Cuisine: Deli / Sandwich Shop
I went to the original Milburn Deli years and years ago. So long ago, in fact, I believe it was to grab a sandwich when Ms. Hipster and Hipster Jr. Jr. were in the hospital right after Hipster Jr. Jr. was born. I recall it being busy and me being completely sleep deprived and that’s about it. All these years later, the deli has become a bit of a franchise, expanding its footprint beyond Millburn to five locations, including this one in Montclair. And, sure, it’s a little confusing having a deli named after one New Jersey town in another New Jersey town, but what’s in a name anyway?
This location opened in late 2021, filling the void of the the long-serving Watchung Deli that went the way of so many businesses during COVID. And, frankly, this was a considerable upgrade. That deli was tired. The type of skinny, cramped local place that only had Herr’s and peach Snapple and would run out of stuff on the regular. Not exactly the pinnacle of sandwich tech. By comparison, Millburn felt modern and clean and offered a menu filled with more inventive and varied concoctions. In other words, it wasn’t your typical bread, turkey and American cheese deli. Nor was it your more ubiquitous Italian deli / sandwich shop that can be great, but are just a bit more limited in terms of what they do and what they do well. The thing was, all this fanciness seemed to come at a price. The shiny new display cases, the nice brick architecture. The grill presses and big windows. Yeah, this was an expensive sandwich experience when it first opened. Back before the post-COVID supply chain, inflationary craziness raised all prices and then just kind of became the norm. The $17 burger at the fast-casual joint. The shocking $25 bill at Taco Bell for two. And, mostly because of this, and the fact we had our go-to sandwich joint in town, Millburn was a seeming one-and-done option. It was quality, to be sure, but at what price?
Flash forward to 2025 and everything is just more expensive. Where you shrug at a fourteen-dollar sandwich. A seven-dollar bag of Ruffles. A nine-dollar box of cereal. Everything got absurdly expensive and then just stayed there. But, somehow, Millburn Deli didn’t raise their prices. They just kind of weathered the chaos and came out the other side as a place whose prices were now just in line with the norm. And, yes, I know cost shouldn’t be the only consideration when choosing grub, but if the cost / value consideration was leveled and you’re getting what you perceive as premium for the same cost as, uh, normal, why wouldn’t you consider it a value-based buy? These are the mental gymnastics we do here at the Hipster Booze & Grub Survey (the former name of this section of this long-running website). But what really brought us back to Millburn was not value, or even the vague memory from sixteen years ago in Millburn, nor four years ago in Montclair, but the fact our normal go to, Belgiovine’s, was closed whatever day we found ourselves starving for sustenance. Though Millburn is closed on Sundays, which seems like a day that might be a popular one for deli what with football and everything. It’s a choice.
So, if you’re going to a fancy deli, order the fancy sandwiches. I mean, anyone can do my usual roast beef or turkey or tuna sub. Nah, Millburn Deli has something called a Black Bull. Which is tri-tip steak, mozzarella and sautéed onions on a pressed flat bread. It’s like a classy cheesesteak. Hell yeah. And while it’s probably not the most dietetic sandwich I could have ordered, it was as tasty as it sounds. The steak was tender, the cheese melty (Ms. Hipster’s least favorite adjective) and the onions the right level of done. All together it made for an incredibly enjoyable sandwich experience that I would have been happy with at any higher-end pub type restaurant. Ms. Hipster got a smoked turkey sloppy joe, which looked a little coleslaw heavy for my taste, but she said it was really good and plentiful. I honestly don’t know if the sloppy joe (that is not your typical ground beef type) is a Jersey thing, but I’ve seen these in the past and know she’s a fan. So, it seems after our latest experience this joint has earned a second look. Maybe this will be our “specialty” sandwich go-to from here on out, as it’s difficult to break away from your usual. But I had a dream the other night about that steak sandwich and it didn’t end well for that thing. Or my pillow. But that’s a story for another time.
256 Park St. – Montclair
973/437-5000
millburndeli.com
