Pick any town in New Jersey, and chances are very good there’s a “favorite” deli somewhere. Friends abound, sandwiches are made just right, and a visit to the favorite eatery adds fun to the day.
The Garden State has some of the best-known delis around – as well as many lesser-known gems.
Jersey Mike’s Subs
Is there any more famous and popular New Jersey deli than Jersey Mike’s? The chain has been in business since 1956 and operates more than 300 locations nationwide and 18 in New Jersey. Locations can be found in Whippany, Lakewood, Jackson, Hamilton, and locations “down the shore.”
“We’re Jersey City natives,” says John Cancro, owner and manager of the “home” location on Route 35 South in Point Pleasant Beach. “[My brother] Peter bought the Jersey Mike’s franchise corporation in 1975. He had a choice of either going to the University of North Carolina to play football or operate the original store here. He’s been satisfied for 30 years.”
“Satisfied” is a key word here. With an assortment of subs to choose from, including the Jersey Mike’s “Original” of cheese, boiled ham, proscuittini, cappacuolo, salami and pepperoni, you can’t go wrong.
Brick resident George Tardiff has a long history with Jersey Mike’s.
“I recruited Peter to play football for me,” he says. “I coached football at Benedictine College in Atchinson, Kansas. As I was recruiting him, he got more involved in the sub shop here. Peter was absolutely friendly, but he was also intense and hard-working.”
When asked why he is a Jersey Mike’s regular, Tardiff’s answer was simple. “You get vegetables with each sub, the toppings are great – then there’s the great food like this,” he says, pointing at a wrapped sandwich. “This is called the Chicken Philly. It’s excellent. There’s a great variety and it’s all healthy.”
Each Jersey Mike’s location, whether it’s in the Garden State or another spot across the country, has a Jersey shore theme and a very clear reminder of its roots. A map of New Jersey hangs on one wall and, set off to the side, is a photo of the original Jersey Mike’s at Arnold and Trenton avenues in Point Pleasant Beach.
So, even if you’re enjoying a sub at the first franchised location in Cincinnati, Ohio, one of the more than 90 locations in North Carolina, or elsewhere, you’re still in the Garden State.
And that’s a good thing. Just ask another George Tardiff recruit, New Jerseyan Keith Hertling.
“Keith was in Kansas one time,” Tardiff says. “And the moment he heard there was a Jersey Mike’s nearby, he hopped in a cab and went there immediately.”
Such is the lure of Jersey Mike’s.
Jersey Mike’s Subs in Point Pleasant Beach is located on Route 35 South. Many other locations can be found throughout the state. Call (732) 892-9546 or visit www.JerseyMikes.com.
Harold’s New York Deli Restaurant
On Route 514 West in Edison, a parking lot at Raritan Plaza is filled on a beautiful Saturday afternoon. Inside the adjacent Harold’s New York Deli Restaurant are just a tiny portion of the 14,000 customers that Harold Jaffe, his wife, Kathleen, and his staff will serve during the week are filing in.
Jaffe – the former owner of the Claremont Diner in Verona – is at the host podium, beaming, greeting customers as they arrive, and thanking them as they depart. The non-stop patronage will continue throughout the weekend, and after 5 p.m. on Friday, Saturday and Sunday, a two-hour wait is to be expected.
“I love what I’m doing,” Jaffe says. “It’s a hobby, not work, and I’m here 100 hours per week.”
And customers come to experience Harold’s from a 100-mile radius. Why?
“Respect,” Jaffe says. “Give it, whether it be to a customer or employee, and 99.9% you get it back.”
Jaffe glances at his busy dining room and then toward his huge and equally bustling kitchen.
“The people who work for me are like family,” he says. “Some of them have been with me since I opened my first Harold’s on Route 1 in Princeton in 1990, [and] some for almost 25 years since I owned my first deli.” Every meal – made on the premises – is Jaffe’s own recipe, and the portions are humongous. For that reason, customers are welcome to share at no extra charge.
Joe Ochoa is the cook; Hernan Urgiles runs the line. On the day of my visit, Ochoa was preparing both corned beef and pastrami. About 7,000 pounds of both were served during the week. Softball-sized matzo balls – of which 1,000 per day are consumed during Passover – were being prepared as well. Apple muffins and onion rolls, available at the “The World’s Largest Pickle Bar” were ready to complement the meal.
Howie Kessler, who has been Harold’s baker since the beginning, creates the best cheesecake in the area, and much, much more.
This is a busy kitchen – “organized confusion” as Jaffe coins it. He loves it, and wouldn’t have it any other way. It’s all about the system, and the system at Harold’s New York Deli works.
“I have a motto I live by,” says Jaffe. ” ‘There are no bad businesses, only bad management.’ Here at Harold’s, we’re all about quality, quantity, service and cleanliness. We live by it.”
Harold’s New York Deli Restaurant is located on Route 514 West in Edison. Call (732) 661-9100 or visit www.HaroldsNYDeli.com.
Fiore’s House of Quality Deli
It’s hard to imagine Hoboken minus Fiore’s House of Quality Deli. Fiore’s is the neighborhood deli of old. Established in 1913 by the Fiore family, it sits on a block where thin homes are “glued” together, side by side. Family photos of past generations are posted behind the counter, fresh brick-oven bread sits near the front door, and delicious, warm mozzarella – Fiore’s signature product – is passed out for eager customers to sample.
John Amato Sr., owner of Fiore’s since 1965, began working there in 1950, sweeping floors (which he still does today) and delivering food to families in the area, including the Sinatras.
“Dad is a key element,” says Junior Amato, John Sr.’s son. “He’s seen it all, he’s calm, and he has a great outlook.”
Some days, the line of customers stretches outside. Hoboken resident Joe Lucignano says he arrives early on days that the New York Mets play an afternoon game.
“It’s a ritual,” Lucignano says. “I come here and get sandwiches before the game for me and my friends, and then we go to the game.”
Lucignano says he has been coming to Fiore’s since he was a child.
“I love the daily specials, especially the sausage on Wednesday and the Italian tuna on Friday,” he says. “And the best thing about the Virginia ham special on Monday is the mustard sauce they put on.”
Lucignano adds, “Best mozzarella in Hoboken.”
A small plaque behind the main counter echoes his words: “The taste of good mozzarella is remembered long after the price is forgotten.”
Folks come from all over for this Fiore specialty and more. Waterfront workers and businesspeople stop in for daily specials at lunch time or to pick up necessary items from the deli’s stock of pasta, cold cuts, homemade sausage, fresh peppers and olives, calamari, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes and more.
And customers return again and again.
“I have people come in who have gone to school in the area and remember a sandwich they had as a kid and want it again,” Junior recalls with a smile. “The best was a woman who had moved to Texas. She wanted a ham-and-mozzarella shipped out to Texas. I asked her, ‘Do you know what it’s going to cost you to ship a sandwich out there?’ It cost $30 to ship it, [but] she didn’t care. She wanted it.”
Fiore’s House of Quality Deli is located at 414 Adams St. in Hoboken. Call (201) 659-1655.