HobokenFoodCritic

Being not-too-impressed by the produce, deli, and seafood sections of the ShopRite in town (which is where we do most of our grocery shopping), we sometimes take the walk down to Garden of Eden (on Washington St. between 2nd and 3rd) to get the hands-down freshest groceries in town. So, when we wanted to cook a meal that was a bit more daring and exquisite than we are typically used to (we were thinking seafood), we hit up Garden of Eden in search of some fine ingredients.

Garden of Eden is (to stick with the biblical references) like heaven on earth–at least when it comes to specialty food markets. Much like the story of Adam and Eve, one can easily be seduced by the mounds of colorful, perfect fruit arranged outside the front window that seem to beckon you to come inside.

Walking around inside Garden of Eden is as much of a feast for your eyes as it eventually will be for your stomach. It is a relatively small food market, as compared to ShopRite, A&P, and even the Kings’ in town. But the place is impeccable, clean, neatly arranged, and, as I mentioned, colorful and appealing. It’s the kind of place that you walk into and want to buy everything. The fresh fruit and vegetables look so perfect they almost appear to be fake. I couldn’t resist the asparagus.

They even have some unique, reasonably-priced, pre-packaged veggies that can save you some prep time. I found a package of 3 different kinds of sliced zucchini–regular, yellow, and light green (I don’t know the technical names)–which I thought would be a good compliment to seafood, so I grabbed it and threw it in my basket.

Then came the seafood section. Since this would be the main course, this was the toughest decision. The fact that all their seafood looked amazing didn’t help. So, I did what any Hobokenite would do when faced with a buying decision. I splurged. I bought 1 pound of Chilean seabass, 4 huge sea scallops, and a crabcake. Probably enough food for 2 people.

It was difficult to control myself from buying more food as I walked through the hot prepared foods, fresh breads, cheeses, and the deli section (which features meats from Applegate Farms in Montclair). Somehow, I managed to make it through.

The total cost of what I bought was $49. As I left, I couldn’t help but think that we could have dined out, saved ourselves the work, and had a professionally cooked meal for not too much more money than what I spent. But what fun is that?

Actually, you don’t have to empty your wallet like I did to get great stuff at Garden of Eden. As a matter of fact, most of the fruits and vegetables are comparable in price to ShopRite–and MUCH better in terms of quality. However, you do have to be careful, because some stuff can be pricey, so it is best to be an educated consumer. Self-control is also key–you can easily find yourself being lured into stuffing your basket full with as much food as you can carry. Nevertheless, if Garden of Eden sold basic household products such as paper towels, cleaning supplies, and garbage bags, I would probably shop there exclusively. But that might take away from its devilish appeal.