Best Jersey "Sloppy Joe" sandwich?

pennbrew · January 23, 2005

Where's everyones' favorite "Joe" sandwich? I'm partial to the Turkey Joe from the Hickory Deli in Chatham.

Curlz · January 23, 2005

Two places immediately come to mind, although it's been years since I've had them...

CJ's deli in Madison

Town Hall deli in South Orange (which, iirc, is either being renovated or is under new ownership--or both!)

bobferdon · January 23, 2005

Two places immediately come to mind, although it's been years since I've had them...
CJ's deli in Madison
Town Hall deli in South Orange (which, iirc, is either being renovated or is under new ownership--or both!)
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Deli on Valley Road in Montclair across the street from Tierney's. Sorry name escapes me...

Rosie · January 24, 2005

We used to get sloppy Joes and smokey Joes from Jack Cooper's deli in Edison. They are located in Warren now.

pjm9277 · January 24, 2005

I like the Turkey Joe's from Mr. J's Deli in Cranford.

NJ2FLA · January 24, 2005

I remember my parents would get them from a deli on route 46 (near Piaget) in Clifton. Was it the Villiage Deli?

hitmanoo · January 24, 2005

Two places immediately come to mind, although it's been years since I've had them...
CJ's deli in Madison
Town Hall deli in South Orange (which, iirc, is either being renovated or is under new ownership--or both!)
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Town Hall Deli is in the process of moving from S. Orange Ave to Valley St just around the corner.

Not sure if there has been a change in ownership. Washington Mutual put a bank into the former location of the Town Hall Deli.

Forgot to mention. The Town Hall Deli claims to be the originator of the Sloppy Joe Sandwich. I wonder what other places make that claim, and who truly invented the sandwich...

Edited January 24, 2005 by hitmanoo (log)

jsfein · January 24, 2005

For those in Monmouth County, Richard's in West End makes very good Sloppy's and Smokey's. Have catered trays of these on numerous occasions. (And the best macaroni salad I've found.)

zhelder · January 24, 2005

For me, it's a toss up between the Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock and Petak's in Fair Lawn. Two great kosher delis.

howard88 · January 25, 2005

I spend a lot of time in the Highlands sailing and looking for good food.

Do you have an address for Richards?

jsfein · January 25, 2005

I spend a lot of time in the Highlands sailing and looking for good food.
Do you have an address for Richards?
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155 Brighton Ave. Take Ocean Ave South. Right turn onto Brighton right after The Windmill. Richard's is 1/4 mile on the right.

tommy · January 25, 2005

For me, it's a toss up between the Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock and Petak's in Fair Lawn. Two great kosher delis.
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for sloppy joe's?

zhelder · January 25, 2005

For me, it's a toss up between the Kosher Nosh in Glen Rock and Petak's in Fair Lawn. Two great kosher delis.
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for sloppy joe's?
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We're talking about "kosher deli style" Sloppy Joe sandwiches, right? Various deli meats and layers of rye bread with mustard. If we're talking about the tomato/chopmeat Sloppy Joes (yeesh!) , then I misunderstood.

pennbrew · January 25, 2005

We're talking about the very geographically-limited, North-Jersey-style sloppy joe. It's a triple-decker sandwich on rye with meat, swiss cheese, coleslaw and russian dressing. No mustard, and certainly not a "Manwich" style sloppy joe.

It's a great sandwich that tastes much better than it sounds. The whole is definitely more than the sum of its parts.

Curlz · January 25, 2005

We're talking about the very geographically-limited, North-Jersey-style sloppy joe. It's a triple-decker sandwich on rye with meat, swiss cheese, coleslaw and russian dressing. No mustard, and certainly not a "Manwich" style sloppy joe.
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...and they're definitely not serving these in a legit Kosher deli!!

menton1 · January 25, 2005

We're talking about the very geographically-limited, North-Jersey-style sloppy joe. It's a triple-decker sandwich on rye with meat, swiss cheese, coleslaw and russian dressing. No mustard, and certainly not a "Manwich" style sloppy joe.

I've never seen this sandwich offered anywhere in Northern NJ or New York City-- perhaps this is indigenous to South Jersey-Philly area?

rlibkind · January 25, 2005

We're talking about the very geographically-limited, North-Jersey-style sloppy joe. It's a triple-decker sandwich on rye with meat, swiss cheese, coleslaw and russian dressing. No mustard, and certainly not a "Manwich" style sloppy joe.
I've never seen this sandwich offered anywhere in Northern NJ or New York City-- perhaps this is indigenous to South Jersey-Philly area?
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No, it's a North-Central Jersey thing. Very similar in concept to what a number of delis would call a "Number 5 combo" or 7 or 3 or whatever, though cheese was never involved in the Sloppy Joe's I remember from the 1950s, 1960s, and 1970s. Usually, combinations would involve. corned beef, pastrami, tongue with Russian and cole slaw (what in Philadelphia would be called a corned beef or pastrami "special". The "Number Whatever" combo at a deli like Goodman's of Elmora in Elizabeth would be a full sandwich cut in half, while the "Sloppy Joe" would be mini-versions for catering in which the sandwich was quartered, stuck with fancy toothpicks and arranged on a platter; it was actually less "sloppy" (less slaw) than the full-size combo so it could be eaten without massive amounts of napkins.

zhelder · January 25, 2005

We're talking about the very geographically-limited, North-Jersey-style sloppy joe. It's a triple-decker sandwich on rye with meat, swiss cheese, coleslaw and russian dressing. No mustard, and certainly not a "Manwich" style sloppy joe.
It's a great sandwich that tastes much better than it sounds. The whole is definitely more than the sum of its parts.
←

So we're generally on the same page. I grew up in Fair Lawn, which has a large Jewish population. I only knew of the kosher "sloppy joes" which are generally what you describe, but with mustard instead of Russian dressing and of course, no cheese. They are delicious.

lano · January 25, 2005

my pick would be Fat Boys deli in Madison.... I'm not sure if they are still around, but I interned in the area for a few summers and ate a roast beef "joe" every day from there.... I was a little younger then, so the calories didn't catch up to me..... they were absolutely delicious..... everything a sloppy joe should be. 3 slices of Soft Rye bread, rare roast beef, tangy cole slaw, runny russian dressing and swiss. If they are still open and someone works there, go have one and report back!

menton1 · January 25, 2005

We're talking about the very geographically-limited, North-Jersey-style sloppy joe. It's a triple-decker sandwich on rye with meat, swiss cheese, coleslaw and russian dressing. No mustard, and certainly not a "Manwich" style sloppy joe.

The closest sandwich to this that I've ever seen in Bergen County is an "Old Smoky" that they made at Town Deli in Glen Rock. Never called a "Sloppy Joe", though. I think the naming of this sandwich "Sloppy Joe" is highly localized, possibly only in parts of Essex and Union Counties. The rest of the world thinks of ground beef and tomato sauce.

Curlz · January 25, 2005

Sorry, Menton, but I don't think it's that local! CJ's and Fat Boys in Madison are just two examples of Morris Cty delis offering them...

According to one of the on-line etymology dictionaries:

sloppy

1727, "muddy," from slop (q.v.). Meaning "loose, ill-fitting" is first recorded 1825, influenced by slop "loose outer garment" (1376), which is probably from M.Du. slop. Hence, also, slop-shop (1723). Sloppy Joe was originally "loose-fitting sweater worn by girls" (1942); as a name for a kind of spiced hamburger, it is attested from 1961.

That certainly explains the SLOPPY part!!! :smile:

zhelder · January 25, 2005

Taboni · January 26, 2005

I grew up in Union county and a sloppy joe was always a triple decker soft rye with roast beef or turkey, swiss, cole slaw and russian dressing. I have since moved to Monmouth county and its the same thing here, so I wouldn't exactly call it a North Jersey thing. Two places here, Elsie's in Red Bank and Fair Winds in Fair Haven make pretty good ones.

menton1 · January 26, 2005

Found an article on the net describing the history of the Sloppy Joe. Apparently, the owner of the Town Hall Deli in South Orange got his version from the mayor of Maplewood who had been to Cuba back in 1934, to a bar called "Sloppy Joe's". There they made this sandwich with a skirt steak and tomato sauce. Mr. Burdorf decided to make a less sloppy "Sloppy Joe". Interesting stuff. Town Hall Deli says it takes a few months to train someone to make the sandwich properly. This recipe might be copied by some delis within a small radius, but it looks like Town Hall Deli is THE place to get this type of SJ. It is basically unknown in Bergen County.

History of the Sloppy Joe

The Town Hall Deli also made the Channel 7 news last year:

Town Hall Deli on Eyewitness News

Edited January 26, 2005 by menton1 (log)

pennbrew · January 26, 2005

but it looks like Town Hall Deli is THE place to get this type of SJ.
History of the Sloppy Joe

"Town Hall Deli in South Orange, N.J., ... a sandwich that to this day is called the original sloppy Joe: layers of ham, tongue and Swiss cheese topped with coleslaw and Russian dressing, served on long, thin slices of soft buttered rye bread and sliced into four squares ($16.45). "

$16.45? That's one expensive sandwich.

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