Harold’s New York Deli Restaurant – Edison, NJ

Harold’s New York Deli Restaurant
3050 Woodbridge Avenue
Edison, NJ 08837-3460
(732) 661-9100

To summarize my Katz’s Deli experience, I would put it this way. Top quality pastrami, low value. As much as i love top quality experiences, deep down, I’m a sucker for value. Let me introduce you to value – Jersey style.

When people talk about the best NY deli’s now existing outside of Manhattan, they usually mean Brooklyn, not Edison. Harold’s New York Deli Restaurant has been called one of New York’s best delis, even though it is in New Jersey. I first heard whispers from a friend, who, after one of our Katz’s experiences, stated that she was fed up with the high prices and mediocre value.  “Harold’s is so much better value… you have to see it to believe it”.

Harold’s is run by the former operator of the Claremont Diner, and the Carnegie Deli. Harold’s is his personal vision of a super diner/deli, where he has combined the menus from both establishments into one enormous restaurant. Located just off the I-95, it can be a bit tricky to get to. It took me two passes before i got it right.

Attached to a hotel, I would use one word to describe Harold’s. Enormous. It’s classic Jersey Diner meets New York deli, this place has two enormous sections and the world’s largest pickle bar. You could probably seat half the city of Edison in this establishment, while the other half waited in line.

Walt Street Pub – Red Bank, NJ

Walt Street Pub
180 Monmouth St
Red Bank, NJ
(732) 741-5936

I recently went on a quest to find the best burger in New York City. For the rest of this week, you’ll have my breakdown of what I discovered. This is post #4 of 5 related to trying out some of the best that New York has to offer. The last review, Peter Luger,  is available here . Hope you enjoy the series.

I remember one of the first food bloggers i ever read. This was really before blogging was all that popular. In one of his posts, he discussed the Walt Street Pub – a small pub in Red Bank, that served up some amazing burgers.

I’ve had images of that burger burning in my head ever since, and had to include the Walt Street Pub when exploring New York’s best burger.

Located on the idyllic south shore, Red Bank looks nothing like a foodie haven. More like a speed bump on the commuter highway to NYC. The drive out from the city took quite a while – and upon exiting the car, I knew the experience would be completely different from the any of the establishments in the city.

The pub itself has a homey sports bar feel. There was a friendly bartender, and a friendly server. The place was near empty.

The Walt Street Pub is famous for their wings – mild, hot or “killer death”. These wings were voted the “best in town” – by whom, I have no idea. And in terms of Red Bank, maybe not the biggest town. They were, however, quite tasty. Basted in very hot sauce, the wings were amply sized, and fried to a crispy exterior. I’m definitely in the wing camp that prefers a drier wing to a soaked, wet wing. The wings themselves were very juicy, with a nice crunch to them. The heat was a bottled hot sauce type of vibe, but I enjoyed these a lot.