Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [46]
Service is do-it-yourself, and while there are a few tables for dining here, a majority of business is take-out.
Dickie Dee’s
380 Bloomfield Ave.
973–483–9396
Newark, NJ
LD | $
No ordinary weenie, Dickie Dee’s specialty is an Italian-style (aka Newark-style) hot dog, meaning it is deep-fried and stuffed deep inside half a loaf of Italian bread along with fried peppers and onions and big chunks of crisp-edge, soft-center fried potatoes. All the ingredients are cooked in the same vat of oil next to the order counter, and they are plucked from the oil and inserted directly into the bread (no draining!), making for a wondrously oily double-handful of food.
Be prepared for serious attitude from behind the counter of this brash lunchroom. When it’s crowded—it usually is—the line moves fast, and woe to he who hesitates when placing an order. As the sandwich is made, the cook will demand to know what you want on it in the way of condiments, and this is another time you don’t want to be slow responding. (We suggest that a spritz of ketchup is a nice complement for the potatoes that go atop all the other ingredients in the sandwich.)
Carry your tray to a table and ease into a permanently attached molded plastic chair. Lay out plenty of paper napkins for the inevitable spillage, and dig into a great hot-dog meal that is a true North Ward original.
Fralinger’s
1325 Boardwalk
1–800–93–TAFFY
Atlantic City, NJ
$
Our Atlantic City ritual has remained pretty much the same for a few decades now. First we eat subs at the White House, then we find the cross street, South Ocean Ave., quite a ways down from where all the corporate casinos are located, and enjoy a taste of old Atlantic City…at one of the best candy stores here or anywhere.
Fralinger’s is most famous for its salt water taffy. And if you are a taffy person, you’ll be in heaven with its sixteen different flavors, each as smooth and creamy as taffy can be. Ourselves, we go for the hard stuff: chocolate, in the form of molasses paddles that are coated with the darkest, most delicious chocolate imaginable. With its stick handle, a molasses paddle makes for great sucking and eating while on a Boardwalk stroll. Also irresistible is Fralinger’s crunchy molasses sheathed in chocolate. There are dozens of other candies available at this old store, which as far as we are concerned is the real jackpot in Atlantic City.
The Hot Grill
669 Lexington Ave.
973–772–6000
Clifton, NJ
BLD | $
Texas weiners (spelled e-i, not i-e) are a big deal in this part of New Jersey, the word “Texas” being vintage hash-house code for chili. One of the best places to sample this Garden State specialty is the Hot Grill of Clifton.
Step up to the order counter, where empty trays await, and order a pair. Nobody gets just one Texas weiner! The counterman will holler out to the back kitchen, “Two, all the way!” And within ninety seconds, a pair of handsome little hot dogs will appear on the tray in front of you. Each is a deep-fried pup with rugged skin nestled in a too-short bun topped with mustard, onion, and spicy/sweet beef-chili sauce. Exemplary eats! On the side you can get French fries topped with gravy, sauce, cheese, or any combination of the three, and the preferred beverage with a Texas weiner is always root beer.
It’s fun to dine in the Hot Grill’s vast, modern dining room where, instead of music, you listen to the calls of the countermen back to the kitchen, and instead of sports, the overhead TV is tuned to the “Hot Grill Channel,” which is a continuous program of hosannas to the hot dog.
Jimmy Buff’s
60 Washington St.
973–325–9897