Review

Try the Pan de Sal or sweet ube (purple yam) bread.

Lechon!

Review

Filipino buffet with good reviews.

Update - February 2012

Vietnamese Beef Stew

Binh Duong is one of my top three Vietnamese spots in Jersey.

On this visit, we enjoyed the super-crispy Spring Rolls (shrimp and pork), a tasty Crispy Fried Crepe (egg crepe filled with shrimp & pork), and of course, the rich and flavorful Beef Pho. For something a little different, try the Bo Kho - Vietnamese beef stew served with bread, rice noodles or egg noodles – large chunks of braised beef and carrots in a rich, fatty broth. Perfect for a cold winter night.

The servers are still friendly and happy to explain the more obscure menu items and ingredients.

Review - October 2010

Shrimp Pho

When I ordered the Bun Bo Hue (Spicy Pork & Beef Rice Noodle Soup) from the “Chef’s Special” section of Binh Duong’s large menu, the waiter asked me if I wanted blood.

“Blood?” I asked.

“Blood,” he muttered.

“Sure, with blood,” I said.

Don’t be afraid. The blood appeared in my soup as wine-colored, tofu-textured, cubes. Not too strong by themselves, adding a slight morcilla flavor to the already savory broth. All together, a delicious bowl of rice noodles, pork slices, and beef chunks on the bone. Not only did they ask about the blood, the owner offered some friendly advice for eating the Bun (rice vermicelli) when he thought my wife hadn’t added enough sauce to the bowl.

Crispy Spring Rolls

Crispy Spring Rolls, succulent Roasted Quail, deep-fried Buttered Frogs Legs, nested Fried Sweet Potatoes with Shrimp, and a cold  Shrimp and Papaya Salad made for a hearty table full of appetizers when we visited Binh Duong for a Friday night dinner with friends. One of those friends with Vietnamese roots declared the food and, importantly, the Pho, to be good.

In a Bloomfield strip mall that includes a Filipino restaurant and bakery, Binh Duong has about twelve tables in a simply decorated room. Service is fast and the crowd is a diverse mix of Asians and non-Asians.

With good food, friendly service and low prices, Binh Duong is a nice addition to our Jersey Vietnamese list.

Links

Off the Broiler

The Star-Ledger

The Paterson Farmers Market

New Jersey’s third largest city –  founded in 1792 by Alexander Hamilton, birthplace of comedian Lou Costello, inspiration for poet William Carlos Williams, and high school stomping grounds of NJ Giants’ star Victor Cruz – has always been a city of immigrants. Irish, Germans and Jews since the 1800s; Italians and Eastern Europeans since the early 1900s; Syrians, Lebanese, Puerto Ricans, Dominicans, Central and South Americans, Africans and South Asians in the decades since; all call the Silk City home.

In other words, Paterson is New Jersey in a nutshell: lots of different people living close together; perfect conditions for really good food. With some of the Garden State’s largest Peruvian, Dominican, and Turkish populations , you can find a different ethnic restaurant on practically every corner.

Fresh Fish @ Al Helal

There’s no better guide to this ethnic food lovers paradise on the Passaic than Paterson native and Mayor of next door Haledon Borough, Dominick Stampone. Mayor Stampone is an enthusiastic and reliable source of restaurant suggestions for EthnicNJ.com via Twitter. Last Friday, he invited me and Jersey Bites founder Deborah Smith to join him for an ethnic lunch in Paterson. That’s the kind of offer I cannot refuse.

Branzino Fresh off the Grill

We met in the parking lot of Al Helal Meat & Fish Market, on the corner of East Railway and Crooks Avenues, next to the railroad tracks and the bustling Farmers Market that has supplied fresh ingredients to every wave of Paterson immigrants for eighty years.

Like many of New Jersey’s best ethnic food spots, at first glance, Al Helal appears to be just a market. Groceries and housewares are up front. The meat counter in the back is well stocked with fresh beef, lamb and goat. (The market follows Islamic dietary rules, halal, so no pork.) Unlike your local Pathmark, the butchers here proudly display every cut, including tongue, liver, kidney, tripe, tails and feet. The fish counter along the left wall is just as impressive, with at least a dozen varieties of fresh whole fish on ice. I saw red snapper, porgies, sardines, striped bass, pargo, branzino, perch and rainbow trout, among others. Mayor Stampone shared the insider’s tip, “Pick a fish, or meat, and they’ll grill it for you right here.” Fast food as it should be.

Charcoal Grill Working its Magic @ Al Helal

Along one wall, to the right of the entrance, an impressive brick-framed grill smokes with hardwood charcoal. Next to the grill spin thwo tall spits of chicken and beef shawerma, a big draw. (One customer told me he comes five days a week just for the sliced meat in a pita.)  At the fish counter, Dominick chose a whole Branzino. Deborah picked out some shrimp. The guy at the fish counter gives you your selection in a bucket, and you walk it over to the grill man. Meanwhile, I ventured over to the meat counter for a lamb chop and some homemade lamb sausage. At the grill, I asked for my lamb chop spicy. The grill man worked his magic with a spice rub and direct flame.

Grilled Meats

A few minutes later, we were handed our perfectly grilled food, atop heaping plates of rice and grilled vegetables. My lamb chop was nicely spiced and still juicy. The sausages had a nice flavor and were perfect scooped up in a fresh pita. Fortunately, I had opened a bottle of ayran, a Turkish yogurt drink (like Persian doogh), which I needed almost immediately to counter the super spicy grilled jalapenos. Domenick’s whole Branzino and Deborah’s grilled shrimp were equally enticing. As if our lunch plates weren’t enough, we also sampled some excellent salads and sides: creamy hummus, flavorful red pepper spread, and a very nice Turkish salad. My entire lunch, including the drink, cost $15.

Jersey Bites Research

Mayor Stampone’s community pride is contagious. While enjoying our foodie bounty, our conversation covered Paterson history, the virtues of Patsy’s pizza, Italian and Irish family traditions, food memories, and of course, dealing with our school-age kids. A steady stream of customers stopped in for groceries, for take out, and for a quick bite at the counter. While many Al Helal customers speak Arabic, many do not, and the counter guys speak English. The market, like most good Jersey ethnic finds, serves the entire community, not just one ethnic group. I couldn’t help noticing the Brazilian guarana soda in the drinks case, for example.

Our plates pretty much cleaned, Al Helal turned out to be just the first stop on a mini-tour of Middle Eastern spots in Paterson. Mayor Stampone had two more places in mind.

Mayor Stampone Ordering Dessert @ Nablus

To reach our second stop, we ventured up Main Street, the heart of Paterson’s Middle Eastern community, past numerous Arabic storefronts, to Nablus Sweets & Pastries – a tiny shop serving Middle Eastern cookies and confections. Locals come here for K’nafee, and thanks to our knowledgeable host, so did we. A popular Arabic sweet with origins in the ancient Palestinian city of Nablus, the freshly made K’nafee at Nablus Pastry comes, served warm, in two forms –  a round, thin layer of white cheese, covered by a slightly sweet mixture of syrup and semolina, topped with crushed pistachios; or a rectangular version topped with thinly shredded pastry noodles. Unique and very tasty, everyone should try this Middle Eastern specialty.

Spinach and Cheese-filled Borek @ Taskin Bakery

Squeezing in one more ethnic cuisine, Taskin Bakery was our last stop. This 24-hour operation serves homemade Turkish baked goods from a brick oven. Deb, Dominick and I were all full by now, so we bought a few things to go. My wife and kids enjoyed the spinach and cheese-filled  borek - flat squares of thinly layered, flaky yufka (phyllo) dough – for breakfast the next day. Taskin’s authentic breads and pistachio baklava also get rave reviews.

It only took a couple of hours in Paterson to sample the flavors of the Eastern Mediterranean, a Jersey food journey from Palestine to Turkey. The beauty of an ethnically diverse city like Paterson, is that you can just as easily sample delicious Peruvian, Jamaican, Syrian, or Lebanese food. Or score some American ethnic food – a famous Texas Wiener from Libby’s Lunch – to eat overlooking the Great Falls, New Jersey’s newest National Park.

Olives & Pickled Vegetables @ Al Helal

At each stop, I was stuck by how familiar the Middle Eastern food seems. Trays of colorful cookies at Nablus look like the Italian cookies I ate on holidays growing up. Fresh loaves on the shelves at Taskin smell like any really good New Jersey bakery. The olives and pickled vegetables at Al Helal remind me of an antipasto plate at an Italian-American restaurant. Mediterranean immigrants have a lot in common, no matter the coast they left behind.

Deborah and I thanked Mayor Stampone for sharing a small slice of the rich ethnic diversity of Paterson. We vowed to meet up again soon. As I drove toward the Parkway, I considered the next logical location for an EthnicNJ.com ethnic food tour. Mayor Booker, perhaps?

Review

Fresh Fish

I found Al Helal Meat & Fish Market thanks to Mayor Domenick Stampone of neighboring Haledon Borough, who Tweeted enthusiastically about this Middle Eastern spot and invited me on a recent ethnic food tour of Paterson.

Like many of New Jersey’s best ethnic food spots, at first glance, Al Helal appears to be just a market. Groceries and housewares are up front. The meat counter in the back is well stocked with fresh beef, lamb and goat. (The market follows Islamic dietary rules, halal, so no pork.) Unlike your local Pathmark, the butchers here proudly display every cut, including tongue, liver, kidney, tripe, tails and feet. The fish counter along the left wall is just as impressive, with at least a dozen varieties of fresh whole fish on ice. I saw red snapper, porgies, sardines, striped bass, branzino, perch and rainbow trout, among others.

Charcoal Grill Working its Magic @ Al Helal

What makes Al Helal unique, and worth a special trip, is that you can pick a whole fish, or a piece of meat, and they’ll prepare it for you on the spot – grilled, fried or broiled. Along one wall, to the right of the entrance, an impressive brick-framed grill smokes with hardwood charcoal. The guy at the fish counter gives you your selection in a bucket, and you walk it over to the grill man. I opted for a lamb chop and some homemade lamb sausage from the meat counter. At the grill, I asked for my lamb chop spicy. The grill man worked his magic with a spice rub and direct flame. Fast food as it should be.

Grilled Meats

A few minutes later, my lamb chop was perfectly grilled, nicely spiced, and served atop a heaping plats of rice and grilled vegetables. The sausages have a nice flavor and are delicious scooped up in a fresh pita. Fortunately, I had opened a bottle of ayran, a Turkish yogurt drink (like Persian doogh), which I needed almost immediately to counter the super spicy grilled jalapenos. Make sure you sample a few of the excellent salads and sides, like creamy hummus, flavorful red pepper spread, or a very nice Turkish salad. My entire lunch, including the drink, cost $15.

Olives & Pickled Vegetables @ Al Helal

Al Helal Meat & Fish Market sits on the corner of East Railway and Crooks Avenues in Paterson, next to the railroad tracks and the bustling Farmers Market, which is most crowded on Saturdays.

Dessert Landscape

Review

K'nafee

Nablus Pastry & Sweets is a tiny shop on Main Street, Paterson serving Middle Eastern cookies and confections.

Locals come here for the K’nafee (also Kanafeh), a popular Arabic sweet with origins in the ancient Palestinian city of Nablus. Served warm, the freshly made K’nafee at Nablus Pastry comes in two forms –  a round, thin layer of white cheese, covered by a slightly sweet mixture of syrup and semolina, topped with crushed pistachios; or a rectangular version topped with thinly shredded pastry noodles. Unique and very tasty, you should try this Middle Eastern specialty.

None of the treats behind the counter are labelled, so just point at whatever looks good if you’re unfamiliar. The woman behind the counter is very friendly and happy to make suggestions.

The Cookie Display @ Nablus

Pastries @ Nablus

Links