Joan & Ed’s Deli

I grew up in Brookline, lived my teen and early adult years in the Back Bay or Cambridge, and have been weened at delis my entire life. I eat nova and bagels multiple times a. Week! Now, I live in Natick for the last 16 years and have been to this place several times p, with a break between visits numbered in years… Why?
Well, it could be the overpriced food or the consistently poor service, the attitude from the various managers I’ve talked too, or the «if you don’t like it, that’s it, don’t come back» sentence I got from one manager after our last visit, quite some time ago… Let this be a final warning to any diners out there, you have been warned!
I would rather make my own sandwich, go down the road to Kugel’s during the day, or go to the Italian deli, Tutto Italiano in Wellesley, than give this schlub another try.

What a joy.
I have now gone there about four times – three times with the same friend and once with my Dad.
Beginning with the Judaica for sale in the front and the dessert case filled with black and white cookies, this place is heaven on earth. I guess I wouldn’t care if this place were in New York, but I live in Natick so this is kinda a big deal.
They have fun homey kitchy stuff on the walls and a menu straight from a new york jewish deli.
Huge selection, lots of lox, lots of pastrami, lots of sandwich/​soup combos, lots of breakfast-​all-​day options.
I’ve had the lox and onion scramble and I’ve had half pastrami and cup of chicken soup. I pretty much alternate between the two and order extra cole slaw and pickles.

So some of my buddies decided to bring me here after a car show. first time, never even knew it existed there. It was a nice environment and great wait staff that started pulling jokes on us. Service was excellent, except the part where the food took too long to be served (understandable though because there was 8 of us) I chose to have the corn beef reuben, fries with gravy and i had to say that was awesome. The starters with the half-​sour pickles and cole-​slaw is definitely a plus! I would recommend a try, and i am definitely willing and ready to go back and give it another whip at it.
P. S. beware the mustard bottles, where as one of my buddies had a mustard bottle accident and he was covered in mustard from head to body! Priceless!

I don’t feel like writing separate reviews based on my completely separate experiences here, so I’ll just combine ‘em.
First experience — ordered takeout pastrami sandwiches with pickles on the side. I was in love. It was a delicious sandwich from the bread to the cheese to the mustard and of course, the fabulous pastrami. I was excited to go back for breakfast sometime.
Second visit — Saturday morning for brunch. 45 min wait, I was too hungry/​impatient so we left. I assumed the place would knock my socks off (why else would people wait 45 mins for eggs?) so I was looking forward to going back.
Third, and final, visit was (finally!) for breakfast. Not what I expected at all. Kind of boring. The hash was terrible, the potatoes weren’t hot and the corned beef was grainy. Bagel with Lox — good enough, but I expected better. French Toast was ok. The challah bread was great, but the french toast was a tad soggy. And why make french toast on such great bread and then serve mediocre syrup?. Just not as good as I thought it would be for a $ 30+ breakfast.

Pretty much the only place that is a new york style deli… And ive been to NY and yea they are much better and cheaper… and this is NY I’m talking about.
This place is really over rated and way too overpriced if you ask me… 10 bucks or so for a burger? Really? I’ll go to the BK lounge and get one 4 bucks cheaper. for 2 people for dinner… it was 30 bucks… Really? Yea ok.
Dont go here… the food is ok they just take all your money

I really want to like this place. Good delis, outside NYC, are few and far between. But each time I visit Joan & Ed’s it just gets worse and worse.
To start — 6 of us show up for lunch on Sunday. They seat us at a table with 3 on one side, 2 on the other, and yours truly at the head of the table sticking out into the main aisle.
Realizing this violation of restaurant feng shui, they move us to another table with a more reasonable 3 and 3 arrangement. Eventually the waitress shows up. She’s missing a tooth, and is complaining that she hasn’t gotten a smoke break in over an hour. Lovely.
She takes our beverage order, shows up with half of ‘em, mixes up one, forgets another. Having corrected those, she takes our order and surprisingly seems to get everything right. Maybe she got a smoke break?
The food shows up and it all looks … average. Admittedly, one can’t make (my) hash ‘n’ eggs look gourmet, but it shouldn’t look like Alpo either, you know? Also — if you pay $ 11.95 for a sandwich, be a sport — serve it with fries. No, no … Joan & Ed assume you just want (soggy) cole slaw and a limp, impotent pickle.
And, we thought about ordering dessert, but our Marlboro gal had already dropped the check. So finally, when she noticed we hadn’t paid, and were talking about cakes and such, asked if she could get us anything else. She told us there was a really, delicious dessert special — but couldn’t tell us what it was! Not even was it «chocolate» or «fruit» or anything. Nor did she say «let me go check…» All she said was «you should get it, it looks great.» Seriously !!!
When she brought back the desserts we did order (and could identify), there were only three. She got one totally wrong, and mine (a black & white…) was woefully inadequate. It was like someone shmeared black and white frosting on a corn muffin.
Screwing up a black & white at a Jewish deli is a sacrilege on scale with eating pastrami on white bread — it’s just NOT done.
Except at Joan & Ed’s.: sigh :
UPDATE: 12÷21÷09: Ed (he of Joan & Ed’s) saw my post on Unilocal,and apologized for the less than stellar experience. He sent me a $ 25 gift card and invited me back.
I went back for dinner: brisket, and a potato pancake. It was perfect. My server was smart, nice, friendly, and did an excellent job. For dessert, I hada piece of lemon meringue pie that was insanely good. Kudos to (Joan &) Ed for paying attention to their customers!

If you like meatloaf and latke’s, you’ll love Joan and Ed’s Deli!
This family owned restaurant has a fabulous retro-​ish interior design, plus authentic Jewish American food. I often bring friends and dates new to the Metrowest area to this local deli/​diner for brunch.

I think Joan and Ed’s is a great deli. In a town (Boston) where it is nearly impossible to get a good Deli sandwich — you should take the drive out to Framingham.
This is the kind of deli I like — they have an extensive menu with the required Triple Decker sandwiches. Tongue — Chipped Beef & Turkey. I know it sounds strange but it Rocks!
The prices are not cheap but there is enough food in one sandwich to feed at least two people.

They make a mean Reuben, the best I’ve ever had, and that’s saying a lot coming from a Reuben fanatic! The best homemade pickles you’ll ever taste, especially because they’re complimentary. Great service. But don’t come in during busy hours if you aren’t okay with sitting next to strangers!
My parents have been taking me here since I was a baby, so I’m a die-​hard fan!

What is it that makes a Reuben so hard to get right? And why is it that Joan and Ed’s is the only place outside of New York that I can find one that isn’t soggy or full of sketchy meat? Why are they the only ones that have figured out the secret formula of the dressing to kraut ratio?
This place has the best Reuben around. Bar none. The matzo ball soup = Heaven. They serve you a plate full of half sour pickles and coleslaw when you order. Oh my mouth is watering as I type. So GOOD!
I don’t like the kitchy signs in the dining area, but they aren’t hurting anyone I guess.
The hubby and I like to get a bowl of soup then split a Reuben. It’s more than enough food. Word to the wise the sandwiches are large.
We go to Joan and Ed’s whenever we are around the Natick/​Framingham area. You don’t have to resort to the chain restaurants. Joan and Ed’s is a gem!

This place is adorable. The waitstaff are the kind of women who call you ‘hon’ and grin instead of smile, which I like to see in a deli-​like restaurant. It adds to the ambiance, you know?
The food is awesome. I haven’t had good authentic Jewish deli food anywhere else, except maybe S&S. I loved that the egg dishes came with a potato pancake, and that the waitress brought out a platter of pickles and cole slaw (and was more than happy to let us take the leftover pickes).
This place is great for families, or anyone who is looking for a comfort meal of Jewish soul food. I didn’t think I would be happy to be in Natick and NOT eating at Minado, but Joan and Ed’s made up for it.

I like it here. It’s probably one of the best breakfast places (there are so few) in Natick/​Framingham area.
It’s no where near as good as Zaftiqs in Brookline however. Thier Potato Pancakes are good but again not as good as Zaftiqs.

YUM! Huge menu, and a large selection of Rachels and Rubens to piqué anyone’s interest. (and appetite)! The meat is not as greasy and piled on as it is in Jewish delis in the tri-​state area, but that may be a good thing. They do the sour pickle /​coleslaw thing (the pickles are sooooo good)!
I do agree with some of the other reviews that this place is a bit overpriced.
The fact that this joint is in a strip mall just tugs at my heart strings and reminds me of my beloved Jerzey…
BTW, the rice pudding is totally gross. Rice was dry and they put egg in it… yuck.
Will definitely come here again!!!

I could eat pickles from here for an hour. That’s how good.
And the cole slaw — yum.
Then come the sandwiches. Not super-​stuffed ala NYC, but decent. And all the options, more reubens and rachels than I’d ever heard of. Delicious real beef hot dogs. A decent mustard at the table (for those, like me, that can’t have enough mustard), a few bottled beers available, a not-​bad cup of joe and a large refrigerator of desserts (which we’ve never had room for). And so you have another real deli in Massachusetts — now we’re getting somewhere.

I can’t believe I haven’t written something about this place since I go there on a regular basis.
Joan and Ed’s is my ticket back to NYC, back home, back to my childhood of growing up Asian but having a lot of really great Jewish friends whose families would take me out to the deli for a sandwich after the game.
The menu is huge, there’s lots of options, but really there should only be three things to get on the menu, stick with the staples. Corned beef (extra lean), Romanian Pastrami (aka NY style lean), and tounge. Get all three on rye, maybe some cole slaw if you like that stuff, load up the spicy mustard, and go to town. The ruebens aren’t great from what I remember, I’ve had better at other places, but for overstuffed slightly warmed /​steamed deli favorites like the one I listed, it’s really great.
The bagels come from H&H so you know they’re tasty. The egg cream is a decent rendition of this NY favorite. They even have Dr Brown to drink. It’s a little pricey for deli food, but for a taste of NY deli in the burbs of Boston, it’s worth it.

Joan and Ed’s is probably my second favorite Jewish-​Style deli in the metro west area (second to Barry’s Village Deli in Newton).
Being a Jew marrying another Jew, when the parents want to get together, we go here. It is a convenient place to meet and the food is good (and cheapish).
I think the food is the thing that really makes this place. They give you cole slaw and ½ sour pickles on the table which kind of makes up for the fact that service is erratic. I’ve been in there at many different times of day /​week and what time you go really makes a difference to the level of service you get. I’ve had great service and had everything timed just right on my food, and I’ve had «bums rush» style service where they show up asking you what you want to eat, you don’t see them again until your food is there, then you don’t see them again after that till they give you your bill.
I think J&E needs to get more servers on the floor when they know they are going to be busy and that will make for a superb and consistent dining experience. The food is good, I think it is cheap for the area (despite what other Unilocalers say), and as I said before, despite inconsistent service, it is my second favorite metro west deli.
p. s. My food recommendation is to try the grapenut pudding.

Was recommended to go here from a friend. All day I was so excited to get a corned beef Reuben.
Price to quality ratio, the worst sandwich I’ve ever eaten.
I paid ten dollars for about an ¹⁄₈^th of a pound of corned beef on two regular size pieces of rye bread. PLUS they forgot the Russian dressing I requested.
I can understand paying 10 bucks for an overstuffed sandwich on good bread. 10 dollars for something I could make in my home? I’ll pass.
I wouldn’t recommend this place to anyone.
From the looks of these reviews I don’t think I’m the only one. However, if people pack the place still, the message won’t be taken.

Joan and Ed’s was all well and good until I saw a HUGE WINGED BEETLE fly in from god knows where and make its new nest right in my salad.
Game over.
Any place that can’t control its bug population doesn’t deserve a. any Unilocal stars, and b. any of my money.
Yuck.

I love Joan and Ed’s. The pickles alone are worth 5 stars!
The place is larger than it looks from the front, but it is always packed, so expect to wait. They do have fun Jewish-​related trinkets and a gigantic dessert case to look at while you wait. Their prices are a little bit higher than one would expect, but the food is very good.
If it were not for the wait and the prices, I would give them 5 stars.
***Update as of 1/​22/​08***
We were in the Natick area again today, so we grabbed lunch at Joan and Ed’s. I have to amend what I wrote earlier to emphasize the ridiculously high prices here. I am sorry but $ 10 for a turkey club with no fries to go along with it? That is just outrageous. Their food is good, but not THAT good. In fact the turkey club with cole slaw and russian dressing we had today sounded good on paper, but did not translate well. It was too sweet and the turkey and bacon were tasteless. I know, I know… I had never experienced tasteless bacon before either, but apparently it exists and Joan and Ed’s serves it.
Another interesting thing to mention was the sheer lack of class that the servers had. One young girl was referring to another server as «Slut“quite loudly and repeatedly. Clearly, she meant it as a term of endearment, but I don’t think the patrons needed to hear the word «SLUT» yelled across the dining room while they were trying to enjoy their overpriced lunches. We then heard the same classy waitress in the kitchen saying «you no understand English?» in a faux-​asian/​mexican accent. Again, she said this multiple times and within earshot of half of the restaurant. Not cool.
J & E is losing it’s luster for us. It’ll be a while before we go back.

I’m not sure how we found this place. Maybe it’s because it’s next to a Christmas Tree Store (which for some reason my Mom is obsessed with. I don’t get them. Anyhow, save that for another time, another review), but let’s just say the setting leaves much to be desired. But boy oh boy, do I love this deli. It’s like once I walk through those doors and plop myself into one of the turquoise plastic booths I turn into another person. Decorum, class, manners, diet — it goes straight out the window. I greedily thumb through the many menu pages deciding between corned beef hash (heavenly), the turkey latke gobbler (exactly like it sounds: roast turkey, a latke, gravy, bread = delicious), a grilled frankfurter with beans, stuffed cabbage or a steaming pastrami sandwich. All extremely lady-​like choices I realize, but my friends, I’m not done yet. With every order you get homemade coleslaw and pickles which I stuff into my grill before they hit the table and I always finish off any meal with dessert. The cinnamon coffee cake is my favorite though I have been known to order an éclair here or there.
Anyhow, again, I don’t know how we ever found it, but it’s a great little gem. Delicious, homemade food and they aren’t stingy on the portions (and VERY affordable prices). I love coming here every time I’m back in Boston (and I live in NY so that must tell you something about how good this place is!)