Corned Beef & Cabbage, New Jersey

So does a place exist in Monmouth County that is serving corned beef and cabbage that doesn’t have a bunch of rowdy drunks lurking?

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You just provided my chuckle of the day!

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You should probably move this to the NJ forums. You will get a lot more responses in the regional forum. @NotJrvedivici

I don’t really have many answers but I seem to recall sitting duck and pour house did a special for a while. I eat this maybe once a year and never at restaurants.

Buono Sera in Red Bank probably, or any Italian restaurant I would look into. All the parties will be at Irish or pub style places, I bet a place like BS wouldn’t have too many drunks. Well no more than the usual amount.

I think JSBBQ might have it… they’re BYO, which does lower the quotient of drunks

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Good call. This jarred my memory. Last year tst bbq in Middletown (Leonardo section) had a really cool looking corned beef dish. I don’t know why I didn’t try it, but this year I will. I forget the details but they definitely put a unique bbq spin on it. Maybe someone on Facebook can ask about it or report back. I’m game to try it if anyone is interested. He makes some interesting dishes and thinks outside the box. Come on curlz, you can be Irish for a day! :slight_smile: this would be cool to get a hodown for some corned beef (if indeed he is making it this year)

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I :heart: corned beef! You don’t need to convince me…

Well you’re the presidente of planning so lets make it happen :smile:

Well, when you put it that way…

Just being honest lol. I only come up with ideas. You have the ability to put plans into motion :wink:

Thanks but I was hoping for something more traditional, last year I went to Harold’s deli in Raritan.
It was ok but weak attempt at Irish coffee

Not a huge fan of Harold’s. I went once and probably would not go back again unless with a big group of people. Food quality is fine, but the “experience” is more about the shock value of their tremendous portions. I remember their corned beef being pretty good, but they literally put two tiny slices of cheese atop the 5 pound mountain of meat below it. Very disappointed. The pickle bar is overrated.

Might not be a bad place for a Ho-down. We can take over-under bets on the final price of the tab. If I remember correctly, it was like $5 to add lettuce and tomato to a sandwich!

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Oh man Greg. I don’t think this is the best place for sandwiches, but I do like the pickle bar! I love pickles so maybe I’m biased. The thing with this place is, you have to kind of know how to order with your party. It is pure gluttony. One sandwich can feed 4 people so for me it is kind of a once in a year excursion that needs to be planned accordingly. It is always packed so I think they are doing something right. When I walk in and feel like I’m Richard Simmons, there is something to be said . Hahahaha!

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It’s not about cheese, it’s about pastrami, corned beef and size.
I love the pastrami here as I am a transplanted NY’er and this place is as close to pastrami perfection without paying a toll.
The pickle bar IMO is merely an excuse to load up on the bread for your leftovers. I don’t know anyone who goes there for the pickle bar.
Yes the portions can be intimidating for the unitiated but I grew up thinking this is normal portions.
Last time I went there was for a pastrami sandwich probably about $55.00 and it was split 3 ways with an order of fries and a few beers brought the tab to I believe under $75.00 .
Well worth it.
Hey this is my soul food and the only place I go to NJ for pastrami.
Corned beef is a once a year indulgence.

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I’m a Harold’s fan too. How did you get to 55 bucks? Was that for two? My last time a sandwich was around 28. That was probably 1.5 years ago though.

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If my memory is correct it was a triple decker, a single sandwich I believe was about $25 .
I am never really good on remembering prices so don’t hold me to exact numbers

I would have suggested either Kelly’s in Neptune or Dublin House in Red Bank but you don’t want rowdy drunks. That would likely eliminate both of these unless you go for lunch? And unless you LOVE bagpipers avoid Kelly’s on St. Patrick’s Day. Bagpipers start at 7 AM. This sounds like an actual nightmare to me.

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Upon further review it was for a combined sandwich with pastrami & roast beef which was then deco constructed & shared

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Count me as a fan of Harold’s. The quality of the pastrami, corned beef, brisket, chopped liver etc is as good as you get in NJ. I like the pickle bar a lot including the Claremont salad. As others have mentioned, go with a group. We usually get six or eight people and order 2 or 3 sandwiches and it’s no more expensive than a deli with “normal” size sandwiches.

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Growing up, the original Harold’s in Randolph was in the regular rotation for family dinners (which I assure you weren’t weekly–it was a treat). I think the last time I went to a Harold’s was 15 years ago (Lyndhurst location) and it just wasn’t the same vibe/experience.