The New Jersey Sloppy Joe Is Not At All What You Think It Is

For most Americans, the words "Sloppy Joe" inspire memories of school lunch trays, smattered with ground beef and tomato sauce. The Sloppy Joe is the classic staple consisting of ground beef, tomato sauce (usually from a can of Manwich), and spices on a bun. The recipe of this lunchroom and weeknight dinner hero all across the nation — except in New Jersey, where someone from out-of-state who orders a Sloppy Joe might be surprised when their sandwich arrives at the table.

While there are plenty of variations between chefs' takes on the Sloppy Joe, the agreed-upon elements look nothing like childhood lunches. It is most easily described as a double-decker cold-cut sandwich on rye with Swiss cheese. The meats (always a minimum of two) are chosen by the customer, and variations of coleslaw and Russian dressing are often included. Some elements, like the bread-slicing technique, change from place to place, but most stick to this template. The most consistent element across the board seems to be the three slices of rye bread that hold it all together with two pieces of meat in between. What's most certain is that this looks nothing like Sloppy Joes found anywhere else, so why is New Jersey the only place it can be found?

A tale of two Joes

As different as these two sandwiches are, they may share the same origin. One origin story linked to the loose-meat Sloppy Joe claims that it was created at a bar in Havana, Cuba, which opened just before the 1920s. The story goes that the bar was owned by Josè Abeal Otero, who was nicknamed "Sloppy Joe" by patrons and named the bar after his new moniker. He would later add a sandwich inspired by the Cuban dish, Ropa Vieja, to the menu. The legend is that this bar was frequented by none other than Ernest Hemingway, who brought the recipe back to Key West with him, where it took off and began to spread.

The New Jersey Sloppy Joe supposedly came from the same bar but was inspired by the wrong sandwich. In the 1930s, Maplewood, N.J., Mayor Thomas Sweeney visited Sloppy Joe's bar in Havana, where he tried out a double-decker cocktail sandwich. He liked it so much that when he returned from the trip, he asked his friends at the South Orange, N.J., Town Hall Deli to recreate the dish, and a second Sloppy Joe was born.

Best places to find the NJ Sloppy Joe

The Town Hall Deli is still in operation today, and it still sells some of the most famous Sloppy Joes in the state. All of their "Joes" feature three pieces of rye bread, two meats, a dry coleslaw, and Russian dressing. The "original Joe" uses ham, beef tongue, and Swiss cheese as its main elements.

Another famous spot for a Sloppy Joe is the Millburn Deli in Millburn, N.J. It builds its sandwich on oval-shaped cuts of rye bread and includes a heavy mayonnaise dressing on its cole slaw, which stands in stark contrast to Town Hall Deli's dry variation. The most famous quality of the Millburn Deli just might be its bread slicing technique — it cuts each sandwich into three slices so the center is a sharp triangle, and the other pieces are more rounded.

These are two of the most famous spots for New Jersey Sloppy Joes, but other variations can be found throughout the state (though it's most common in Northern New Jersey). If you don't plan on visiting the Garden State anytime soon but still want to try one for yourself, Town Hall and Millburn both ship across the country and can be found on Goldbelly.