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Best Jersey "Sloppy Joe" sandwich?

pennbrew

By pennbrew
in New Jersey: Dining

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Curlz

Curlz

Posted
Posted

Yeah, except that it EASILY feeds 2 or 3 people!!! :biggrin:

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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pingarina

pingarina

Posted
Posted

My husband (boyfriend at the time) and I made our first trip together from California to NYC about nine years ago. We were expected to join his family in Springfield NJ on New Year's morning for a small get-together. "Weah gonna have sloppies," says his mom. Ummm, honey, what's she talking about? "Sloppy joe's," he says. I'm thinking 'We're having sloppy joes for a holiday gathering?'

She still gets them from time to time, from Tabatchniks in Union. They're good if they're really really fresh, but they always seem to have been ordered so far in advance that they're rather unappetizing, and cold, arranged in their pyramid on the tray. The family devours them like locusts, though. To each his own, I suppose.

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Sfuffy

Sfuffy

Posted
Posted
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.

Ham? Cheese? Butter? on a Sloppy Joe? Never! :shock:

The Sloppy Joes we got from kosher and kosher-style delis (including the Tabatchnick's in Livingston, Vauxhall, & Fair Lawn; Eppes Essen in Livingston; & Petak's in Fair Lawn) when I was growing up were small sandwiches of tongue, corned beef, pastrami, or turkey with russian dressing and cole slaw. (Smokey Joes were small sandwiches with smoked fish.) They usually came on a platter and were generally found at family get-togethers including parties and, frequently, when sitting shiva.

A regular-sized sandwich containing similar ingredients was rarely called a Sloppy Joe but was more often referred to as a triple-decker.

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rlibkind

rlibkind

Posted
Posted
The Sloppy Joes we got from kosher and kosher-style delis (including the Tabatchnick's in Livingston, Vauxhall, & Fair Lawn; Eppes Essen in Livingston; & Petak's in Fair Lawn) when I was growing up were small sandwiches of tongue, corned beef, pastrami, or turkey with russian dressing and cole slaw. (Smokey Joes were small sandwiches with smoked fish.) They usually came on a platter and were generally found at family get-togethers including parties and, frequently, when sitting shiva.

A regular-sized sandwich containing similar ingredients was rarely called a Sloppy Joe but was more often referred to as a triple-decker.

Stuffy's got it right. See my earlier post (only the delis I frequented in Elizabeth and Union called the triple deckers "combos").

Bob Libkind aka "rlibkind"

Robert's Market Report

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Helena Robinson

Helena Robinson

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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

It was also part of "Roker on the Road" on Food Network earlier this week. The segment also had the story of the sandwich's Cuban origin.

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  • 1 year later...
hitmanoo

hitmanoo

Posted
Posted

Has the Town Hall Deli in South Orange reopened in its new location yet?

I'd heard they were moving to Valley St.

Blessed are those who engage in lively conversation with the helplessly mute, for they shall be called, "Dentists." (anonymous)

Life is too short for bad Caesar Salad. (Me)

Why would you poison yourself by eating a non-organic apple? (HL)

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Dana329

Dana329

Posted
Posted

Actually , its pretty ubiquitous at Northern Bergen county catered events, particularly by the Market Basket in Franklin Lakes (theirs are great!) Also Wilkes Deli on Forest Road in Mahway. All their specialty sandwiches are wonderful and they make an awesome bacon egg and cheese on a roll!

Yum, should have stopped on my way to work this morning...heart attack on a roll!

Dana

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richl2214

richl2214

Posted
Posted (edited)

The only way I'd eat one of these is sans tongue. Gack!

Edited by richl2214 (log)

"My rule of life prescribed as an absolutely sacred rite smoking cigars and also the drinking of alcohol before, after and if need be during all meals and in the intervals between them." ~Winston Churchill

Morels- God's gift to the unworthy human species

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Msk

Msk

Posted
Posted
The Millburn Deli.........nothing else comes close

Amen!

Since I grew up in Millburn I thought I loved ALL sloppy joes. However I never was able to find another that came close. When I lived in NYC I introduced people to them that would make the trek to the burbs just for that sandwich almost weekly.

MSK

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NoviceFoodie

NoviceFoodie

Posted
Posted

My family has been getting them from the Lakeside Deli in Verona ever since I can remember - love them. Roast Beef, Turkey & Swiss (or Turkey, Ham & Swiss) with Coleslaw, Russian and a light layer of mustard on thinly sliced rye bread - one sandwich feed 2-3 people.

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Peter Conway

Peter Conway

Posted
Posted
My family has been getting them from the Lakeside Deli in Verona ever since I can remember - love them.  Roast Beef, Turkey & Swiss (or Turkey, Ham & Swiss) with Coleslaw, Russian and a light layer of mustard on thinly sliced rye bread - one sandwich feed 2-3 people.

Lakeside is good, thanks for the reminder. I like that extra touch of a little mustard.

Peter Conway

Food and Wine Guy

Mano A Vino Montclair Food and Wine Blog

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Msk

Msk

Posted
Posted
Why the trip? When I lived in the city , I got turkey. coleslaw and Russian on rye at the 2nd ave. Deli .  Different name, same sandwich.

Dana

This could be just my personal preferance, but I know too many people who agree (some even have sandwiches overnighted from the Millburn Deli all over the country).

This response is like saying Ground Beef, bun, cheese same sandwich why go anywhere other than McDonald's.

The Millburn Deli Slices their fresh Rye paper thin on a slicer. They make their own homemade russian dressing and cole slaw. I have had this sandwich at dozens of places over the years and no place ever comes close.

I guess if you pinned me down to what was the best aspect of it, its the Russian/Cole slaw combo. It combines perfectly to give you a creamy sloppy topping for the sandwich. I could (and have) eat a cup of their cole slaw with russian mixed in.

I have been going there for almost 25 years and it could just be what I think a sloppy joe should taste like. But it is DEFINETLY more than just a sandwich with russian and cole slaw.

Msk

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Dana329

Dana329

Posted
Posted

As I mentioned earllier, I grew up eating great Sloppy JOe's in Bergen County,

and the sandwich at The 2nd Ave. Deli matched or beat it. They too used only the best ingredients and living in the city, I could get a satisfying fix without making a run to NJ.

Unfortuanately, the 2nd Ave. Deli is no more, and anyway I'm back in Bergen county, so I can still get a great Sloppy Joe without a road trip.

Dana

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hitmanoo

hitmanoo

Posted
Posted

um... Any world on the Town Hall Deli??? :hmmm:

Blessed are those who engage in lively conversation with the helplessly mute, for they shall be called, "Dentists." (anonymous)

Life is too short for bad Caesar Salad. (Me)

Why would you poison yourself by eating a non-organic apple? (HL)

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Msk

Msk

Posted
Posted
As I mentioned earllier, I grew up eating great Sloppy JOe's in Bergen County,

and the sandwich at The 2nd Ave. Deli matched or beat it.  They too used only the best ingredients and living in the city, I could get a satisfying fix without making a run to NJ.

Unfortuanately, the 2nd Ave. Deli is no more, and anyway I'm back in Bergen county, so I can still get a great Sloppy Joe without a road trip.

Dana

The 2nd Ave Deli was a great place may it RIP. I have had the sandwich you describe there and did enjoy it. However I preferred their turkey and chop liver.

Taking a 20-30 minute trip for a food fix of any kind is hardly out of the ordinary for eGullet members. Heck it would take me longer than that to get home from work when I lived in the city.

Msk

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Curlz

Curlz

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Posted
um... Any world on the Town Hall Deli???  :hmmm:

A Google search turned up their web site, which has dated info, but a contact form. Likely your best bet for answers!

"I'm not eating it...my tongue is just looking at it!" --My then-3.5 year-old niece, who was NOT eating a piece of gum

"Wow--this is a fancy restaurant! They keep bringing us more water and we didn't even ask for it!" --My 5.75 year-old niece, about Bread Bar

"He's jumped the flounder, as you might say."

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hitmanoo

hitmanoo

Posted
Posted
um... Any world on the Town Hall Deli???  :hmmm:

A Google search turned up their web site, which has dated info, but a contact form. Likely your best bet for answers!

Thanks... I saw the same dated web site. I suppose my best bet may be to take a drive over there.

Blessed are those who engage in lively conversation with the helplessly mute, for they shall be called, "Dentists." (anonymous)

Life is too short for bad Caesar Salad. (Me)

Why would you poison yourself by eating a non-organic apple? (HL)

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