Grocers give preference to older shoppers, but not all are ready for the early business

PROTECTING EMPLOYEES AND CUSTOMERS: At the Whole Foods Market in Paramus this morning, employees arriving for work had to stop to have their temperature checked, one of the measures put in place in response to the coronavirus pandemic.  

NO LONGER A GATHERING PLACE: The seating area where the mandatory temperature checks are made once was filled with shoppers stopping for coffee or eating lunch from the prepared food buffets. Regulars included groups of elderly Korean-American men brought to the store in small buses from senior citizen centers.

Editor's note: This post has been edited to add material about the reopening of the Korean  supermarket in Ridgefield known as H Mart,  and one-way aisles at the ShopRite in Paramus. 

By VICTOR E. SASSON
EDITOR

HACKENSACK, N.J. -- Did you hear about the Whole Foods Market near Jupiter, Fla., where customers 60 years old and older are the only ones allowed to shop in the first hour the natural and organic food store is open?

After 9 a.m., the supermarket is empty -- given how few young people live in nearby retirement communities.

In New Jersey, however, there are plenty of younger customers at the Whole Foods in Paramus, where I shopped this morning starting at around 8:30 a.m.,during the hour devoted to older Americans.

A week ago, I waited on a long line of other shoppers like me who are 60 years old or older and who had been waiting -- 6 feet apart -- for the 8 a.m. store opening. 

Today, around 8:30, I just showed my I.D. to the employee outside the front doors, and walked in to get a cart and sanitary wipes.

Costco Wholesale in Teterboro, ShopRite supermarkets and the Korean supermarket chain known as H Mart also are giving preference to older shoppers in their first hour of business.

At the Costco Business Center in Hackensack, "senior hours" are 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. on Tuesdays and Thursdays. Costco and other food stores also have changed their policies on returns, and most won't be accepting them during the pandemic.

The Paramus ShopRite's special hours for older Americans are 6 a.m. to 7 a.m. That sounds more like punishment than accommodation.

H Mart reopens

But I haven't seen any other supermarket outside of Whole Foods that checks the temperature of employees as soon as they walk in the front door.

On April 4, the large Korean supermarket known as H Mart in Ridgefield closed temporarily for cleaning and restocking after an employee came down with a "suspected" case of the coronavirus, according to a notice on the front door I saw last Sunday.

After the store reopened on April 16, only customers 60 years and older were given priority in the first 30 minutes the store is open.

Previously, shoppers "with disabilities, compromised immune systems and expectant mothers," as well as customers who are 60+, were able to shop by themselves in the first hour.

Signs of trouble

Today, as with my shopping trip to Whole Foods on a week earlier, I found missing or inaccurate price signs in produce and fresh seafood.

Besides apples, sweet potatoes and parsley -- all organic -- I picked up mangoes, clementines and a few pounds of boneless pork loin chops after I saw the chops were on sale for $5.99 a pound (normally $8.99 a pound).

But when I checked my receipt, I saw I wasn't given the discount for the chops or the extra 10% off for Amazon Prime Members.

I had to hunt down a customer service employee (no one was at the customer service desk). She took my receipt and went to the butcher section in the rear of the store, then returned to give me a credit of $15.59, including 1 pound free and my extra 10% Prime discount.

SAFETY BARRIER: Today, I saw large plexiglass barriers put up to separate the cashier from the customer at Whole Foods Market. Costco Wholesale in Teterboro and the Costco Business Center in Hackensack had similar barriers in place at the end of March. Another benefit is that Whole Foods customers no longer have to self-scan their Prime Member code on their smartphones, which was a ify proposition, because the new barrier blocks the scanner.

SOCIAL DISTANCING: This customer had a shopping cart full of produce and other items and packed them all by himself. But at Whole Foods, Costco and ShopRite, social distancing or keeping 6 feet away from other customers is difficult because of narrow aisles and shoppers who barge through store intersections with full shopping carts. Customers of the Paramus ShopRite largely ignore one-way aisles.

TODAY AT 9:20 A.M.: When I drove away from Whole Foods Market, I paused to look at the younger shoppers waiting on line to get into the store.

Eating In: A wide world of flavors dress up homemade meals, sandwiches and snacks

A pinch or two of a crushed red pepper named after the embattled city of Aleppo, Syria, where my parents were born, can elevate fish and egg dishes, such as this breakfast of organic eggs with Chinese broccoli, and leftover organic whole-wheat pasta with a ragu of sardines and anchovies.

Kirkland Signature Basil Pesto from Costco Wholesale brings the flavors of Italy (imported basil, grated cheese, extra virgin olive oil and pine nuts) to fresh wild cod from Iceland, served here with organic quinoa and a medley of vegetables. The refrigerated pesto also is terrific as a sandwich spread.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

Crushed red Aleppo pepper, a fragrant pesto made from basil or mint, a fiery Mexican hot sauce; and za'atar, a dried thyme mixture, are some of the flavors from around the world I love to use in my meatless cooking, sandwiches and snacks.

A pinch or two of the mildly spicy Aleppo pepper can elevate any fish or egg dish, and you can sprinkle it over a hummus made with plenty of lemon and garlic. 

My source for Aleppo pepper and canned hummus from Lebanon is Fattal's at 975 Main St. in Paterson, a Syrian bakery, grocery and butcher shop with its own parking lot.

See this video for a falafel sandwich that reveals multiple layers of flavor as you eat more and more of it:

I've been on a no-bread, no-pizza diet for years, but an occasional guilty pleasure is the toasted end of a loaf of Dave's Killer Bread, an organic loaf with 21 grains or seeds sold at Costco, spread with a homemade mint pesto.

A small Za'atar Bread from Fattal's Cafe is another guilty pleasure. I had the bread in the freezer, but warmed it up in the oven and drizzled olive oil over the dried mixture: thyme, sour-tasting sumac, sesame seeds and salt.

Kimbap (seaweed-and-rice rolls) and Cabbage Kimchi add a spicy Korean accent to a simple egg-white omelet.

My wife rubbed a Jamaican Jerk Sauce into antibiotic-free, vegetarian-fed chicken wings from ShopRite, and roasted them until they were a golden brown. The chicken is sold under the Wholesome Pantry label.

Greek extra-virgin olive oil and balsamic vinegar from Italy are all the dressing I need on my almost nightly salad of Earthbound Farm Organic Spring Mix with hothouse cucumbers and Campari Tomatoes, all from Costco.

Valentina Mexican Hot Sauce from Guadalajara, Mexico, is a modestly priced sauce that doesn't obliterate the taste of your food, if used sparingly (the "extra hot" version has a black label).

I like to use Valentina with the Jamaican national dish, Ackee and Salt Fish, which combines salted cod with hot and sweet peppers, a bland fruit called ackee and a side of boiled and mashed green bananas.

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.

Food shopping: Your melon needs a belt, salmon bounty, veggie burgers, fish balls

Costco Wholesale in Teterboro was offering several brands of seedless watermelons last week, including one that urged shoppers to "protect your melon" and "buckle up," above. The label also shows a body with a melon head wearing a seat belt.

Yum-Yum! was another brand sold at the Costco warehouse store off of Route 46 in the Teterboro Landing Shopping Center.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

We're at the height of the season for fresh wild salmon, sugar-sweet seedless watermelons, Jersey peaches, plump blueberries and other great "summer foods."

Unfortunately, no single warehouse store or supermarket can satisfy my family's need for them and offer great prices, too.

So, me and my wife continue to make the rounds at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro and Costco's Business Center in Hackensack; H Marts in Little Ferry, Englewood and Ridgefield; H & Y in Ridgefield, part of another Korean supermarket chain; and ShopRites in Paramus, Englewood and Hackensack.

When I posted this, I also should have mentioned our occasional visits to Whole Foods Market in Paramus for naturally raised meat and wild-caught Gulf Shrimp, as well as moderately priced organic whole wheat pasta, salsas, sauces and beans sold under the 365 Everyday Value label.

I also go to Trader Joe's for good deals on juices and organic sweet potatoes, and uncured, antibiotic-free bacon and hot dogs for the meat eaters in the family.

If nothing else, going food shopping several times a week is good exercise.

NYT Cooking

I've been looking over lots of recipes during a trial subscription to NYT Cooking, but won't be paying to continue.

Sam Sifton, the ebullient editor, doesn't offer much to a senior citizen like me who is watching his cholesterol and weight, and who doesn't eat meat or poultry.

Here we are at the height of the fresh wild salmon season, and I haven't seen a Times recipe for sockeye or any other fish.

Sifton, Melissa Clark and other Times staffers eat lots of chicken, beef and bacon -- without a cautionary note on poultry and meat raised on harmful human antibiotics and growth hormones.

MORE FOR LESS: A bounty of fresh wild salmon means I can buy a bigger fillet at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro. Here, I prepared a reduction of organic diced tomatoes, shallots, garlic, red wine and seasonings, and served the grilled salmon with fresh herbs from my garden and a homemade tzatziki or yogurt sauce (non-fat Greek yogurt, grated cucumbers, garlic, olive oil and lemon juice).

$5 PER PERSON: At $9.99 a pound, a Sockeye Salmon fillet of about 2 pounds yielded eight serving pieces (two for each member of my family) for about $5 per person.

ORGANIC VEGGIE BURGERS: A 3-pound, 12-burger package of Dr. Preager's Organic Harvest Veggie Burgers, made with organic chickpeas, quinoa and vegetables (normally $14.49), was on sale for $10.99 with an instant coupon at Costco Wholesale in Teterboro.

GO FISH: Fish balls made with fillets, shrimp and tofu are sold frozen at the H Mart, 260 Bergen Turnpike in Little Ferry, for $5.99 a pound (and on Sunday, you can try a free sample near the fresh fish counter). I prepared a broth of organic chicken stock, red wine, water sake, sesame oil and seasonings, and added a large bunch of mustard greens, chopped and washed, in the last few minutes of cooking.

WHOLE WHEAT PASTA: Though not organic, Barilla 100% Whole Wheat Thin Spaghetti and 100% Whole Wheat Linguine are on sale for 99 cents (1-pound box) at the Little Ferry H Mart until the end of the year. I also found a 3-pound package of Japanese-style soba or buckwheat noodles made by Danya in Korea on sale for $4.99.

SWEET MEXICAN MANGOES: I've been buying a box of Ataulfo or Champagne Mangoes from Mexico every Sunday at H Mart in Little Ferry. These wonderfully sweet mangoes have grown in size and price. Now, you get 16 mangoes for $12.99.

 SHOPRITE SEARCH: I'm searching for a ShopRite to replace the disorganized store in Paramus, where I've been stopping on the way home from the gym two or three days a week. Today, I went to the Hackesnack ShopRite, above, and couldn't find much. The store carries yams, but not sweet potatoes, and didn't have any Jersey peaches. Other produce was priced higher than I'm used to from the Paramus ShopRite and Little Ferry H Mart.

NATURAL COLD CUTS: At the Hackensack ShopRite, I did find Black Bear-brand Smoked Ham and Herbed Turkey Breast, both raised without antibiotics, at $4.49 for a 7-ounce package, right.

FOR GARLIC LOVERS: We've been buying 3-pound pouches of peeled Christopher Ranch California Garlic from Teterboro Costco ($8.99), but the cloves sometimes get moldy before the "best by" date. Today, I boiled 3 pounds of yams and lots of garlic cloves from a new bag, then drained and mashed them with extra-virgin olive oil, adding cinnamon, curry powder, red-pepper flakes, black pepper and other seasonings.

Two other brands of seedless watermelon sold at the Teterboro Costco, above and below. The melon grown in Maryland or Delaware invites shoppers to "experience the local flavor," above.