The owner of Murphy’s used the term “Murphy Style” to get your steak with peppers, onions and potatoes. He had nothing to do with the origins of the more common chicken murphy, he just used the phrase.
Ah I see. Does anyone remember Jims burger haven?
Jim’s on 36 in Keyport? lol My first time there I ordered at the counter like Mc Donalds, however unlike Mc’D’s everything was made to order so I go to lean/wait against the ketchup, napkins straw station across from the counter. As I leaned my butt back against the ketchup station my feet slowly slid out from under me. The “lightly greased” floors from all the fry & grill oil in the air just permeated the place. I couldn’t stop laughing to myself. A side note Jim’s estranged brother lived across the street from my brother in law in Hightstown, NJ, albeit this was 20 years ago.
Ha! Yeah I’m pretty sure that place wouldn’t win any cleanliness awards! The pancakes were decent there too
Actually now that you mention it I think he did do “breakfast all day” and you could get some decent egg sandwiches for lunch too.
LOL @corvette_johnny I used to go to the one at the old Monmouth Mall when they had an arcade nearby in one of the separate buildings outside the mall too.
I’ve definitely been in NJ too long 
I think I remember that from when I was quite young. It might be a little before my time though. Do you remember the razzmatazz? Lol
Happy new year @seal
How about ten cent wing night at legetts? Dollar drafts and ten cent wings. @MZ we used to order 200 at a time with a crew of guys…good times!
You know I find the use of the term Murphy Style Steak as used in this thread and area to be a little confusing. It seems there are a number of variations on the Murphy theme. It also seems to be a Jersey thing, like Pork Roll or an Italian style hot dog.
I’ve googled for the origins of the term, but I don’t find this in wide use anywhere else in the US or Ireland.
I’ve seen the Arthur’s steak described as “Murphy Style”. I think it was on the menu in North Brunswick.
It does seem at both the old Red Bank MSG and Arthur’s NB that a 24oz delmonico (rib eye) and fried potatoes were involved.
In Red Bank it came with aforedescribed peppers and onions. At Arthur’s there are just a couple of pickled cherry peppers on the plate and the potatoes are sauteed (some times until black) with paprika and onion. They are called “Arthur’s famous potatoes” but more often they are Arthur’s burnt potatoes.
Online recipes for Steak Murphy, on the other hand, seems to involve lots of garlic and not much else:
Finally, Pete & Eldas has a Steak Murphy on the menu which involves tomato sauce in addition to onions, peppers, and potatoes:
Looking, however, for the closest Murphy’s Steak House only turns up places in New Hampshire & Oklahoma:
http://atbeartree.com/at-bear-tree/murphys-steakhouse.html
Finally, as far as I can tell, it seems “Murphy Style” is not related to “Murphy’s Law” in any discernible way:
All of the foregoing raises a number of perplexing questions, which I am going to throw open to the HO brain trust:
Who was the original effing Murphy, and where the farouck did they live?
Is it possible “Murphy Style” is a Jersey original? (No jokes please about doggy style).
Anybody seen this on a menu anywhere else in the country?
If there was an original Murphy’s Steak House, did they go out of business?
Why is this usually a 24oz Delmonico with fried potatoes? Is the cut part of the “Murphy”?
I get the steak and potatoes (Irish), but how did the peppers get into it?
Also, what kind of peppers, if any, are genuine to a Murphy style steak?
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I often went to Ruby Palace with my team when I consulted for AT&T back in the day. Loved the General Tso’s chicken. It was then that I gave up trying to use chopsticks when I saw that all of my Asian teammates used metal utensils. Goodbye, hand cramps. Hello, fork!
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Murphy style dishes that I’ve had contain onions, potatos, and sliced cherry peppers (with a white wine sauce.)
You might want to check out tuzzios. I’ve had their chicken Murphy years ago and I remember it being huge and pretty good. I liked it back then. It was served in the manner mentioned above too. They have some early bird specials Tues to Thursday. I wonder if that dish is on it. If you have never been there, just go for lunch and take in the ambiance lol. You feel like you’re in the movie good fellas.
We dined at the bar at Charley’s on Tuesday night. It’s been a few years since we’ve dined there. Only a handful of people there at 7:30 p.m.
We were regulars at the old Charley’s and during the early days of new Charley’s. We slowly stopped going as food quality went down. (Service has remained strong.) I can only blame the new owner and the quality of ingredients (an odd-tasting chicken broth seemed to be present in every dish–ruined the long-famous chicken pot pie). The new owner Ted made big promises to us: more local fresh seafood, breakfast, and so on. Nada.
On Tuesday, the bartender told us that Ted sold Charley’s a few weeks ago to a few folks who are partnering. One or two of the new owners must have frequented the old Charley’s because the bartender said that they plan to return the menu to be more like the old Charley’s. Coincidentally, the chef Dave, who’s been there since the early days, has left to run the kitchen at a local 55+ place.
Should our hopes being going up or down? Stay tuned!
Harry’s Corner in Little Ferry. Best chili dogs ever.
Are you talking about the one in long branch?
Yes. I was replying to jsfein’s post in which the location was called out.
Not sure this counts as a “throwback” but it really “threw me back”.
I meant to share this last week, but Justin was up in the Woodbridge area visiting family and brought me back a Pizza Hut personal pie. It had been YEARS since I’ve had one. And while I never considered it to be “good pizza”, I always ranked it at the top or near the top of any chain/fast food pizzerias list such as Dominoes, Papa John’s, Little Caesar’s, etc (all of which I abhor with varying degrees of intensity).
It was delicious. Had the same flavor that I remember as a child. Good cheese/sauce ratio, and excellent crust…and that was after it was reheated after several hours. All I needed was some breadsticks! I do miss the one in Middletown (closed at least five years now, maybe more). Pizza Hut was the place to be when I was a child. Does anyone else remember the free pizzas you would get for reading a certain number of pages in elementary school? Pure nostalgic eating for me. If there was one closer, I would definitely consider takeout.
Also, I know this is an old thread but with so many places closing or having closed in the last couple of years, I fear we may need this resurrected.
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Pizza Hut makes me think of those prizes you would get if you did a lot of reading in the 90’s. I’m dating myself obviously.
There was a Peruvian place across the street from Count Basie that I miss. It had this super citrus heavy ceviche that I really loved. They also introduced us to Pisco Porto. They haven’t been there for several years.
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No Greg, we don’t remember that at all. As someone who took 14 years to graduate the 12th grade, needless to say I didn’t do a lot of reading in elementary school. Thanks for shaming me you cyber bully!
(ETA) I’m of a certain age where Pizza Hut hasn’t made its presence in NJ yet. I had to travel to PA in order to have PH. My older cousins would take me on the pilgrimage once a summer to get it and I loved it! Fun fact, PH in PA had liquor too so there was that added enjoyment for them.
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Exciting but I just couldn’t imagine having a martini at a Pizza Hut!
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Yes!! It was right across the street from the Basie, and I had a wonderful private dinner there one December with a group of very serious foodies and chefs. The food was fantastic, but the (female) chef/owner just couldn’t keep it going. I think she also had a food truck at one point… I’m going to see if I can find the thread where I posted about that dinner.
ETA: With a little help from @Ejebud - The chef was Marita Lynn, the restaurant was called Runa, and for those who are interested, she’s no longer cooking in restaurants. Here’s her website: https://mykitchenintuition.com/marita-lynn
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If you ordered a martini in a Pizza Hut I’m pretty sure they would throw you out. Just sayin’
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