Roadfood_ Revised Edition - Jane Stern [47]
West Orange, NJ
LD | $
James Racioppi, proprietor of Jimmy Buff’s, believes it was his grandparents, James and Mary Racioppi, who created the Newark hot dog. Mr. Racioppi says, “He played cards there every week. My grandmother served sandwiches to him and his associates. After a while, people started coming just to eat.” As for the name of the store, James explains: “My grandfather Jimmy was an excellent card player. He was known for his talent to bluff, but with their Italian accents, they used to call him Jimmy Buff.”
A Newark hot dog is built in a round of fresh, tawny-crusted Italian bread that is nothing at all like an ordinary, sponge-soft hot dog bun. It is sturdy, chewy, and delicious in its own right. It needs to be tough to hold all the ingredients that get piled into it. The bread is cut in half, forming two half circles. Each gets squeezed open to become a pocket like a huge, spongy pita. Into the pocket go a pair of all-beef hot dogs that have been fried in hot fat until crunch-crusted, a heap of onions and peppers that have been sautéed until limp, and a handful of crisp-fried potato disks. The ingredients are forked directly from the frying cauldron into the sandwich, which is why the bread needs oomph—to absorb drippin’s from the garlicky dogs and sweet vegetables. Options include ketchup and/or mustard and/or marinara sauce, and fire-hot onion relish.
There are three other Jimmy Buff’s locations: in Castle Ridge Plaza in East Hanover, in Irvington, and in Scotch Plains.
Libby’s Lunch
98 McBride Ave.
973–278–8718
Paterson, NJ
LD | $
Texas weiners were invented in New Jersey prior to 1920 by John Patrellis, who worked at his father’s hot dog stand at the Manhattan Hotel in Paterson. According to hot dog historian Robert C. Gamer of Wyckoff, Mr. Patrelis devised the formulation of a deep-fried frankfurter in a too-short bun topped with mustard, onions, and spicy meat sauce, traditionally accompanied by French fries and a mug of root beer. In 1920 the hot dog stand was renamed the Original Hot Texas Weiner because Mr. Patrelis believed the sauce to be like Texas chili. In fact, it is more Greek than Texan, but the Lone Star moniker stuck, and today Paterson is rich with Texas weiner shops.
Libby’s Lunch, since 1936, is the best of the best. Here in a dog house with no pretense but with impeccable pedigree, countermen dish out dogs “all the way,” meaning topped with mustard, chopped onions, and sauce. Good as the spicy chili sauce is (you can buy it by the pint), it is the hot dog itself that makes this a memorable eating experience. Its insides are tender and succulent, while the exterior is blistered and chewy because of its hot-oil bath. Extra-large dogs (and cheese dogs) are available, but we believe the original size works best. A pair of these tube steaks with a side of crisp French fries blanketed with gravy is a grand plate of food: true New Jersey, and uniquely American fare.
Rutt’s Hut
417 River Road
973–779–8615
Clifton, NJ
BLD | $
Fans of Rutt’s know the magnificent hot dogs served here as rippers because their skin tears and crinkles when they are deep-fried. The oil bath turns the pork-and-beef links rugged, dark, and chewy on the outside, while the interior remains soft and juicy. Weenie wimps can ask for an “in and outer,” which gets plucked from the fat more quickly and remains thoroughly pink and plump; while those who crave maximum succulence can get one well-done, which is so porcine that it reminds us of fried pork rind.
The one stellar addition for a ripper is Rutt’s spicy-sweet relish, a dense yellow condiment made from onions and finely chopped carrots and cabbage. Hamburgers and hot-from-the-kettle French fries are nice, too, and we are especially fond of Rutt’s chili: a chunky Mid-Atlantic brew of clods of ground beef suspended in a vividly spicy tomato emulsion. With crumbled crackers on top, it’s a formidable meal.
Rutt’s serves hot-lunch meals as well as real drinks in an adjoining taproom with its own separate entrance. Here, amid wood-panel