by Jennifer Rae Vliet
For years this has been the case, and Townhall Deli and Millburn deli continue to go at it.
Growing up in Jersey, Townhall was the place to beat according to my family and my mom delights in telling my sisters and I that we were enjoying them as early as being in the womb. Townhall Deli created the masterpiece in 1935 in South Orange. These sandwiches are like nothing you have tried and certainly not what a lot of people know a “Sloppy Joe” to be. Yes, there are two kinds…the messy beef and red sauce concoction that you slap on a hamburger bun and call it dinner which was also Cuban born and then there is the deli sandwich that looks like this:
We are talking a three-layered sammich on a thin pullman rye bread, Swiss Cheese with rare roast beef, (or other proteins options), Cole slaw, and Russian dressing.
Supposedly the Cubans are also responsible for the original tongue and ham layered sandwich at an establishment named Sloppy Joe’s.
When Goldbelly, the national overnight food delivery service came on the scene, they started mailing Townhall and Millburn Deli (my favorite), Sloppy Joe’s all over the country so Jersey folk could still enjoy a staple they grew up with for generations.
The Meat Show did a great video on the Millburn Deli story that started in 1946 and all the Sloppy Joe versions you could want to try. Feast your eyes on this…
In between mail orders, I have done my best to recreate this deli delight time and time again and you would think it is easy, but it is sincerely never the same. There is nothing like Jersey rye bread or the homemade Russian Dressing…it just is not the same experience.
If you are ever in Northern New Jersey, you must stop, get in the long line, and enjoy the experience of trying your first Sloppy Joe!
READ MORE ~ These 2 N.J. delis are famous for their Sloppy Joes. But which does it best?