Harold’s New York Deli
I’ve been
contemplating this post for some time, now.
A trip to Harold’s is about a 90 minute ride from my home in
Pennsylvania. The corned beef and NY
Deli schmaltz is worth the trip. The
restaurant is right off exit 10 of the NJ Turnpike and on the ground floor of a
worn-out hotel in an industrial park.
But, don’t let that scare you away!
The address is King Georges Post Road in Edison, NJ. Your driving challenge will have an incredible
culinary “pay-off!”
The ambiance
has much to be desired but that’s not why you come to Harold’s. It’s all about the food. So, don’t plan on going home hungry.
The menu is
typical New York style Jewish deli fare but, that’s where the good times
begin. I’m a Jersey boy and this goy
grew-up surrounded by lots of friendly Bubela.
I never went hungry because some friend’s grandmother was always cooking. So, we all have an opinion of what’s good deli
and what’s mishegas (look it up in the Yiddish dictionary). The mishegas at Harold’s are the portions.
Any menu
item can feed two (2) normal people and you’ll be “stuffed!” Everything is made “in-house” and it
shows. The Corned Beef and Pastrami are
cured and cooked, here. Oh, let’s not
forget the pickle/salad/bread bar along the back wall. Here’s where you distinguish those customers “in-the-know”
and the rank amateur. Like I said, in
the first sentence of this paragraph .
. . “you’ll be stuffed.” Instead of driving home with that bloated
feeling; take a few pieces of awesome seedless rye bread along with that
uneaten pastrami and you’ve got something to nosh on tomorrow.
The
sandwiches are the “bomb” and my “go to” meal every time I’m at Harold’s. Whenever, the waiter delivers the meal to a
first timer; the reaction is either immediate laughter follow by “how am I
going to eat all that.” Or, it’s
prayerful silence that lasts about 30 seconds followed by “how am I going to
eat all that.” Yes, the large (which is
the smallest portion) is over-the-top big or for those of you with a
cardiologist assisting; the XLarge can easily feed four (4) hungry high school
boys.
I always
wash my belly buster sandwich down with a diet Dr. Brown’s Cream Soda. The canned Dr. Brown soda may be the only
thing on the menu, in its natural habitat.
Okay, so it wasn’t a “diet” soda.
Dessert is
usually unattainable! That’s why Harold
makes you walk past the dessert display cases on your way to dining room. It’s all about the “tease.” Although, if you’re “man enough’ and still
have a little room in your tummy for an éclair or a slice of chocolate cake, I’d
think twice and then take “it” to go. I’m
warning you, your eyes are definitely too big for your stomach. Put it in the take home bag, for a late
evening treat.
Check out the Harold’s New York Deli at www.haroldsfamousdeli.com Go there hungry and don’t go there alone. Keep
on Food Frolicking!
