1) Rutt's Hut, home of the deep-fried hot dog: 417 River Road, Clifton, NJ (973)-779-8615
First stop... Gimme a 'ripper'. Rutt has several style dogs from what i gathered... and by default, they serve the ripper. a deep fried dog that cooks till it's skin rips open. The other kinds are the 'in and outer' which spend enough time to heat the dog, but not tear it up... and the other goes in the other direction... the 'cremator' which spends so much time cooking, that it comes out black. We all went with the ripper, which is an ugly beast, but oh so tastee. Nice texture and moist on the inside... the other default is Rutt's relish... what seemed to be cabbage and carrots. nice.
2) White Manna for the original slyder: 358 River Street, Hackensack, NJ (201) 342-0914
Second stop... This tiny joint has been serving tiny burgers for like 70 years. unless you get their at an off hour (i think) you are most likely gonna wait a little before you get your burger order in. The place has a half moon shaped counter with mini stools and sits right next to the griddle in the middle. While you wait to order a burger from the man on the griddle, another takes your drink order... then you see if you can find a seat, or vulture around the other patrons till you can grab theirs. Once we got our seats (we needed 4 and got lucky) you look around and gauge who was in front and behind you in the ordering cue. "Next" the man in the middle calls out... you gotta step up to his call and for the most part everyone else knows who's on first. When I ordered, I went with the double with cheese and onions x2. These pattys start out as balls of fresh ground beef that gets flatened on the griddle next to dozens of others all surounded by onions (just think of all that flavor just sitting on the griddle). If you ask for onions, then your patty is topped with a heap as it cooks. Once the patty is flipped, it's topped with the bun... nice touch as it does two things... steam, and absorb all the juicey goodness. Once presented with my order, I began to shake my legs like an excited dog wagging it's tail. Served on a paper plate along with a bunch of sliced pickles. These guys are good... and will be around for another 70 years.
3) Bischcoff's around the corner for a chocolate malt:
Old skool soda jerk place that sells their own ice cream. A nice ending to a nice day... i went with the choco malt... I think that don't like malts as much as i thought I did... too sweet for me... not that they make a bad one, just that next time i'll go with a shake.
