Re; Regional foods

[Ed Keer]

A little while ago I wrote to the list about the use
of "Sloppy Joe" to refer to a sandwich made with cold
cuts, russian dressing, and coleslaw. The term Sloppy
Joe seems to be extremely common in north Jersey
(Bergen and Passaic counties) and I've also heard it
in central Jersey. However, no one on the list ever
heard of it...

A Nexus search uncovered a NY Times article from the
90s about the Town Hall Deli in South Orange, NJ,
which claims to be the originator of this sandwich.
The deli opened in 1927, and the sandwich apparently
dates from around that time.

This past weekend I finally made the trip down there.
Here's the description of the Sloppy Joe from the
menu: "Town Hall Deli is the originator of the Sloppy
Joe Sandwich. Our sandwich consists of two meats and a
cheese. It serves a threesome and includes Townhall's
own homemeade Russian dressing and cole slaw."  The
Original, according to the menu, is ham, tongue, and
swiss, although you can also get any combination of
turkey, roast beef, corned beef, tongue, or ham. Swiss
seems to be the only cheese you can get.

The odd thing about these sandwiches is the bread.
They come on special "Joe bread", which is white bread
cut horizontally along the loaf and only a 1/4 of an
inch thick or so. The sandwich is constructed of three
of these long slices like a club sandwich. It is then
cut into 8 squares--one long cut down the length and 3
cuts across.

I can tell you that they're really good. We ordered a
turkey and roast beef--My wife and I ate the whole
thing, oh well, so much for serving 3. I have heard
they're even better after a few days, but I couldn't
stop.

I've also heard the Millburne deli in Short Hills has
better Joes, and the Lakeside deli in Verona was
recommended too. I guess I'll have to check them out.
My wife also told me about Cuban sandwiches in Newark,
so we'll head down there. If anyone wants a report let
me know!

Ed


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