Heavyweights on Easton Avenue Serving up Cheesesteaks that Pack a Wallop

NEW BRUNSWICK – Sarim Jeelani will surely be the only student this fall sitting in his business classes at Rutgers who owns a restaurant just down the street.

Jeelani and his cousin, Omar Habib, are co-owners of New Brunswick’s newest fast-fare establishment, Heavyweights, at 56B Easton Avenue.

CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP FOR THE FREE TAPINTO.NET NEWSLETTER

The owners at Heavyweights are out to satisfy the city’s craving for cheesesteaks without having to drive all the way to Philadelphia.

Jeelani was sporting a Heavyweights T-shirt and a big smile as he manned the counter on his first day as owner last week.

“I also worked with my cousin at Smashville on George Street, and it’s funny because you meet so many other Rutgers students, and I’m sure I’ll make a lot of friends working here,” said Jeelani, who will be heading into his junior year in September.

Habib said these cheesesteaks with a flavorful wallop will be a hit with Rutgers students hungry for lunch, dinner or a late-night snack, since Heavyweights will eventually be open until 3 a.m. on the weekends once classes restart.

DOWNLOAD THE FREE TAPINTO APP FOR MORE LOCAL NEWS. AVAILABLE IN THE APPLE STORE AND THE GOOGLE PLAY STORE .

He also said Heavyweights will also be a welcome option for the area’s Muslim community, since each cheesesteak is made with halal meat.

“Not only wasn’t there a good cheesesteak place here in the city, but we also wanted to use fresh Halal meat shaved each day,” Habib said.

Heavyweights is set up to be primarily a grab-and-go place, but there is a counter where you can stand and eat.

Sure, there are a variety of hot dogs, hamburgers and french fries on the menu. But the heavyweight champ at Heavyweights are the cheesesteaks.

Here’s how you order. First, you pick the size you want (the Lightweight is a good lunch portion and a Heavyweight might be in order for dinner). Then you choose your protein, your preferred cheese and your toppings.

If you order The Classic off the menu, be ready for fresh meat, velvety Cooper sharp cheese, onions and mayo. It all gets loaded onto a toasted sesame-seed roll.

And if this isn’t comfort food at its messiest best, more items could be added to the menu.

“Eventually, we’re going to start doing onion rings,” Habib said. “Eventually, we’ll have a couple of different desserts, like fried Oreos or Pizzookies.”

A pizza-shaped chocolate chip cookie topped with scoops of vanilla ice cream sounds like the perfect dessert for Heavyweights.

For more local news, visit TAPinto.net