If there's one thing I always look forward to at the deli it's a juicy pickle. Whether it's a kosher pickle spear on the side or a heavy hand of pickle chips on my corned beef sandwich, pickles belong on a sandwich. Or rather, at this one sandwich shop in Haddon Township, New Jersey, your sandwich belongs in a pickle.
Welcome to Elsie's, home of the original pickle sandwich. The keto and low carb friendly establishment is taking the world by storm, and like many great food stories, the pickle sandwich empire was invented on accident.
The Linwood Market and Deli, one of the oldest businesses in Atlantic County, was losing its steam. Wawa's were popping up and the store, which has been open since 1901 was on the brink of closing. Daughter of owners, Katherine Cohen and husband Chad, both working in advertising and marketing, decided to help out by bringing back an old family pickle recipe to add to the shop. One day Kathrine was making her mother a sandwich and decided to use pickles instead of bread.
"My mom (Theresa Cohen) is a diabetic, and I made her a pickle sandwich instead of using bread,'' Cohen accounts in a Cherry Hill Courier Post article. "In the original store, we weren't zoned for seating but we had a dining room set up in there. And she was out there eating one day and somebody said, 'Hey, I want one of those!'"
The customer took a few pickle sandwiches back to her office and word slowly spread on social media about Elsie's pickle sandwich. They rebranded the store to Elsie's Down the Shore in honor of Elsie Stuber, the original owner of the market.
A few years later Cohen's parents were getting older and decided to sell the store, however, that didn't mean that the pickle sandwiches were gone for good. Katherine and Chad recently moved locations and opened up Elsie's on 803 White Horse Pike in Haddon Township.
The deli offers five different sandwiches and seven different varieties of cucumber roll-ups. You can also make your own sandwich with fillings such as roast beef, turkey breast, and even sriracha mayo. Now that sounds like a great dill.
