Saturday, but not on where we would eat afterward.

That's how I ended up doing takeout at Burger Walla, a fast-casual, Asian Indian-inspired place on Halsey Street, a few blocks from the Rutgers campus.

Then, me and my wife drove to Fort Lee for a belly busting late lunch at BCD Tofu House, where the organic tofu soup, wonderful kimchi and other complimentary side dishes are served in a noisy dining room filled with contented customers.

There were a few glitches: 

No whole egg for cooking in the bubbling tofu broth was available, because of a salmonella scare; two of the seven free side dishes we were served contained raw squid, which my wife doesn't eat; and the Dyson hand dryer in the men's room wasn't working.

And when you look at the Seafood Soon Tofu Soup shown on the website -- with jumbo, head-on shrimp and large clams -- it bears absolutely no resemblance to what you are served in the Korean restaurant.

I went for a lunch combo; my wife ordered Pork Soondubu or Soft Tofu Soup, a complete meal with rice and side dishes ($12.99)

I had enough leftovers from my takeout and restaurant meals for two light dinners at home.

Details

BCD Tofu House, 1640 Schlosser St. in Fort Lee, is open 7 days a week; 201-944-2340. Free parking in strip mall lot.

Burger Walla, 47 Halsey St. in Newark; 1-862-259-2552. Closed Sundays. Metered street parking.

In Indian culture, a walla is a salesperson or specialist, and the couple who run the place add, "We are your Burger Walla."

HOLLA AT YA WALLA: At home on Sunday night, I plated takeout from Burger Walla on Halsey Street in Newark prepared with some of the many spices Asian Indian food is famous for: A house-made Veggie Burger with caramelized onions, spicy mustard and mango chutney on a whole-wheat bun ($7); Curry Cauliflower and Chickpeas ($3.50), and Sweet Potato Tots ($3). We also took out vegetarian, Punjabi-style Samosas stuffed with potatoes (2 for $5).

BRANCH BROOK PARK: The cherry blossom trees in Newark were in full bloom last Saturday afternoon, and hundreds of sightseers were snapping photos or picnicking under their branches. 

SACRED HEART: Cathedral Basilica of the Sacred Heart also was open for visits.

Eating Out + Eating In: At Rosa Mexicano, BCD Tofu House, why I 'cook ahead,' more

VIVA MEXICO! A delicious pan-seared Striped Bass Filet with crisped skin and Roasted Asparagus, above, and crunchy Wild Jumbo Shrimp swimming in a spicy green salsa, below, were two of our entrees from a fixed-price New Year's Eve menu at Rosa Mexicano. The fine-dining restaurant in Hackensack makes just about everything from scratch.

Veracruz-style Alambre de Camarones are Wild Jumbo Shrimp, which were marinated in garlic vinaigrette, and grilled with onions and serrano chiles. They were served with achiote rice, and salsa verde picante.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

I have a special place in my heart for Rosa Mexicano, the Mexican restaurant that is approaching its 10th anniversary in Hackensack's premier shopping center.

When the fine-dining restaurant first opened, I attended demonstrations by the chef, who showed how salsas, moles, tortillas and other items were made from scratch.

A complimentary Mexican breakfast usually was served.

On New Year's Eve, three of us had a special four-course dinner there ($44 each), and I still think the two-tiered dining room -- decorated with wood carvings, textiles and folk masks -- is one of the most beautiful around.

Our delicious dinner showed once again that Rosa Mexicano, which serves food that reflects the sophistication of authentic Mexican cuisine, could never be confused with a typical mall restaurant.

The four-course, $44-per-person menu included Rosa Mexicano's signature Guacamole, made "spicy" in a molcajete at our tableside, above and below, with avocado, jalapeno, tomato, onion and cilantro.

Although only one avocado is used, the guacamole was thick and chunky. I like to eat mine in one of the restaurant's handmade corn tortillas.

Our appetizers were Flautas de Pollo or crispy corn tortillas filled with shredded chicken in a chili sauce, above, and vegetarian Empanadas stuffed with Huitlacoche or corn truffles, below.

The restaurant's handmade corn tortillas come to the table still warm, and prove addictive.

I toasted the new year with a bottle of Negra Modelo ($7), one of Mexico's great dark beers.

Our son's entree was a Grilled Skirt Steak marinated in guajillo chiles and tequila.

We shared one of the desserts, Churros, above, but couldn't finish them. And the huge slice of Tres Leches Cake (for two) we took home languished in the fridge for a couple of days before I threw it out.

The dining room was packed on Sunday evening, but the food and service were as good as always, and our waiter quickly replaced my cup of coffee, which I complained was lukewarm.

AT BCD TOFU HOUSE: I once read that the red-pepper powder and flakes used so widely in Korean cuisine originally came from sun-dried chili peppers grown in Mexico, but whether that is true or not, another one of our favorite restaurants is BCD Tofu House in Fort Lee. A couple of weeks ago, I ordered a winter special, Oyster Rice with whole soybeans and a small Soft Tofu Soup with Seafood ($17.99, plus $1 for seafood tofu soup). I poached my egg yolk in the bubbling tofu soup, and ate it over the Oyster Rice, above.

When a server at the Korean restaurant set down my rice, oysters and soybeans, he also put down an hourglass timer, and told me to wait five minutes for the dish to finish cooking in the covered stone bowl.

A small whole croaker, dipped in batter and fried; cabbage kimchi and other side dishes are included with the meal, and if you finish them, they'll be replenished on request (but not the small fried fish).

Details

Rosa Mexicano is in The Shops at Riverside, formerly Riverside Square, in Hackensack. Website: Viva Mexico!

BCD Tofu House, 1640 Schlosser St., Fort Lee; 1-201-944-2340. Website: Some Like It Hot

COOKING AHEAD: Preparing food in large quantities is what I like to call "cooking ahead." That means leftovers are available for several other meals, cutting down on the time I need to spend slaving over a hot stove. Above, a dinner of leftovers -- a wedge of sweet-potato frittata, cod, and oven-baked scallops and lobster tail -- was ready in minutes. See how-to videos: VICTOR'S HEALTHY KITCHEN

A pound of organic whole wheat fusilli prepared in a red sauce with sardines and anchovies provided plenty of leftovers, including this breakfast topped with an egg-white omelet stuffed with smoked wild salmon and pesto.

This breakfast of cabbage with salted codfish helped me weather today's snowstorm. Leftover organic quinoa and sauteed organic spinach completed the meal.

PRE CAN CAN SALE: In a preview of the winter Can Can Sale,  which starts on Sunday, 12-ounce and 16-ounce boxes of Ronzoni Whole Grain Pasta (whole wheat) were only 59 cents each with a store card on Tuesday at ShopRite, Forest Avenue and Route 4, Paramus.

Twenty-four ounce jars of Botticelli Pasta Sauce from Italy were $1.99 each, a discount of $2. They contain no added sugar.

In a search for yogurt that has less sugar, I stopped at this display of Dannon Activa, sold in packs of four 4-ounce cups. Normally $2.85, they were reduced to $1.99, but you could save another 50 cents per 4-pack, if you bought 5 or 20 cups. I grabbed two 4-packs, and raced for the checkout counter.

Eating out in Fort Lee: Bento box at Hiura, a belly busting combo at BCD Tofu House

A delicious, well-balanced bento box lunch at Hiura Restaurant in Fort Lee includes, clockwise from upper left, sashimi, tempura, salad and grilled skin-on mackerel; small bowls of white rice and dipping sauce, top; plus miso soup and unlimited green tea.

On Thursday afternoon, I found sushi master Noboru Hiura working behind the sushi bar, just as he has since opening his 25-seat restaurant in 1991.

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

FORT LEE -- Little has changed since my last lunch at Hiura, the oldest and best Japanese restaurant in a town that boasts more Asian food than any other in northern New Jersey.

In August 2013, I counted 24 seats at glistening butcher-block tables and a sushi bar; on Thursday, I counted 25, all of them filled before lunch service ended.

I found sushi master Noboru Hiura slicing fish and serving customers seated at the sushi bar, as he has since he opened his eponymous restaurant in 1991.

Before we left, Chef Shoji Hiura, who runs the small kitchen, joined his father behind the bar, and we chatted. 

I remember Shoji as a teenage waiter in his family's first restaurant in Fort Lee, Hodaka, a BYO that offered both Japanese and Chinese fare, and kept customers' sake bottles in a back room. 

Hiura Box

On Thursday, the Hiura Box lunch of grilled skin-on mackerel -- a wonderfully oily fish -- sliced raw fish, and shrimp and vegetable tempura was a seafood lover's delight ($16).

My friend Arthur enjoyed his Salmon Teriyaki lunch or bento box with California Roll, Gyoza, salad, rice, soup and green tea ($11.50).

These moderately priced lunches and a full menu of cooked food have always been available as Hiura has evolved into a high-end sushi and sashimi restaurant.

My August 2013 lunch at Hiura

My March 2014 dinner at Hiura

Salmon Teriyaki Lunch Box at Hiura.

Lunch boxes include miso soup, rice and green tea.

The Hiuras served us complimentary sweet melon pieces to end our meal.

Details

Hiura Restaurant, 400B Main St., near Anderson Avenue, Fort Lee; 1-201-346-0110. BYO, closed Wednesdays.

Entrance in rear, up a flight of stairs, off small parking lot on Anderson Avenue shared with larger Korean restaurant next door; valet parking available at dinner.

Lunch served from noon to 2 p.m. on Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Fridays.

Dinner served every day except Wednesdays starting at 5:30 p.m.

A new appetizer at BCD Tofu House in Fort Lee: Kale Veggie Dumplings, fried or steamed, stuffed with kale, spinach, vermicelli noodles and tofu. The maraschino cherry garnish was unexpected.

An array of complimentary side dishes, including a fried whole croaker, are served with every soft-tofu stew or other entree at the Korean restaurant.

At BCD Tofu House

Contrast the modest though filling portions at Hiura with the belly busting meals of organic soft-tofu stew complete with steamed white rice, a fresh whole egg and seven complimentary side dishes (with seconds, if you have room) at BCD Tofu House in Fort Lee.

At dinner last Sunday, we ordered Kale Veggie Dumplings ($7.20) to share and two entrees, Organic Soft-Tofu Stew with Shrimp ($13.66); and a Chef's Special, Spicy Small Octopus Rice Deluxe with Tofu Soup ($16.99).

I especially liked how the white rice was browned and burnished by the hot stone bowl.

There were enough leftovers from my delicious combination meal -- including the restaurant's terrific cabbage kimchi -- for light dinners at home the following two nights.

My wife received Soft-Tofu Stew with Seafood, instead of all shrimp, as she requested, but that was quickly corrected.

Baby octopus, white rice and shredded vegetables are prepared in a stone bowl for the Spicy Small Octopus Rice Deluxe.

The Chef's Special combination included a Vegetable Tofu Soup made with vegetarian broth that was bubbling so furiously I was able to cook two fresh eggs in it, below.

We got to BCD Tofu House around 4:30 on Sunday afternoon before the dinner rush. The popular Korean restaurant also has a children's playroom parents can monitor from TVs in the dining rooms.

Details

BCD Tofu House, 164o Schlosser St., in shopping center near Main Street, Fort Lee; 1-201-944-2340. 

Open 7 days from 10:30 a.m. to 10:30 p.m. Serves alcohol.

Website: Is soondubu a soup or a stew?

There are so many fish in the seven seas, and a lot of them end up on my plate

A cross-section of a whole wild-caught whiting, seasoned and pan fried in olive oil, needs only a shower of fresh lemon juice. The meaty whitefish flakes beautifully when you break it apart with a fork.

At H Mart in Little Ferry on Sunday, I bought a 6.2-pound whiting for $3.99 a pound, and asked the fish-counter worker to clean the fish and remove the head. With a central bone, whiting is one of the easiest fish to eat whole.

VIDEOS ON COOKING FISH, EGGS and PASTA

DO YOU REALLY KNOW WHAT YOU'RE EATING?

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

An abundance of fresh wild-caught seafood -- from luxurious lobster to the humble whiting -- made it easy for me to give up meat and poultry more than six years ago.

If you shop at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro or at H Mart and other Korean supermarkets, you can usually find fresh whole fish and fillets for less per pound than grass-fed beef.

Two other pluses: 

Fish takes less time to cook than beef, pork or poultry, and it's good for your heart. 

Seafood is the main act in my diet of whole grains, fruit and vegetables, and extra-virgin olive oil instead of butter.

Unusually large red snappers were $6.99 a pound at H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike, Little Ferry.

The Jamaican national dish -- Ackee and Salt Fish -- is great for breakfast with dumplings made from sweet plantains. There's nothing like the interplay of salted cod fish, the bland fruit called ackee, and hot and sweet peppers. I used Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce to add another dimension. 

A dinner of leftovers doesn't get better than this.

At BCD Tofu House in Fort Lee on Saturday,  I tried but couldn't finish a lunch combo special of whole crisp-skinned croaker with organic soft-tofu soup ($17.50), above and below. The combo also is available with mackerel. My wife had half of my fish along with her Soft Tofu Soup with Pork, ordering it Spicy ($11.99 at lunch with rice, side dishes and a fresh egg).

I paid $1 extra for oysters in my soft-tofu soup, which is bubbling furiously when it comes to the table, allowing you to poach one of the fresh eggs provided.

Every meal at BCD Tofu House, 1640 Schlosser St. in Fort Lee, includes a small fried yellow croaker and six other free side dishes, plus seconds.

When you order soft-tofu soup, you also get a second stone bowl of steamed rice. BCD Tofu House, which serves organic tofu and has an extensive menu, is far superior to the soft-tofu restaurants in Palisades Park, including our former go-to place, So Gong Dong, now part of the SGD Dubu chain.

An  egg-white omelet is easy to prepare for breakfast, above and below. This one uses cage-free liquid egg whites and wild Alaskan smoked sockeye salmon, both from Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, and 365 Everyday Value Roasted Salsa Verde from Whole Foods Market in Paramus.

Crushed red Aleppo pepper, from Fattal's, 975 Main St. in Paterson, lends a mildly spicy accent to egg and fish dishes.

About a week ago, my wife brought home just under 2 pounds of fresh wild Atlantic cod fillets from Iceland ($7.99 a pound at Costco Wholesale). I prepared a fish-and-vegetable medley that was ready to eat after 15 minutes in a preheated 400-degree oven.

I cut the two long fillets into about a dozen serving pieces, coated them in Asian Indian and other spices, and placed them over a bed of organic spinach in a large rectangular pan, adding organic diced tomatoes, chopped pitted olives and fresh lemon juice. Pesto was added to the fish after the pan was taken out of the oven.

A pound of pre-washed Organic Baby Spinach was $4.79 at Costco.

I keep a tub of Asian Indian and other spices in the refrigerator for coating fish, chicken, pork and beef.

Kirkland Signature Bail Pesto from Costco.

A week ago, me and my wife enjoyed the Twin Lobster Special at Meson Madrid, a Spanish restaurant at 343 Bergen Boulevard in Palisades Park. For $19.95, you get two lobsters, broiled or steamed, soup or salad, rice and house-made potato chips. The lobster deal is served at dinner on Mondays, Tuesdays and Thursdays.

As if to drive home the message that fresh fish is best, a frozen mahi-mahi fillet from Costco Wholesale was tough and chewy after I cooked it with garlic, fresh tomato and sweet pepper in an aluminum pouch.

This afternoon, I bought nearly 2 pounds of wild raw Jumbo Shrimp, on sale for $14.99 a pound, at Whole Foods Market in Paramus, where you'll find the best seafood counter in northern New Jersey, below.

A Whole Foods' employee gladly deveined my shrimp, which I plan to prepare tomorrow with the store's 365 Everyday Value Organic Whole Wheat Linguine in garlic and oil ($1.49 for a 1-pound box).