harold's new york deli

the godfather of jewish style delis. this is the guy. nobody knows this business better than harold. he's a pastrami genius. everyone says share...no! take home your uneaten half for the next day's lunch.

terrific pastrami and corned beef. everything here that's served is massive. not cheap..be prepared to pay, but you will get what you pay for.

this isharold'sonly location (edison)..he has nothing to do with the lyndhurst operation. he sold that years ago.

owner is terrible!. i have gone toharold'smany times and always enjoyed the sandwiches. today i decided to order the chocolate rugelach cheesecake figuring it would be cheesecake with chocolate rugelach. i was disappointed to get a terrible tasting plain cheesecake with a layer of chocolate and some raisin rugelach on top and cooked into the middle. i told the woman at the front about this and she seemed less than interested, but asked if i wanted to speak to the owner. i told harold jaffe that i found the name "chocolate rugelach cheesecake" a bit misleading and suggested making this more obvious on the menu. he could not have been more rude! he said he has made this cake for 15 years and would not consider changing the name as everyone knows it is actually chocolate and rugelach. he snapped that i could have come to the front to see what the cake looked like (who would think to do this at a restaurant, and the one at the front was whole so i would not have been able to see the inside or what type of rugelach was used anyway). i tried to explain this but he yelled and said to get out! i have always eaten atharold'swhenever in the area, but after being treated so poorly today i will definitely not be going back.

prison mess hall, rude people. if you enjoy dining in a prison mess hall, you'll love it there. yes, don't get me wrong the food is great and the portions are generous and there is a pickle bar. although from the moment you walk in till the moment your done eating, there are constantly waiters and other staff posted up all over the restaurant constantly starring at you and everyone else every other second making sure that no one dares to try and take an extra pickle or a little coleslaw home, god forbid. it was almost creepy, it made me feel as though i was in a prison mess hall constantly being watched by guards. also i found the staff extremely rude and stuck up, i did not appreciate it at all especially after being nothing but respectful. i will never return toharold'sand will ensure no one i know goes their either. terrible experience. there's nothing i hate more in this world than rude people.

sometimes it's important to go back to your roots, to where it all began...even if it's on steroids and turned up to 12. my first exposure to food as culture was as a child, growing up in a jewish family in new york. all we did was eat. birth, death, life cycle events, wednesday night all included eating a bevy of foods.harold'sis a new york deli (in new jersey) that brings me right back to childhood.  they have the world's only known pickle bar, and dr. brown's sodas are featured prominently. the stars of the show are most definitely the sandwiches. before i go on, there's something you must know about harold's. the portions are ludicrous. a regular size sandwich is really meant to feed two or three people depending on appetites. if you're a little crazy, a sandwich can be finished by a single person. the best option is the pure jewish original, the pastrami on rye. mustard, never mayo. the pastrami is right between fatty and lean, and smoked post brine to perfection. an egg cream (

harold's deli. we've been regulars atharold'sfor years and just get a kick out of bringing friends there that have no idea of what they're in for. we tell them not to eat and be ready to over indulge themselves.harold'shas not ever let us down, ever, and it's just a treat to go there. we lived down the street fromharold'sfor years,but since have moved 35 miles away. we have no problems jumping into our car and making the trip down to edison any chance we get. that should give you some idea of how greatharold'sreally is. hopefully , when you go ,you get a chance to meet harold, always smiling and always a pleasure to talk to. don't pass up a oppourtunity to stop and enjoy this experience.

the best sandwiches anywhere!.harold'sis an institution. spot the first-timers at the tables, there the ones who order a whole sandwich just for themselves! the pickes here (especially the garlic dill) are the best you can find. best of all is harold himslef, he makes you feel like family each and every time you come.