I have heard from numerous sources that Rutt’s Hut in Clifton, New Jersey may have the best hot dogs in the United States.On the way down to see my daughter for parent’s weekend, we get off the Garden State Parkway and head to Rutt’s Hutt. Rutt’s Hut has been around since 1928., They have both a bar/restaurant and a walk in standup hot dog counter, which is where we go.
They are known as the home of the Ripper. A ripper is a deep fried hog that rips apart from the heat. It is served on a warm plain bun and customers can add their own condiments, including Ruff’s famous sweet relish. Here’s what I thought.
You can say there is a preplanted bias, but that also leads to high expectations and I can tell you, when I bit into this dog, I thought, yeah, they did it. This is the best hot dog I have ever had.
After eating the one with relish, I ate a second plain just to appreciate the naked ripper.
Unfortunately I was low on cash and knew I needed to pay some tolls before we got to my daughter’s college so I held off on buying a bag of dogs or even a Rutt’s tee-shirt, but I was thinking I am definitely going to come back here, and i would love to bring my brother, even though he is a vegetarian, and would like Dr. Rich to see the place too..
$3.30 for a ripper. I tell you, over and over again. If a place has been in business for almost 100 years, they know what they are doing. Cheap, basic dogs with special recipe relishes and mustards if you like mustard are so much better than these $7, $8 hot dog places.
