The Famous Sandwich You Love Was Born in New Jersey (It’s Not What You Think)

Town Hall Deli sits at 61 Academy Street in South Orange, New Jersey, and it holds a genuinely notable distinction: it’s known as the birthplace of the Sloppy Joe sandwich. Town Hall is a clearcut winner in a state full of fantastic delis.

While many restaurants have copied it, this original version remains the perfect combination of meat, Russian dressing, and coleslaw. South Orange is a small suburb in Essex County, New Jersey, and its deli scene reflects the broader New York-New Jersey corridor’s deep tradition of Jewish and Italian-American food culture.

Town Hall Deli earned its place in our list of the best sandwich shops for being the actual origin point of a sandwich that’s since been imitated across the entire country. For anyone curious about the true origin of a sandwich copied nationwide, this is where it started.

What to Order

The Sloppy Joe is the only order that matters here, the original recipe that started an entire sandwich category. As explored in New Jersey’s beloved Sloppy Joe, people go genuinely crazy for this specific version…

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