PF MARKET, WEST CALDWELL
Chicken is the only non-fish item on the menu, so unless you do not eat anything that lives in water, there is something for everyone at PF Market in West Caldwell. Along with a raw bar, there are appetizers such as fried calamari, mussels, clams, seafood soups, pasta with seafood, just simply grilled fish, paella, lobsters and much more. I counted 14 types of fish cooked with different sauces and accompaniments, on the menu, when we dined there.
Hummus spread, garlic toast and Italian bread are placed on the table along with a bottle of water when you are seated. We shared a special of octopus with fingerling potatoes, onions and long, hot peppers served in a lemony sauce. When I tasted the octopus, I said to Lowell, “This is what fresh octopus should taste like.” It had enough chew without being tough and, unlike canned octopus, was not mushy. The peppers gave the octopus some character while the onions and potatoes were a foil for the peppers’ heat. While the entrees were substantial, both the halibut and scallops were a tad overcooked. Five jumbo Cajun-rubbed sea scallops were drizzled with balsamic fig sauce and served with ratatouille ($28.50). Eastern halibut ($30) was blanketed with a sweet-potato crust surrounded by a roasted-red pepper pesto and mountain of spinach. Both dishes also had a mound of rice, flecked with bits of carrots and red peppers. A bowl of al dente pasta with an impressive marinara sauce was a deal at $4. Crème brulee, chocolate mousse and tiramisu are made in house; others are brought in. We finished our meal with the whipped-cream based tiramisu topped with a heap of shaved chocolate—yum!
PF Market serves lunch and dinner, Monday through Saturday. Although tablecloths and cloth napkins are used at dinner, this casual restaurant, which is also a fish market, has a plain-Jane decor. We were surprised that at 5:30 PM on a weekday night, almost half of the downstairs section of the restaurant, with about 55 seats, was full. There is seating upstairs also; reservations are recommended.
Sweet-potato crusted halibut with roasted-red pepper pesto, spinach and rice.
Photo courtesy of Lowell Saferstein
P F Market
1090 Bloomfield Avenue
West Caldwell
973-227-1007
BYO
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