taylor ham

Valley Street Eatery

Posted on by mmmcupcake

Taylor ham, egg, and cheese with potato rosti on a brioche bun.

Any New Jersey denizen will tell you that the taylor ham, egg, and cheese sandwich is a delicacy not to mess with. Most bagel shops, delis, and diners keep it simple: a few slices of taylor ham crisped on the flat top, over-hard egg, and American cheese on a kaiser roll. Salt, pepper, and ketchup typically adorn this statewide treasure of a sandwich. As someone who has eaten many taylor ham, egg, and cheese sandwiches in her life, I can confidently say this is usually the optimal way to consume this particular food.

That is, of course, until I ordered one from Valley Street Eatery.

New kid to the block in Maplewood, Valley Street Eatery takes the place of the old Tara’s Deli, an establishment I’m not sure I ever saw anyone enter in my three plus years of living in this community. Valley Street Eatery is a short walk from Memorial Park and the Maplewood train station, making it a great place to pick up lunch for a picnic or a quick bite while waiting for the train. I had heard of Valley Street Eatery from a community group called SOMA Eats (it’s important to note that this Facebook group has quickly become my GOAT group to belong to and makes me use Facebook every day). Word on the street is the owner of Sabatino’s, a widely praised (and deservedly so) pizzeria just a few blocks away from Valley Street Eatery, opened up this new breakfast-and-lunch joint. Intrigued by its pedigree, I decided to give it a try this past week for lunch and then breakfast.

So, back to the sandwich. I’ll admit, at first I was skeptical of Valley Street Eatery’s take on the taylor ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. Their menu noted that it was pressed between brioche bun halves and an adventurous eater could even get a potato rosti (a Swedish version of the latke) on it. This sounds a bit too fancy to me, and maybe they’re trying to do too much, I thought. But, lover of all things taylor ham that I am, I decided to order it. Reader, believe me when I say that the Valley Street Eatery sandwich is the best taylor ham, egg, and cheese I’ve ever had. Yes, ever. That means it beats Hoboken’s well-known O’Bagel’s version and every other sandwich I’ve ever had, including those from New Jersey’s many well-respected diners. So, what puts Valley Street Eatery’s rendition above the rest? It’s the perfect, sumptuous combination of the buttery brioche roll with the just-greasy-enough insides. The potato rosti certainly elevates the sandwich to distinguish itself from any other in the great Garden State, but it also tastes at home in this tried-and-true combination.

Breakfast burrito.

When I visited Valley Street Eatery, the nice woman taking my order highly recommended the breakfast burrito, which comes stuffed with scrambled eggs, avocado, onion, peppers, American cheese, and the refined potato rosti. MDP felt it was perhaps too cheesy (likely due to the sheer gooeyness of American cheese), but found it satisfying. I tried a bite and thought it was delicious.

Apple turnover.

I also snagged an apple turnover, which may be housemade based on what I see in the Valley Street Eatery Instagram account. This pastry felt like a revelation and I encourage commuters to arrive early to get one before they sell out. It was both delicate and flavorful, with an almost croissant-like pastry exterior and not-too-sweet cinnamon-flecked sliced apples within. Valley Street Eatery also has muffins, although the flavor variety may be lacking for some.

On a different day, we ordered lunch: the kale apple salad and cubano sandwich. Both were satisfying.

Kale apple salad.

The kale apple salad is fresh-tasting and hearty. My takeout container came packed with bright-green kale, chunks of honeycrisp apples, toasted walnuts, dried cranberries, and blue cheese crumbles. I added grilled chicken ($5 extra) to round out my dish. I found the balance of ingredients to be superb and particularly liked that they tossed the salad with just-enough of the white balsamic vinaigrette dressing.

Cubano.

MDP’s cubano sandwich looked good and he found it to be satisfying bite, as well. It’s important to note that Valley Street Eatery uses a good hoagie roll as the “case” for their Cuban sandwich, rather than the light, crisp Cuban bread you’ll find at an actual Cuban eatery. MDP felt the bread, which had been pressed, was pretty good but agreed that Cuban bread — such as what you’ll find at La Isla in Hoboken — is preferred. Nonetheless, the actual roasted pork shoulder was tender and meaty, while the sliced ham, Swiss cheese, pickles, and dijonnaise formed a delectable complement.

Aside from what we ordered, they have a handful of other specialty sandwiches, like a portobello mushroom one, a fried chicken sandwich, and a double burger. You’ll also find some deli sandwiches on their menu, like the spicy turkey, roast beef and provolone, and chicken cutlet. On the side, you can try their potato leek soup (always a favorite of mine) and their french fries.

You’ll see a few types of bagged chips and soft drinks near the entrance, so be sure to grab these before you order. If the weather isn’t great for a picnic in the park, you can sit at a table inside Valley Street Eatery. According to their frequently updated Instagram, Valley Street Eatery also has chocolate icebox cake — which just sounds so delicious, doesn’t it? — so be sure to get a slice for dessert.

I hope the word spreads about this awesome new place in our community, so Valley Street Eatery gets the love they deserve!

Valley Street Eatery

503 Valley Street

Maplewood, NJ

973-320-9722

Open 7 am to 4 pm, Tuesday through Friday; 8 am to 3 pm on Saturday and Sunday; and closed on Monday (as of November 21, 2021).

Advertisement

Shorty’s

Posted on by mmmcupcake

When I worked in Flatiron, I visited just about every decent restaurant in the neighborhood. I can tell you where to get the best lunch special in New York City (Chote Nawab, obviously) and where to find the best Korean buffet (Woorijip, hands down). I can even tell you what the most optimal conditions are for snagging a ShackBurger in Madison Square Park, wait-free (when it’s raining, duh!). But, until this morning, I couldn’t tell you where to find a Taylor Ham, egg, and cheese sandwich on a fresh-baked bun in all of the big apple. All this time, pork roll was right around the corner — and I had no idea.

The self-proclaimed purveyor of “NYC’s only authentic cheesesteak,” Shorty’s prides itself on serving up South Philly cuisine (at South Philly prices). I had been talking to MDP about heading over to Hoboken to get a Taylor Ham sandwich some Saturday morning, and, per usual, he got down to scouring the internet for the ever-elusive-outside-of-New-Jersey tried and true Taylor Ham, egg, and cheese sandwich. He found Shorty’s, so we gave it a go today. If you too are searching for the beloved Taylor Ham, put Shorty’s at the top of your brunch list.

When we got to the spot at five to 11, a sandwich board listing the Philly standards — roast pork, Italian fries, fresh-baked Philly bread, and, of course, cheeseteaks — greeted us, so we went inside. “Give us about five minutes,” called out the bartender, and we slid through the door as quickly as we had entered. Leaking air conditioners sprayed down on us for a good five until we decided it was okay to head back inside at 11:01.

The Flatiron space is narrow and deep, with a bar running the length of the restaurant. Shorty’s offers just about every bourbon — even Blanton’s, which isn’t your run-of-the-mill Maker’s Mark — and a diverse selection of beers on tap. We sat at a high table that faced roughly five TVs and pored over the menu that doubled as a placemat. I appreciated the efficiency, which felt more New York City than Philadelphia.

I had been planning to order the pork roll, egg, and American cheese on a roll since early last week. After much deliberation, MDP landed on the roast pork with provolone, and we opted for the Italian fries to share.

Italian fries

shorty's italian fries

italian fries

Let’s start with the fries. Crisp and crusty, they were covered with Italian seasoning — whatever that means/probably oregano — and Romano cheese. I found them to be quite delicious and even verging on addictive, as the placemat/menu/restaurant storyboard suggests. I highly recommend these fries!

Roast pork with cheese

shorty's roast pork with cheese

roast pork with cheese

Okay, so I was skeptical about the roast pork at first. Honestly, I don’t understand what it is. When I think about “roast pork,” I see something like a pork roast in my mind’s eye, but maybe I have it mixed up. I suppose, being from central/north Jersey, I’m not too familiar with some of the nuances of Philadelphia cuisine, including this particular sandwich.

MDP said he had tried it a couple of times, but he owned up to being something less than an expert on it. “Here, why don’t you try it,” he said, gesturing with the sandwich. “No, it’s okay,” I said, shaking my head. But then I went ahead and took a bite.

It was amaaaaazing. So tender, so flavorful. The texture of the bun was perfect, and the melted provolone brought the entire sandwich experience together. I highly recommend this sandwich at Shorty’s.

Fresh-baked Philadelphia bread

As a side note, I should mention that Shorty’s ships their bread directly from Philadelphia. It sounds like they get the dough from the city of brotherly love and bake it on the NYC premises. I could be wrong, but, given Turnpike traffic and the prohibitive cost of Amtrak, I can’t imagine it’s literally fresh-baked from Philly.

Pork roll, egg, and American cheese

shorty's pork roll taylor ham egg and cheese

pork roll, egg, and cheese

As you know, I’m a fan of Taylor Ham. It is this blog’s namesake and only brings back fond memories of sitting at the Mark Twain Diner from age 4 until well into my college years. So, I had high hopes for the pork roll, egg, and American cheese sandwich at Shorty’s.

I was surprised when I received a foil-covered sub-shaped sandwich. Shouldn’t Taylor Ham exclusively be on a kaiser roll? But then I bit into the fresh “hoagie” roll. And I realized this must be what heaven is like.

The compact feel of the sandwich delighted the senses. Though the pork roll was cut on the thicker side, it was delicious. I’m kind of down on eggs lately, but I liked them in this sandwich. As you can see, they were somewhere between scrambled and fried. And the melted cheese was a nice touch. I gobbled the whole thing down in about five minutes. And at $5, the sandwich couldn’t have had more value. Be aware that the Taylor Ham sandwich is only available at breakfast or brunch.

Head to Shorty’s for brunch, lunch, dinner, drinks, sports — whatever! You’ll enjoy it no matter the reason you’re there. With four locations around the city, you have your pick at your convenience. But do try the Taylor Ham if you’ve never had it. Eating Taylor Ham in New York City is like seeing a dog walking on its hind legs while juggling — a very rare thing. Take advantage; go to Shorty’s.

Shorty’s
66 Madison Avenue (near 27th Street)
Flatiron, New York
Check the website for other locations!
Take the 6 to 28th Street and Park Avenue South, or N/R to 28th Street and Broadway.

Taylor Ham – this blog’s namesake

Posted on by mmmcupcake

taylor ham

Have you ever had Canadian bacon? How about fried bologna? Yes? Then you might have a slight idea of what taylor ham is.

But in reality, you have no idea.

There’s nothing like it.

Its meaty and succulent. Not fatty, but not lean either.

It’s versatile. When sliced thin, we call it taylor ham and put it on egg sandwiches or serve it up with eggs and home fries at local NJ diners. When eaten on a roll by itself, we call it pork roll, which sounds less appetizing but tastes much better.

Its everything you could ever want in a processed meat. Go to NJ and buy some today.