Jimmy Buff’s Hits the 'Chowdown Countdown' List

Step into the no-frills, Scotch Plains hot dog shack on Route 22 W., and you will find three wise-cracking characters behind the counter who look like they've been dishing up Jimmy Buff's trademark "Italian Dogs" all their lives. You'd never guess—and they certainly aren't letting on—that the East Hanover arm of the Jimmy Buff's chain recently placed 93^rd on the Travel Channel's "101 Tastiest Places to Chowdown" countdown.

There's no fanfare, no replays of the TV show, and no talk of the millions of people across the country who now know about Jimmy Buff's unique Italian twist on the hot dog. There's just a cafeteria-style, five-item menu, Formica tables, and paper plates and napkins—and that simple formula is what put Jimmy Buff's on the Travel Channel's map.

What exactly is an Italian Hot Dog? The easiest way to describe it is a hot dog breakfast sandwich minus the egg. A foot-long dog is fried in soybean oil, tossed into an Italian pizza dough/pita-style roll, and then topped with mustard, sautéed onions, peppers, AND a heaping pile of chunky, fried potatoes. It's a hot dog on steroids gone wild—and it only costs $3.40. You can double the dogs (in the same bun) for $6.50.

The restaurant chain, which originated in Newark in 1932, credits the invention of its Italian dog to founder James "Bluff" Racioppi, who was nick-named Jimmy Buff thanks to an Italian-English translation of his card-playing style. Buff served the epicurean fusion to his close friends and relatives. The creation was so popular that Buff featured it on his restaurant menu … and history was made.

The Travel Channel awarded Jimmy Buff's with a five-napkin rating, and for good reason. Their Italian dogs are definitely messy. With so many toppings, it's hard to find the dog underneath it all, and one bite immediately causes culinary chaos…S.O.S.! Potato down! This is why each dog comes with a wooden cocktail fork; the better to spear loose toppings with.

The four-outpost chain also serves Italian sausage versions of their dogs ($3.40 single, $6.50 double, $6.60 for combo hot dog/sausage), as well as beef burgers ($3.40 single, $3.50 with cheese), veggie burgers ($2.30), and two sandwiches (cheese steak, $3.50, and potato, $2). Fountain sodas round out the list.

Jimmy Buff's has already garnered a fair amount of publicity over its 77 years of business, winning rave reviews by New Jersey Monthly. It was also voted "Best of the Wurst" and voted to the Munchmobile's Hotdog Hall of Fame by the Star Ledger.

So are the dogs really worth all that press? In my humble opinion, the answer is yes. Long story short, hot dog purists might scoff at Jimmy Buff's creation, but I actually liked the variation, as well as its sausage counterpart. The dough is just the right amount of chewy, without being too dense, and it sops up the mustard and grease drippings surprisingly well. I also liked the combination of toppings with the double dog. The potatoes were more home-fryish than French fried, and the onions and peppers must have been cooked down for days. And the dog? Well, you just can't beat a deep-fried wiener. Its crispy casing bursts with juicy goodness with every bite. The only drawback with the single is it does get a bit lost underneath everything.

However, patrons do need to heed a word of warning before they rush over to the Scotch Plains location. Photos of the East Hanover site (which is where the Travel Channel footage was shot), look very different than the Scotch Plains restaurant—which is a dive. The tables, seats, and floors are sticky, and the restaurant's Dunkin Donuts-like shell looks like it hasn't been cleaned or updated in years. The ceiling is grimy, there are greasy pieces of cardboard behind the counter glass, and the product looks extremely unappetizing sitting in a liquid pool waiting to be served. There is no visible bathroom, although I'm sure there must be one (by law) behind the counter somewhere. The "staff" doesn't wear uniforms of any kind, and the whole atmosphere does make one wonder about health codes.

Despite all that, there seems to be a steady line of customers who pull off busy Route 22 to seek out Jimmy Buff's. If you can get past its sketchy appearance, Jimmy Buff's Italian hot dog is undoubtedly a tasty change of pace at a price that's hard to beat.

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Jimmy Buff's

2581 Route 22 West, Scotch Plains

(908) 233-BUFF

Hours of Operation:

Monday through Saturday, 11 am-6:45 pm

Sunday, 11:30 am-5:30 pm

BYO.