Thanks to Rich O for sending along this piece from the Star-Ledger:
Tuesday, July 31, 2007
BY PETER GENOVESE
Star-Ledger Staff
Darlene Saporito of Bloomfield stood at the end of a line that snaked
outside the Jimmy Buff's in West Orange.
Inside the hole-in-the-wall hot dog joint, a sign asked customers to
stay off their cell phones to keep the line moving, and the backlit menu
looked as if it came from the snack bar of a 1950s drive-in movie. A
short-order cook speared potato wedges from a sea of bubbling oil and
squeezed them, along with peppers, onions and hot dogs, into mustard and
ketchup-slathered pizza bread, creating the cholesterol-raising and
thoroughly irresistible meal known as the Italian hot dog.
"They're not good for you, but they're delicious," said Saporito,
waiting with her daughter, Samantha.
"They're good for you in a metaphysical way," added Jim McNaboe of West
Orange.
If loving a Jimmy Buff's Italian hot dog is wrong, to paraphrase a 1970s
hit, you don't want to be right.
The super-stuffed sandwich has been flying out of Jimmy Buff's locations
since James "Buff" Racioppi opened his first store in Newark on Aug. 1,
1932.
Seventy-five years and millions of hot dogs later, Jimmy Buff's is still
cranking out greasy goodness to fans who throw caution and calories to
the wind and shudder at the thought of a different hot dog in their
lives.
"I used to go to the original store as a kid," said Jim Graham, his left
leg resting against the open door of his van, parked outside the West
Orange Jimmy Buff's. "My mom took me when I was 6 years old."
Barbara Vitale Bihus, on the Web site virtualnewarknj.com, lists 50 ways
one could claim to be from Newark. Number one on the list -- above
shopping at Bamberger's, knowing where Down Neck is and wishing you
could be an outfielder for the Yankees -- is eating at Jimmy Buff's.
Any number of businesses and individuals around the country claim to
have served the first ice cream cone, hamburger, hot dog or other
all-American favorite, but the birthplace of the Italian hot dog is
clear.
"There's dispute over who created the first Texas wiener. There's no
doubt Jimmy Buff's created the first Italian hot dog," says John Fox of
Union, who leads annual bus tours of New Jersey hot dog stands and may
know more about hot dogs than any other person alive.
Fox calls the Jimmy Buff's in East Hanover the "premier hot dog
establishment" in the state, and the "foot-long" there the single best
hot dog he's had.
LOTS TO LOVE
Blame it all on basement card games.
James Racioppi, a bull-necked man and an immaculate dresser (he wore
diamond stickpins), hosted card games at his home on South 9th Street in
Newark. Racioppi was an accomplished, if adventurous, player; his
original nickname was "Jimmy Bluff."
During the card games, his wife, Maria, handed out cups of wine. The
couple decided the card players needed some solid food, so they started
making sausage, then hot dog, sandwiches.
The sandwiches became so popular, Racioppi ditched his factory job and
opened a storefront on South 9th Street and 14th Avenue.
"Overnight it just took off; maybe it took a couple weeks," said
wise-cracking Mike Racioppi, son of James Racioppi. "It went from
serving 5 (loaves of) bread to 50 bread to 500 bread."
Mike Racioppi, who owns the Jimmy Buff's in Scotch Plains and Irvington,
and his nephew, Jim Racioppi, who owns the other two, in West Orange and
East Hanover, figure they sell about 300,000 hot dogs a year.
In 1932, a "single" -- one hot dog, plus all the extras -- cost a
nickel; a double -- two hot dogs and double the extras in twice the
bread -- cost a dime. If you bought five double sausage sandwiches for a
dollar, you got a free cigar.
A single Italian dog today costs $3.65 and a double $6.80, and the
appeal is as strong as ever.
Ask 10 Jimmy Buff's regulars why they like the Italian hot dogs over all
others, and you might get 10 different answers.
"It's got to be the oil," said Paul Jennings of Verona. "It's all about
the oil."
"The bread," said Pat Bilotti of Verona.
"I'm addicted to the potatoes," said Africa Darden, marketing director
for Premier Adult Day Care Center in Orange. "This will fill me mostly
for the whole day. After this it's just snacks."
Notables who have sworn by Buff's include everyone from Rocky Marciano
and Shaquille O'Neal to Rod Steiger and Whitney Houston. Marciano,
boxing's retired heavyweight champion, liked the sandwich so much that
in 1969 he and James "Buff" Racioppi discussed plans to open a chain of
restaurants in Florida. But Marciano died in a plane crash later that
year.
Another fighter, "Two Ton" Tony Galento, holds the all-time Jimmy Buff's
eating record -- six doubles and six singles in one sitting, in the
1930s.
Dolores Anderson of South Orange, waiting outside the West Orange store,
said, "I enjoy the hot dogs; they don't put any weight on me."
"I wish I could say the same," Jim McNaboe added. "I'm the only one in
the family who comes here. My wife won't touch them. My daughter,
either."
POTATOES BY THE TON
The Racioppis have used different bakers over the years, but the hot dog
has been the same since day one -- a beef dog from Newark's own Best
Provisions.
"Even potatoes change from week to week," Jim Racioppi said. "You can
get them from Maine one week, Idaho the next. In the warm weather we go
to a stronger potato so it doesn't get soft."
The four stores use a ton and a half of potatoes a week.
"It's a ridiculous amount of potatoes," Jim Racioppi said. "We go
through potatoes like they're water."
For the Racioppis, there was little doubt of the family's destiny.
"I graduated from college in 1979; with the diploma came an apron," Jim
Racioppi said, smiling. "My father didn't waste any time. He retired
that day."
And now Racioppi's son, Tom, works at the East Hanover location.
At one time, there were Jimmy Buff's in downtown Newark, plus
Kenilworth, Pine Brook and North Arlington. The family closed the
original store in 1974. West Orange opened in 1960, Irvington in 1963,
Scotch Plains in 1983. The newest store, East Hanover, came along in
2003.
Soon there will be just three. The Irvington store is about to be turned
into a drugstore.
Meanwhile, the birthplace of the Italian hot dog, on 9th Street and 14th
Avenue in Newark, is now a hot dog stand known as the World's First
Italian Hot Dogs.
That's okay with the Racioppi family, which has no connection to the
Newark business. But over the years other competitors have claimed to be
the originator of the Italian hot dog, or used Buff's in their name and
the family has taken legal action.
"We've stopped a few people," said Jim Racioppi, who drives a Dodge
truck labeled the Buff Mobile. "I thrive on competition, but if you're
going to open, use your own name."
So will tomorrow be a big day in New Jersey culinary history? You bet.
Even Gov. Jon Corzine has sent a congratulatory letter to the Racioppi
family.
"A restaurant staying in business for 75 years selling two items?" Mike
Racioppi said in wonderment.
Hot dogs, potatoes, peppers, onions, ketchup and mustard add up to the
world's first, and most famous, Italian hot dog, but Mike Racioppi
claims there are family secrets involved.
"We got secret formulas," he insisted, smiling. "We don't tell anyone.
Even my wife doesn't know."
I went into a place in Red Bank this afternoon named Mr. Pizza Slice. They offer an Italian Hot Dog on their menu for $6.00. I assume it is a double since there is no option for a single. I must admit that it has been several years since I had one and I was really tempted to try one. However, since I was alone and knew I could not eat a large one I had to let it pass. I just wondered if anyone has ever tried the Red Bank place for a dog and how they matched up to Jimmy Buffs.
I have not Don, although I have been in Red Bank on a number of occasions, but any other alleged "Newark style" Italian hot dog made anywhere but Buff's or Dee's that I have tried has never lived up to the hype.
Now you have me interested, though. Might take a ride up there Friday. :-)
Hot dogs, potatoes, peppers, onions, ketchup and mustard add up to the world's first, and most famous, Italian hot dog, but Mike Racioppi claims there are family secrets involved.
"We got secret formulas," he insisted, smiling. "We don't tell anyone. Even my wife doesn't know."
I think I know the "secret formulas": grease and more grease. Dee's dogs just taste fresher. Bread's better, too. But I will give JB credit for the way their potatoes are prepared: slices rather than chunks. Easier to eat.
[edited to correct coding]
This message has been edited by cbonaire from IP address 67.85.9.153 on Aug 16, 2007 8:39 PM
Had my first Jimmy Buff double hot dog in 43 years this evening @ 6:30 in West Orange. It was better than I remembered, but not as good as DEE Best. I came away with a burnt tongue.
DICKE DEES FOREVER.
There are two kinds of people in this world: BUFFS or DEES. I am a Dee.
Hey Joe - Let us know how it is if you go on Friday.
I will be down in Tom's River on Tuesday (8/21) and
could stop by there on the way home if a real
Rosevilleite gives the culinary approval.
OK, exact location/directions also if it makes the
official cut. : - )
Alas Tom, another engagement has taken away my opportunity to go to Red Bank this Friday. Come back and see us at the NG museum -- lots of new exhibits. Working on a WWII one with stuff on the Newark News, the NJ National Guard units in the field, and the home front -- expect it to be done by mid-September.
Joe, regarding your upcoming hot dog reconnaissance, consider me mission ready.
PS Tom, by all means check out the NJ National Guard Museum. Joe gave me the 50-cent tour not long ago and I was most impressed with the exhibits and Joe's scholarship.
I just heard of another place located south of the Edison Bridge that you guys might want to consider for future testing.
According to the guy who installed a water heater in my house this week, there is a place in Belford that in his opinion has Italian hot dogs better than JB's. I can't vouch for his opinion, especially since he said he was not from Newark.
He did not know the name of the place, but said it is located off Rt. 36 in Belford directly accross from the Olde Spye House.
The name of the place is "Jersey Joe's"... A guy in a tackle shop in the Atlantic Highlands told me about it, and my cousin and I tried it a couple of weeks ago. Good dogs. They were originally from Newark and when we got talking about the "old neighborhoods", the owner called his mother over from next door. She grew up on 15th Ave where my mother grew up. They opened the store in '60 and it sounded like they weren't doing very well. A few weeks later, Hurricane Donna hit NJ. They were the only place open and the fire/rescue/police ate there 24/7 during the hurricane... They were going to donate the food but the emergency services people insisted that there was a budget for such provisions.
She said it was probably what put them "over the top" and made a name for them in the area, and they've been in business ever since... Kinda like Bubba Gump Shrimp Co.
Joe-Joe's on Rt 37 is Ok too...
More Hot Dog info: http://www.chow.com/digest/2463
Sorry,
I forgot to post the location for "Jersey Joe's"...
It's in Port Monmouth-right after Keansburg. If you're heading Southeast on Rt 36 toward Sandy Hook, take the Wilson Ave jughandle and head toward the water. The place is at the very end; across the street from a beach with a park and a pier. Nice place to eat those dogs!
PS.. Did you know that Keansburg was named after the Kean family? Nice to be rich enough to have a college AND a town named after you.
The Keans have been around in Jersey since the Brits took over from the Dutch in 1664 or so. Interestingly, Governor Harold Hoffman, who stole at least $300,000 from the state to balance out the money he embezzled from the South Amboy Trust company, where he was an officer, blamed former governor Kean's grandfather, then a US Representative, for his theft. According to Hoffman, the elder Kean encouraged him to run for the House of Representatives in 1926 and promised him $15,000 for the campaign. When old man Kean only came up with $3,000, Hoffman said, he had to rip off the rest to repay campaign debts, and one thing led to another. Hoffman served two terms in Congress (where he threw some wild DC parties with botleg hootch) then came back to state government as motor vehicle chief, because that was where the money was. :-)
Hoffman was a bizarre character, who, while governor (1935-1938), had two fistfights with reporters, interfered in the Lindbergh kidnapping trial and had a penchant for dressing up as a clown and spritzing dignitaries with seltzer. Oddly, he had an excellent WWI record, entering as a National Guard private and finishing the war as an infantry captain promoted on the Meuse Argonne battlefield.
Thought you'd enjoy that. Unsurprisingly, NJ political history is full of those kinds of stories, which, of course, continue right into the present.
Another interesting tale involves the Jersey City Treasurer, a lieutenant in the 2nd NJ Cavalry in the Civil War, who, in the early 1870s, left his wife and kids and ran away to Mexico with a dancing girl from NYC and $70,000 of the city's money. He ended up working a decade later as a celebrity bartender in Trenton. :-)
Actually, Hoffman was serving as Employment Security commissioner (another place where the money was) when Governor Meyner came into office. Even though Hoffman was a Republican, Meyner did not ask for his resignation, but soon was getting complaints from the public about missing unemployment checks. He had some auditors go over to the department and they came back and reported a potentially large scandal brewing regarding missing funds. Meyner suspended Hoffman who, before there was a trial or even formal public investigation, conveniently died of a heart attack in 1954, no doubt relieving everyone. He left a letter to his daughter, in which he confessed the embezzlement, blaming it on political life in general.
Oh the Jersey City treasurer -- well he reached Mexico, trailed by a Jersey City detective, who had to give up the chase when Alexander D. Hamilton, the treasurer, came under the protection of Juan Cortinas, sometime revolutionary, sometime bandit and sometime government official, headquartered across the Rio Grande from Brownsville, Texas. Juan told the detective that Hamilton was his guy, and that he was protecting him. The detective did not want to tangle with 100 armed Mexican bandits, so he went home. Several months later Hamilton showed up at the Jersey City Police headquarters barefoot and in rags. He said that Cortinas had robbed him and then put him on a boat for Brazil. He was sentenced to several years in jail and ordered to make restitution. It appears, however, that he did less than six months and perhaps did not make restitution -- I'm still checking that out. He shows up in the 1880s as a bartender, in an article in a Trenton paper that extols his ability to mix a drink and tell a good yarn. I'll bet. :-)
