"I Can't Believe I Ate the Whole Thing" at Harold's New York Deli (NJ)

That's Harold Jaffe on the right.


You would think that the most well known corned beef sandwiches and knishes would be found in New York City. Maybe that's still true, but the biggest and best are found in central New Jersey at Harold's New York Deli; located inside a hotel in the middle of an industrial park in Edison. For those of you with a GPS, the physical address for Harold's is 1173 KING GEORGES POST RD. EDISON, NJ. 08837

Hidden and unknown? Not with all the parking spaces taken and with an average wait of twenty minutes for lunch and dinner. Harold's is a very popular place among BIG EATERS serving AWESOME Kosher-style deli food. Hold on to the word AWESOME for a bit. It has an entirely different meaning at Harold's. We'll come back to that in a moment or so and explain.

"Harold" is Harold Jaffe, a guy who cut his teeth - years ago - at New York's famous Carnegie Deli and later at the lengendary Claremont Diner in Verona, New Jersey. Harold knows from good food and he is glad to offer his patrons lots of it - whatever you order is supersized.

Oh yes, that word we mentioned earlier - AWESOME? OMG!!! Foot high sandwiches; mixing bowl size soup portions with softball size matzo balls! How about cakes the size of hat boxes? We are not kidding you. You have to see it to believe it. If you don't love food, you will be repulsed by the portion sizes.

We bring all of our friends to Harolds just to watch the expressions on their faces when the food arrives on the table. They all say the same exact thing: "who can eat all this food?"

Well, in most cases the food is ordered to be shared with three to four others or taken home for tomorrow's lunch or dinner. And, the next day and the day after that! In fact, at Harold's huge pickle bar (comes free with every meal) there is plenty of delicious rye bread to make many more sandwiches from the one your ordered.

Harold doesn't really care what you pile on your plate from the pickle bar, as long as it enhances your Kosher deli experience. Pickle Bar foods can NOT be taken home, except for the rye bread. You'll need that, for sure.

The "World's Famous Pickle Bar" also includes: cole slaw, sauerkraut, cherry peppers, pickled tomatoes and dill, sour, half-sour pickles and some of the best little corn muffins you've ever eaten. You can sneak a few of those suckers into your doggie bag, too.

Now, you may be thinking that size doesn't always mean quality. At Harold's every item on the menu is made with the best of the best ingredients, especially the meats he uses. he buys and moves a ton of it each week - maybe even more! Whether you order corned beef, roast beef, brisket, turkey, pastrami or tongue, you are getting fresh, lean and tasty meats every time. There are also some wonderful side dishes offered to top off the huge donner plates. Try the potato pancake(s) and or knishes. Yum. They are super-sized too and very delicious.

Here is a typical Harold's customer comment to chew on:

Harold's is famous for serving HUGE portions. Four people could eat a turkey sandwich and have leftovers. The food is very good, especially the giant cakes. You can go here for the food, but it seems many people go for the experience. Plan on splitting things, because they give you way too much to eat.

Spot on! That says it all and there is so much to share - BOTH on the plate and among your circle of friends. They will want to go there. This place is the real deal. Someplace very special. Out of the ordinary. A must visit.

So what from Harold's can you try making at home? His Health Salad - on the Pickle Bar - is to die for. Here is the recipe for that:


Harold's New York Deli Health Salad

2 T sugar
3T vinegar
2T salad oil
1T water
1t salt

1 cucumber sliced
1 carrot sliced
1 green pepper sliced
1 bermuda onion sliced
3/4 head shredded cabbage

mix sugar, vinegar oil,water and salt in a lidded jar.
add to vegetables and let marinate overnight.
bring to room temp before serving.

Make us much of it as you like and stop by Harold's for a full dinner; it will leave you full but wanting more - your leftovers. By the way, that's Harold Jaffe seating you. Nice guy. He'll treat you like he's known you for years. He is one heck of a hard worker and always looks tired. Pray for him. We need him to keep Harold's going for many more years to come!