I’m genuinely bummed out today. I just visited my favorite deli for the first time in about 6 weeks, and learned that the owner, Tony, passed away a few weeks ago. I’m just going to ramble for a bit, in all seriousness you could tell he was a beautiful person, and loved to see people enjoy sandwiches, a passion we both share. He will be missed.
My love of deli sandwiches is no secret. Everyone who has been in my presence for more than 15 minutes has heard me wax poetic about a delicious sandwich I have eaten recently, cheesesteak or otherwise. Above all other sandwich venues on earth, by far the finest was the Evergreen Deli in Springfield, NJ. Its a unique atmosphere, the first floor of a residential house, 1970’s wood paneling on the walls, no grill, no name brand cold cuts. Tony made 6 turkeys every morning, and if you got him going, you could tell how genuinely proud of this he was. It was all completely justified, this stuff could take Boars Head in a fight with its hands tied together, also blindfolded. If you had any doubts, you would be given a handful of turkey. Beyond the turkey, the meatballs were Serious Business. I’ve told this story before, but it warrants a re-telling. There’s a sign on the wall that reads “You Are At The Home Of The Biggest Balls In Town” Another fact Tony was eager to discuss. Here is a story I heard when waiting on line one day
“I’ve been here 32 years, and never advertised once. A while back the church bulletin called me up and said “wanna put an ad in the bulletin?” I says “I’ll only do it if you put EVERGREEN DELI HAS THE BIGGEST BALLS IN TOWN” and I never heard from them again!”
I will never forget that as long as I live. He hailed from the JC, so he always gave me the supreme greeting of “JERSEY CITY!!” Or if someone in front of me ordered a large sandwich (as they all were large) He would say “Ya gotta be from Jersey City to handle somethin this big!” I wore my “My way or the Pulaski Skyway” t shirt, and it cracked him up.
I was going to get a tuna sandwich or something, keep it relaxed, but as I learned this news, there was no other choice than the Giant Meatball Hero, made by his sidekick Sonia. He came from a different time, didn’t accept credit cards, would let you pay later if you were short on cash, constantly handed out handfuls of cold cuts and pieces of chicken, he told old ladies the cheesecake his wife made was “better than sex”. A true American original, there will never be another.