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.

A small city's high property taxes get you ice-covered streets and segregated schools

Driving to Englewood just before noon on Wednesday was a bone-jarring experience on Forest Avenue, Lafayette Place, Tenafly Road and Demarest Avenue, all of which were covered with packed and broken snow and ice -- evidence that Department of Public Works crews and supervisors took the day off.

-- HACKENSACK, N.J.

By VICTOR E. SASSON

EDITOR

As a resident of Hackensack, I'm used to paying high property taxes and getting little in return when a big snowstorm hits.

Two days after Tuesday's storm dropped about 12 inches of snow on Hackensack, my driveway remains blocked by in icy mound that formed after city plows pushed snow into my driveway when clearing my street.

That means I haven't been able to use my car, which is too low to get over the barrier. I was able to back my wife's Toyota, which has more ground clearance, over the mound, but just barely.

Still, when my wife drove me to Englewood just before noon on Wednesday, we found packed snow and ice still covering many streets -- forcing her to drive 20 mph or less.

On the way home after 4 p.m., even North Dean Street near Palisade Avenue in downtown Englewood was covered with ice.

Did Englewood Department of Public Works crews and their supervisors sleep in or take the day off?

Taxes and schools

Englewood homeowners pay some of the highest property taxes in Bergen County, but few whites send their children to public schools.

The elementary and middle schools are filled almost exclusively with black and Hispanic students, while desegregation efforts have been focused on Dwight Morrow High School.

Now, you can add incompetent DPW supervisors who leave streets icy -- endangering residents and visitors alike -- to the Englewood experience. 

Now, that's service

Today, I decided to call Hackensack's DPW and ask if a truck could be sent to clear my driveway, which was blocked a total of three times on Tuesday.

The woman was polite, but said crews were busy clearing snow all over Hackensack, and that it was unlikely one could get here. 

She took my address, and less than 30 minutes later two men in a Parks Department truck with a plow cleared my driveway.

A Hackensack Park Department truck and two workers cleared my driveway just before 2 this afternoon, above and below.

On the snow- and ice-covered incline at Demarest Avenue and Engle Street in Englewood, we got stuck behind three other vehicles as the driver of a Honda at the light spun his front wheels.

After 4 p.m. on Wednesday, North Dean Street, one of Englwood's premier shopping streets, was still covered with snow and ice.

At Main Street and Euclid Avenue in Hackensack on Wednesday, a woman walked in the street instead of using the sidewalk, because city crews didn't clear the corner and crosswalk, a scene repeated all over the city.

Euclid and Prospect avenues in Hackensack on Wednesday.

The Record

The Record wasn't delivered today -- that's three days in a row.

I called to get credit; Gannett raised the price of home delivery, but doesn't replace papers that it fails to deliver.

Today's digital edition lavishes Page 1 coverage on a face lift to The Shops at Riverside, the 40-year-old luxury mall in Hackensack.

The breathless account is by Staff Writer Joan Verdon, a veteran retailing reporter who probably is one of the 141 North Jersey Media Group employees who will be laid off by March 25.

News about one of the paper's biggest advertisers takes precedence over the mayhem caused by President Trump, who was sworn in less than two months ago.

And it looks like early deadlines prevented The Record from reporting federal judges in two states have blocked enforcement of Trump's latest travel ban targeting Muslims.