In what sounds like the passing of family secrets from one mobster to another, Greasy Tony taught Juicy Jim everything that he knows.
Greasy Tony's is the eponymous New Brunswick, N.J., restaurant where Jim Matson got his start in the restaurant business and learned how to make sandwiches and pizzas from his mentor.
Now Matson has brought his skills to the Highland strip just off The U of M campus with his new shop, Juicy Jim's. Home to monster creations like the Dumpster, the Jackpot and the Hangover Stopper, Matson is a perfectionist when it comes to his ingredients and sandwich preparation.Matson, a motorcycle fanatic, decided to open his own place in the spirit of his childhood employer Greasy Tony's, which has since relocated to Tempe, Ariz.
"I buy most of my meats, cheeses and cold cuts from Italian suppliers back in New Jersey," he said. "A local distributor tries to sell me some sliced steak but it was so full of fat and gristle that I closed the box."
I just want to offer quality food for college students at a reasonable price, he said.
And prices are reasonable with a basic cheesesteak sandwich starting at around $5. There are pricier options on the menu for starving students who want to stretch one sandwich over the course of a couple meals.
The Dumpster, a 24-inch sandwich, is actually four cheesesteaks topped with tomatoes, lettuce, pickled peppers, onions and mushrooms. Anyone ordering this sandwich to go carries it out in a box.
"We got the name for that one back when I was working at Greasy Tony's," Jim said. "See, Tony's place was right across from the college tavern near Rutgers, so we'd get slammed with business at 2 a.m. One night this Rutgers fraternity kid came in after he'd had quite a few drinks and he couldn't tell us what he wanted to eat."
"The student slurred, 'Dump it all on,'" Jim said. "So that's what we did and the sandwich had a name."
Late hours are something Jim Matson, who prefers to go by the moniker Juicy Jim, is used to, so he's decided to keep his Highland strip shop open late a couple of nights a week.
"We're staying open 'till 4 a.m. Thursday through Saturday" he said. "And we're open from 11 a.m. to midnight Sunday through Wednesday."
Delivery will soon be on Jim's menu as he continues to court the college crowd.
"I know that college kids like to party, so they need a place to get something to eat late at night that either delivers or is in walking distance," Jim said.
The cheesesteak sandwiches are authentic and all of the meatballs are made in house, but it is Matson's kitchen creativity that spins out one of the restaurant's most interesting side dishes. In addition to Jim's curly fries, which are cut from whole russet baking potatoes in the back, an adapted device Matson created cuts potato ribbons from the whole spuds and deep-fries them. They arrive in a basket with the look and texture of a chain of fresh made potato chips.
Matson is planning to bring in an old style stone pizza oven that he purchased and craft white pies, tomato pies, calzones and stromboli.
I'm thinking we'll offer 12-, 16-, 22- and 30-inch pizzas," he said. "I'm trying to get a beer license too, so people can come in and have a beer with a pizza or sandwich."
Matson insists Juicy Jim's won't have a bar atmosphere though.
"For the heavy drinkers," he said. "I'll send them over to my friend Todd at Newby's."
Despite some setbacks resulting from a motorcycle accident and three months in a coma, Jim Matson is glad to be out of the house and socializing with people in his new restaurant.
He credits his wife and co-worker Ronnie Hall with all of the hard work it took to get Juicy Jim's going.
Jim also gives thanks that Greasy Tony gave him a job at age 13 when a lot of his friends were partying and doing drugs.
"A lot of those other kids are dead now," he said. "Tony let me work in a restaurant, make some money and get a meal every day."
Now Matson has brought the specialty sandwiches that he learned to make as a teenager to the Highland Strip and U of M students.
Juicy Jim's is located 546 S. Highland and can be reached at 458-4448.
