Nashville has a bagel problem, and we don’t talk about it enough. I mean, hell – all these people are coming down to the Nashville area from New York and New Jersey, and NONE OF Y’ALL have brought good bagels down with you? What the hell? We have a million pizza places around town that claim to be “New York style” pizza. But, no one can cook up a damn pork roll, egg, and cheese? WTF is wrong with y’all? That’s why you can imagine my excitement to hear that Jersey Oven, a legit Jersey style bagel shop, would be opening up in Mount Juliet.
My fiancé is from Jersey – Monmouth County – we spend a lot of time up there throughout the year visiting family. One of the things I always have on my to-do list is “pork roll.” I love it so much. Probably too much. To a point that I’ve had my fiancé smuggle a pork roll, egg, and cheese sandwich into her suitcase on a flight home from a trip I didn’t get to make.
Besides, Mount Juliet has a breakfast problem. Listen – I love my Cracker Barrel and Waffle House. But, every now and then, I want a little variety. Two birds, one stone with this place – I get pork roll -AND- I get a new breakfast spot on my side of town.
FYI: Jersey Oven does also serve pizza, but this grade is strictly for the breakfast. I’ll update it once we get some pizza. Check out Jersey Oven on Facebook here.
Pics
Ratings
Food: 6.89/10 – You just can’t beat a good pork roll, egg, and cheese. Gotta get the salt, pepper, and ketchup, too. I’m not even a ketchup guy, but I absolutely love it on this sandwich. My only critique is the bagel itself – mine was a little hard, and everyone else in the car agreed. Otherwise, you’re looking at least a 7.23. Still, not so bad that it greatly effected my enjoyment of the meal.
Value: 7.13/10 – Any time you can feed three people for less than $20 in this day and age, you’re going to get a solid value score. Part of what makes this such a good value, though, is simply the rarity of finding good pork roll in Tennessee. I’d probably pay $50 for that sandwich and call it a good value, so maybe I’m not the best judge in this situation.
Atmosphere: 5.1/10 – Gotta give these guys the slightly above average grade on the atmosphere. It’s cramped – in true Jersey bagel shop fashion, it’s set up to grab-and-go. There are a few tables to sit and eat, but that ain’t how it’s done, folks. I loved the relics hung on the wall. I loved the layout…the look…everything about this place made me feel like we were up in Jersey visiting with family.
Overall: 6.37/10 – A solid grade for a solid establishment. That puts ’em at #16 of the 39 restaurants that we’ve reviewed on this here website. Maybe I am being a little generous given how stoked I am just to be able to go somewhere nearby and get a pork roll, egg, and cheese. But, it’s damn good, and it’s damn different from any other breakfast you’ll get in the area. We’ll be making this apart of our regular breakfast rotation.
CURRENT NASHVILLE RESTAURANT RANKINGS
- Butcher & Bee (8.5/10)
- Nectar: Urban Cantina (8.44/10)
- Von Elrod’s (8.17/10)
- Catch 22 (Mount Juliet) (7.125/10)
- Red’s 615 Kitchen (7/10)
*Keep in mind, we’re just starting out. This list is only 39 deep at this point. Stay tuned as we continue to build our anthology of Nashville reviews.
Stoney Keeley is the Editor in Chief of The SoBros Network. He is a strong supporter of Team GSD and #BeBetter. “Big Natural” covers the Tennessee Titans, Nashville, and a whole wealth of nonsense. Follow on Twitter @StoneyKeeley
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