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I used to enjoy and frequent many diners, all over state as I was out on business meetings every single day. There used to be some excellent diners -- and I am sure there still are, but IMO they are very few and far between, for many reasons which are beyond the scope of this thread.
That said, I'll stick with diners that I've been to recently and knock out the ones I haven't been to in a couple of years -- that said, I like Gotham City diner in Fair Lawn, Stateline Diner in Mahwah, the Pantagis Diner in Edison, Americana Diner in East Windsor, and I'll have to think of a few of the others.
As far as the pastrami discussion -- in my opinion, when it first opened Irving's was top notch! It was very good. Many debated whether the pastrami was better at Irving's or Eppes Essen, and personally, I liked them both very much. However, after a period of time, Irving's jumped the shark so to speak, and they really slipped, a lot. They just made some changes and the food changed. I was disappointed. I tried is several more times hoping it would get better, hoping it was simply a bad stretch, changes would happen for the better, and so on -- but it didn't. Regardless, to say Katz's was a knock-off or imitation of Irving's is naive and foolish. Katz's Deli is an all-time classic deli -- it is legendary. If you want to tell me you liked the pastrami better at Irving's, OK, you are entitled to your opinion. Some people like chocolate and some people like vanilla. Personally, Katz's and a couple of other places in NY, in my opinion, where light years ahead of Irving's for pastrami. Not even close. I've yet to find any NJ place that is close to some of my favorites in NYC.
The best for my likes in NJ are Eppes Essen -- the best in my mind, Kosher Nosh, the best you'll find in Bergen County, and Harold's in Edison, which I haven't been to in a good few years.
I used to enjoy and frequent many diners, all over state as I was out on business meetings every single day. There used to be some excellent diners -- and I am sure there still are, but IMO they are very few and far between, for many reasons which are beyond the scope of this thread.
That said, I'll stick with diners that I've been to recently and knock out the ones I haven't been to in a couple of years -- that said, I like Gotham City diner in Fair Lawn, Stateline Diner in Mahwah, the Pantagis Diner in Edison, Americana Diner in East Windsor, and I'll have to think of a few of the others.
As far as the pastrami discussion -- in my opinion, when it first opened Irving's was top notch! It was very good. Many debated whether the pastrami was better at Irving's or Eppes Essen, and personally, I liked them both very much. However, after a period of time, Irving's jumped the shark so to speak, and they really slipped, a lot. They just made some changes and the food changed. I was disappointed. I tried is several more times hoping it would get better, hoping it was simply a bad stretch, changes would happen for the better, and so on -- but it didn't. Regardless, to say Katz's was a knock-off or imitation of Irving's is naive and foolish. Katz's Deli is an all-time classic deli -- it is legendary. If you want to tell me you liked the pastrami better at Irving's, OK, you are entitled to your opinion. Some people like chocolate and some people like vanilla. Personally, Katz's and a couple of other places in NY, in my opinion, where light years ahead of Irving's for pastrami. Not even close. I've yet to find any NJ place that is close to some of my favorites in NYC.
The best for my likes in NJ are Eppes Essen -- the best in my mind, Kosher Nosh, the best you'll find in Bergen County, and Harold's in Edison, which I haven't been to in a good few years.
I think you got it backwards. I said Irvings is supposed to be the knock off of Kat'z, not the other way around. Kat'z has been around since the 1800's.
And yes, when Irvings first opened the pastrami used to be thick cut, like Kat'z. Not so much anymore.
Edit: Sorry, just realized you were referring to the other poster.
When Irving's first opened it was the real deal -- very good pastrami, done right, coming right out of the steamer, hand-cut, NY deli style, thick and very good. I don't know what happened, but after a period of time -- they just changed. I think the pastrami was NOT as good and they weren't doing it, preparing it the same way. Regardless, it was not as good to me.
I just don't think there is any pastrami in NJ that can come close to the top NY delis. I like Hobby's in Newark as well.
I was always a Katz's, Stage, Carnegie, Pastrami Queen kind of guy. LOL.
When Irving's first opened it was the real deal -- very good pastrami, done right, coming right out of the steamer, hand-cut, NY deli style, thick and very good. I don't know what happened, but after a period of time -- they just changed. I think the pastrami was NOT as good and they weren't doing it, preparing it the same way. Regardless, it was not as good to me.
I just don't think there is any pastrami in NJ that can come close to the top NY delis. I like Hobby's in Newark as well.
I was always a Katz's, Stage, Carnegie, Pastrami Queen kind of guy. LOL.
2nd Avenue Deli used to be one of my favorites. I haven't tried it since they reopened though.
Re Irvings, I think they just don't have the kind of foot traffic that NYC deli's have so it is harder to make a profit on high end ingredients and costly cooking methods. When you always have a line out the door, like the NYC delis, everything is always going to be really fresh because you can barely keep up with demand. When you put a deli in a mini mall in Jersey, the customers are going to be much more sporadic, leaving the meat sitting for a while in between purchases. I still think Irving's is the best around, not that Eppes Essen isn't really good too. It is.
I associate diners with Sunday morning pre-church breakfasts with mom & dad...particularly at the VIP diner in Jersey City, and then later on, the Montville diner in Pine Brook. Everyone always got omelettes (Western or Greek mostly) with home fries and toast (white, with butter & grape jelly, like God intended). We always requested a booth so my brother & I could beg for quarters and then fight over which songs to play on the jukebox (Madonna! Prince! Bon Jovi! Guns N Roses!), but then the vein on my father's left temple would start to bulge and he would quietly ask us both if we would each like to order a knuckle sandwich for breakfast instead, so we'd end up pressing the button for Bobby Darin, Beyond the Sea to appease him (and his forehead vein).
When I got older, diners got to be the place where we could stretch or break curfew, smoke cigarettes, and generally act like self-important little teenage a-holes...this would be at The Golden Touch in East Hanover (aka "The Greasy Touch" and/or "The Greasy Crotch"), as well as The Nautilus (aka "The Nauseous") in Madison.
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