markngolf wrote:
It's 4th of July! If you are from Bradley Beach, NJ (as I am), you ate hot dogs at least once a week, probably more, in the summertime. Down on Ocean Ave., there were two places to buy a hot dog. One was, Mike & Lou's - the first one. There, one could get a perfectly cooked hot dog (with spilts) from grilling when it was done. Mike & Lou's used Schickhaus hot dogs and put it on a slightly toasted hot dog roll. Mustard, sauerkraut, hot or sweet relish were in "self help' vessels. I think it was $.25. Mike & Lou's opened on Memorial Day. You can bet I had one on Memorial Day and many days after as the summer progressed.
In the early 50's, a new hot dog place opened. The owner was a man named "Syd" who had a famous hot dog stand in the Weequahic, section of Newark, NJ. Now Syd only had kosher hotdogs (probably Hebrew National or Reinfeld) and he boiled them to perfection. He decided to open a 2nd stand in Bradley Beach and of course named it Syd's. If one wanted a hot dog with "stuff on it", you ordered it sweet, hot, mustard only, mustard-kraut, sweet works or hot works. Only Syd could put on the "stuff".
So, as a teenager, one hung out at Mike & Lou's or Syd's, depending on how you liked your hotdog. It was very ritualistic with loyalty to one or the other. And just as the constant argument of which is better, Canon or Nikon cameras, the argument went on all summer of which hot dog was better.
So, my wife & I are having a Mike & Lou's hot dog this evening for super. Yummy!! Can't wait!! Yup, I griddle them, have sauerkraut, relish and rolls all ready. Hurray dinner!
It's 4th of July! If you are from Bradley Beach, N... (
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Rutt's Hut in Clifton has the rippers. I believe that they are Schickhaus. I think that they are boiled and deep fried.
Also in Edgewater, there was a small restaurant in the marina where I kept my boat called the Captain's Roost that made them the same way. It was only open from April till September. The owner was from Passaic, so he knew about Rutt's Hut and probably copied them. They were delicious. In Ft. Lee, we had Callahan's and Hirams that were across the street from each other. Hirams is still there. Callahans became condos. Great memories from all of them.