Lunch Review: Evergreen Deli

Editor's note: Welcome to the lunch review, a new column about mid-day foods in Springfield. In each column, Vincent Gragnani will sample a different item while giving a little background on where he got the food.

Standing at the corner of Evergreen and South Springfield avenues for decades, the distinctive green two-story house sporting green and white awnings and a large arrow-shaped Evergreen Deli sign is familiar to all drivers who use Meisel Avenue to cut from downtown to Rte 22.

The Evergreen Deli is under new management as of last July. Inside, it appears little has changed in the decades the deli has been in business. Cold meats and salads are kept under a refrigerated glass counter, and steam tables just behind the counter hold meat for hot sandwiches. The owners' daughters work behind the counter, offering not just the quaint atmosphere of a family-run establishment, but also the strong likelihood that the person taking my order and making my food has a vested interest in making sure customers get a good meal.

The menu is handwritten on a white board behind the counter. The roast beef and beef brisket sandwiches sounded tempting, but I instead went for a healthier option—a turkey sandwich ($6.95). All sandwiches include lettuce, tomato, mayo, mustard and/or Russian dressing on a choice of breads. A slice of cheese is extra ($0.35), and choices include provolone, Swiss and yellow or white American cheeses.

I asked for my sandwich to be made on whole wheat bread, dressed with lettuce, tomato, mustard and a slice of Swiss cheese. The bread looked like store-bought sliced bread, except it was fresh, soft and had an almost sweet nuttiness to it—as good whole wheat bread should. The turkey is roasted in-house and sliced to order right behind the counter. The one thing that stands out in my mind from my only other visit to Evergreen Deli remained true on this visit: Sandwiches are made with a generous amount of meat. My sandwich had almost an inch of turkey, sliced paper thin.

This would have been more than enough for a satisfying lunch, but I couldn't resist sampling the potato salad, so I ordered a small cup. Tiny pieces of diced celery and carrots give some color to this potato salad, made in a mayo base that almost tasted sweet. I'm not sure if it was sweetened with pickle juice or perhaps a touch of sugar, but this was clearly homemade and well worth the $2.13 that I paid for it.

Lastly, I washed everything down with a Boylan's dark cherry soda ($1.75). In a time when meat and produce are shipped halfway around the world, it's good to see a family-owned neighborhood deli serving sodas made right here in the Garden State. Boylan Bottling Co. is based in Moonachie, N.J., and its sodas are sweetened with pure cane sugar, not high fructose corn syrup.

My only regret is that I didn't pick up one of the packages of cookies spread across the counter—but the turkey sandwich, potato salad and soda were more than enough to fill me up for the afternoon. Next time, I'll save room for dessert.

My advice to those of you who live or work in the township and patronize the convenient chain stores on Rte. 22 or Morris Avenue: Take a detour and check out Evergreen Deli. You might pay a dollar or two more for your lunch, put you'll be getting what you pay for while supporting a local business.

Evergreen Deli

529 S. Springfield Ave.

(973) 376-6095

Hours of operation

Monday through Friday, 7 a.m. - 4 p.m.

Saturday 8 a.m. - 2 p.m.

Closed on Sunday