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Jimmy Buff's Restaurant - CLOSED
- Good for Kids:
- Yes
- Alcohol:
- No
One review for Jimmy Buff's Restaurant
1 review in English
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Review from David M.
Jersey City, NJ
12/15/2006
There are many regional variations of the hot dog around the country, some (like the Chicago dog) more well known than others. My favorite is the Newark style hot dog (or sausage), sometimes known as the Italian style hot dog, though this might mean something else if you ask for it somewhere else. Jimmy Buff's is supposedly the originators of this style of hot dog years ago (although the only place that I know of still serving Newark style hot dogs within the city of Newark is Dickie Dee's), and they have a handful of locations in North Jersey.
If grease scares you, this place is not for you. Anything that gets cooked here gets cooked in oil. Mounds of potatoes, peppers, and onions sit in a shallow pool of hot oil slowly getting soft and caramelized which will eventually top your hot dog and/or sausage which also gets cooked in the very same oil. The assembly is as follows... a large round and flat piece of Italian bread is cut in half lengthwise and then opened with a slit similar to the way a pita bread is (though it is much larger and thicker than a pita bread). The inside is spread with mustard, then the hot dogs and/or Italian sausages are stuffed down inside (2 for a double, but a single can also be ordered which uses a quarter of the bread instead of half), then peppers, onion, and finally potatoes. It is then seasoned with salt and pepper, squirted with ketchup, and wrapped in foil in much the same fashion as a California style burrito so you can peel back the foil while you eat it to keep your hands as well as your lap from becoming a great big mess (though a little mess is hard to avoid).
As for hot dog enthusiasts who believe ketchup is wrong on a hot dog, I agree... but the ketchup doesn't really touch the hot dog in this case, the mustard does, and it is big enough that you can alternate bites between dog/mustard and potatoes/ketchup much like you are eating a normal hot dog along with some french fries with ketchup, which I'm sure breaks no etiquette. Besides, it's all going to the same place anyway. This is a Jersey classic which should be embraced and celebrated the same way Philadelphians celebrate their cheese steaks and Buffalo natives celebrate their chicken wings.Listed in: Cheap Eats
