There is no shortage of delis in New Jersey. But a new sandwich shop is trying to bring a taste of New York to the Garden State.
Willy’s Munch Gourmet opened in Little Ferry this past February and is serving up dishes most commonly found in New York city’s bodegas and food trucks. When Wawael “Willy” Hulaiqe bought the convenience store back in February, he revamped the menu to reflect his own flavor and style. Chopped cheeses, gyro bowls, beef patties, steak sandwiches and more became the shop’s focus.
Hulaiqe lived in New York City from 2007 to 2017, working at various delis across all five boroughs.
“I would work 12-hour shifts and would get bored of the same sandwich,” Hulaiqe told NJ Advance Media. “So me and (my co-workers) would all go get steaks, make chimichurri and I would just learn how to make so much hot food from them.”
That experience inspired Hulaiqe to run his deli in a similar creative fashion.
A standout favorite among customers is their steak and fries ($20) — made-to-order French fries layered with tender slices of New York strip and churrasco steak, cooked to the wellness of your choice. The fries are then topped with a generous amount of their homemade chimichurri and a drizzle of garlic-cilantro sauce.
I couldn’t help but notice how similar this dish was to the steak fries from The Colonial Grill food truck in Morristown. The flavors were nearly identical — satisfyingly savory, packed with aromatics and brightened by a fresh chimichurri and cilantro sauce.
While The Colonial Grill’s take on the dish is a heartier portion with crisper fries, Willy’s Munch Gourmet wins when it comes to tenderness and steak quality. If you don’t feel like waiting in The Colonial Grill’s long line, or if Morristown’s a bit out of the way, this is a great alternative to satisfy that same craving.
I also ordered a chopped cheese ($12.89), an iconic sandwich native to New York bodegas, featuring chopped ground beef and American cheese together with lettuce, onion and ketchup on a hero roll. It’s basically New York’s version of a cheesesteak.
The toasted roll added a satisfying bite to the sandwich — a touch many delis disregard. It tasted just like the New York classic — beefy, comforting and most of all, convenient.
The steak sandwich ($17.99) stuffs that same roll with all the components of the steak and fries (yes, fries included, like a fat sandwich) but with the addition of onions, cheese and utilizing just churrasco steak — cooked to your liking. This was just as delicious as the platter, but greasy to the point that its wax paper wrapping it was wrapped in was tearing apart. Though it was flavorful and tasty, I prefer the dish on a plate as opposed to a roll.
New Jersey delis are amazing in their own right. But they aren’t known for the dishes. Willy’s Munch Gourmet is serving up.
It might not be gourmet, but it’s a tasty addition to the Garden State.
