Lou & Ann’s Delicatessen

Lou & Ann’s is a Cherry Hill legend. In fact, established in 1959, Lou & Ann’s pre-dates the naming of Cherry Hill Township (was the town really named after the Mall, as story goes?). The deli is located on a busy stretch of Route 70, and is part of a group of 5-6 shops that seem to have avoided Cherry Hill’s modernization. When you walk into the shop, you’re reminded of a time when Garden State Park was the heart of South Jersey and the Rat Pack made frequent appearances at the Latin Casino (only about a mile down the road). In fact, there’s an autographed picture of Sinatra himself on the counter, addressed to Lou and Ann in 1977. Everything is great here, and the Italian sandwiches, soups and prepared dishes are their staples. But today, we were here for a cheesesteak.

Rolls were from local bakery Cacia’s, and today they had a seeded option. The roll was fresh with a nice crisp to its crust, but didn’t seem to be toasted, so the sesame seed flavor didn’t come through.

This is a deli, so cheese options are seemingly endless, and with some convincing, I talked my way into having it made with Cooper. Onions were thin sliced.

The meat was somewhere between a fine chop and a slab (call it a medium chip?). The meat was well-seasoned and you could hear it being cooked fresh to order. The filling was not over-flowing but still was a good meat-to-bread ratio. There was some gristle and chewy bits with an overall good flavor.

I was so hungry, I didn’t have time to get a picture.