‘Sweet Spot’ With Mike Sugerman: Sandwiches To Feed Many At Harold’s Deli

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=xNhU9fpa6oE&t=2s

EDISON, N.J. (WCBS 880) — Recently, WCBS 880’s Mike Sugerman and Neil A. Carousso were in Edison, New Jersey, and they were hungry.

So they went to Harold’s Deli, where Sugerman was in the market for some pastrami. But then he looked at the menu.

The extra-large pastrami sandwich cost $60. That’s right, $60.

That’s a lot for a pastrami sandwich. But it’s not quite that simple.

“If you think of it, we’re cheaper than McDonald’s,” said owner Harold Jaffe.

And then Sugerman saw the sandwich – and it all started to make sense. It’s piled high enough to reach from a man’s belly to his shoulders.

“The triple decker – that will feed 10 to 12 people,” Jaffe said.

It has four pounds of meat.

“Three of us ate, and three wives are going to on $25 worth of pastrami,” said Sal Criscuolo.

“Plenty of leftovers – it’s has some weight,” added Harrison Schwartz.

Criscoulo and Schwartz are regulars here.

“I got engaged over there at table three over there. Harold brought the ring on a plate of orders,” Schwartz said. “I love pastrami. What can I say?”

Harold’s is regularly reviewed as among the top delis in the nation. It opened in 1990, after Jaffe spent years as the general manager of the now defunct Carnegie Deli.

He had bigger ideas involving bigger sandwiches.

“So people talk about it,” Jaffe said. “I haven’t spent 10 cents on advertisement.”

Delis are having a hard time these days. Many are closing. And over the years, people have come to expect large portions.

Jaffe has had no trouble.

“The only complaint is that our stomachs aren’t big enough to eat more. It’s that good,” said Criscuolo, who with Schwartz is a restaurant reviewer for the Facebook blog Breakthrough.

David Sklar doesn’t write about Harold’s, but he’s been coming to the deli for 25 years.

“I had a 29-inch waist. Now I have a 29-inch ankle,” he said.

Sugerman didn’t want that. So he just had a diet cream soda.

Oh who was he kidding? The food was all delicious, and Sugerman and Carousso were not hungry when they left.