NJ Dogs & Burgers: Rutt's Hut⁓Hot Grill⁓Tommy's⁓White Manna

The variety of frankfurter styles available around Newark, New Jersey may surprise Chicagoans used to our conformist hot dog culture. I recently tried a variety of deep-fried dogs at Rutt's Hut, Greek-style Texas wieners at Hot Grill (both in Clifton, about 10 miles north of Newark) and an Italian hot dog at Tommy's in Elizabeth (a few miles south of EWR). Even though those three stops barely scratched the surface, I came away quite impressed with the Garden State's way with wieners. Since coming to Chicago a many years ago, I've learned to love a simmered Vienna (natural casing, please!) but that brief visit to NJ reminded me how limited our hot dog choices are.

For decades I had wanted to visit Rutt's Hut and it didn't disappoint at all. In fact, it exceeded expectations, mostly because of the surprise of Rutt's most excellent bar. Rutt's Hut has been around since 1928, but clearly it has been added to over the years. The main room is the yellow brick part on the left.



Here's a shot from the parking lot side showing the two entrances, one for the main room, one for the bar. That's Gus, one of the owners, who kindly showed us around and filled us in on the Hut's history.



We stopped in fairly early in the morning when the bright, utilitarian space was nearly empty.



I especially like the children's counter, so parents can begin properly training their kids at an early age.



Deep frying hot dogs is common in North Jersey, and Rutt's Hut is probably the best known practitioner of the art. Dogs are ordered by degree of doneness: in-and-outer, ripper, weller or cremator. We started with a ripper, which stays in the hot fat until the casing crisps a bit and begins to rip open. Hot dogs are served unadorned, to be dressed to taste from tubs of brown mustard and relish set out on the counter.



Rutt's distinctive relish is a zesty-sweet chopped cabbage and mustard concoction, not unlike Southern chow chow. I love the stuff, though I might have been a little overly enthusiastic when dressing this dog.



Nothing wrong with a hot dog to start the day, but because of the early hour a classic Jersey breakfast—a Taylor ham and egg sandwich—seemed appropriate.



Simply a couple slices of John Taylor's Pork Roll—the pride of Trenton, and a fried egg on a crusty roll. The slices were properly notched before frying, to prevent "cupping." Very tasty.



We so enjoyed beginning the day at Rutt's Hut that we decided to end it there too, this time in the cozy barroom. I'm lucky this place isn't in Chicago because I'd spend far too much time there.



First up, a weller—a step beyond a ripper.



It's not an attractive sausage, but I found it delicious. The weller is crisper than a ripper and the smoky flavor is more pronounced. It's a slippery slope: a cremator (and a bowl of chili) seemed inevitable.



Let's have a closer look at this thing.



The outside gets crackling crisp and the whole thing tastes a bit like well-done bacon. Not awful by any means, but not something I'd order too often.

The big surprise at Rutt's Hut was the chili, perhaps the best tavern chili I've had. It's finely chopped beef (beans optional) with plenty of spices and a fair amount of grease but no tomatoes. I can't imagine visiting without ordering a bowl.

We so enjoyed our visit to Rutt's bar that we followed it with a stop at Hot Grill to sample another Clifton specialty, the Texas Wiener.





For comparison we got a bowl of chili and onion rings too (the onions at Rutt's Hut looked great).



A Texas Wiener is what midwesterners would call a Coney, but deep fried.



Sauce was nice though very heavy on the cinnamon. Chili and rings were both respectable efforts. Listening to the counter guy call out the orders in classic Greek-accented diner lingo was a highlight.

Italian hot dogs are a specialty of Newark, and some of the best are said to come from Tommy's in the heart of Elizabeth, directly south of the airport.



Tommy's offers sidewalk service only, but a tiny triangular park across the street has a few benches.



Sandwiches are made on Newark-style pizza bread, which I was previously unfamiliar with.



That bagel-like thing next to the cash register is a giant replica to help other clueless visitors. You can see a bag of loaves to the left. Also note the meat scale and grinder. Tommy's makes their own Italian sausage. We ordered a hot dog (single) and a large sausage sandwich.

The hot dog (deep fried, of course) is served in a quarter loaf, dressed with fried peppers, onions and potatoes.



Each of the individual components was dead-on: an assertively spiced, crisp-fried weiner; nicely cooked-down onions and peppers; surprisingly non-greasy, crispy-in-places/limp-in-places potato slices; pillowy fresh bread with a bit of chew, reminiscent of lepinja. But the ratios seemed off, with the balance tipping too far toward bread. Lesson learned: that's the reason double and triple dogs are offered.

The larger sausage stood up to the bread a lot better.



The fennel-heavy sausage was terrific and the accompaniments worked great. Crushed cherry pepper relish added a lot.

One cannot live on hot dogs alone. For some variety we visited White Manna, a classic slider palace on the banks of the Hackensack River (barely visible at left).





It looks small from the outside, but seems even smaller once you enter. The U-shaped counter has only about twelve stools and several dozen people always seem to want burgers.



Watching the grillman manage the tiny griddle is quite a treat. Feeding that many people from a few square feet of steel is a real feat.





White Manna's sliders are a good example of the genre, significantly different than White Castle's version. If you like places such as Powers Hamburgers in Fort Wayne, you're going to like these.





After NJ, I spent a bit of time on the Upper West Side of Manhattan and found time for one-and-one at Gray's Papaya.



I enjoy the sweet, soupy Sabrett onions every now and then, but sauerkraut and a squirt of brown mustard seem like the perfect accompaniments for a crisp-skinned griddled frankfurter.

Now, back to the land of boiled, steamed and simmered...

Rutt's Hut
417 River Rd
Clifton NJ
973-779-8615

Hot Grill
669 Lexington Av
Clifton NJ
973-772-6000

Tommy's Italian Sausage & Hot Dogs
900 2nd Av
Elizabeth NJ
908-351-9831

White Manna
358 River St
Hackensack NJ
201-342-0914

Gray's Papaya
2090 Broadway (at 72nd)
New York NY
212-799-0243

HI,

Your post will improve my next visit to NJ. When I wander about trying to avoid too much family interaction.

Thanks!

Regards,