Adam Richman Eats New Jersey’s Most Iconic Hot Dogs | Pro Moves

Forget New York and Chicago. Real ones know that New Jersey is actually home to some of the best hot dogs in the world. On this episode of Pro Moves, host Adam Richman embarks on a quest to discover the greatest glizzies the Garden State has to offer, from the deep-fried “rippers” found at Rutt’s Hut in Clifton, to the stuffed Italian-style dogs on the menu at Dickie Dee’s in Newark. Adam’s guide on this frankfurter adventure is Rob Martinez, a creator whose videos often place a spotlight on New Jersey’s most legendary hot dog makers. And joining Adam and Rob for the final leg of their journey is none other than North Jersey native Brad Leone, a man with more Jersey pride than Bruce Springsteen and Jon Bon Jovi put together. Whether they’re deep-fried or flat-topped grilled, Adam is on the hunt for some of the best hot dogs on offer anywhere in America.

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do. There is perhaps no comfort food more iconically American than the hot dog. Well, there’s a lot more to the Gizzy game than you might think. And that’s exactly why I have come to North Jersey. That’s right. North Jersey is a hot dog stronghold. Whether we’re talking about Jerseyy’s iconic Italian dog smothered in peppers and onions and potatoes, or the deep fried ripper, a deep fried hot dog where the skin tears and becomes all crispy. But my first stop is actually right here in Jersey City at Boulevard Drinks, an institution that has been serving hungry Jerseys since 1937. And joining me on this tour is someone who knows a thing or two about the Jersey hot dogs, singing the homie Rob Martinez. And he makes it his business to champion iconic businesses like this one. But let me tell you this. I will not cross the Hudson until I have at least five Jersey hot dog pro moves for all of [Music] you. You filmed here. How did you find this place? Boulevard drinks. People from Jersey, they just ride for it. Hot dogs are a big thing in the Northeast, but Jersey is a place that’s held on to it. So like these old school places, they won’t let them die, and they should. You don’t stay in business from 1937 to 2025 unless you’re doing something right. The drinks here actually, they still make them themselves. And I always get an Orange Aid. That’s one thing I do. The chili here is kind of iconic. It’s the thing that if the wind blows a certain way in Jersey City, you’ll smell it. And then you have to kind of It’s a siren song. You have to come to it. And then the other pro move I think is that Victor up there, he’s kind of like orchestrating the arrangement of the hot dogs where one side of the grill is a little hotter. So things are getting more well done and he’s sort of sliding Tetris style dogs around the grill. And so you can basically get a well done cheese chili. I think that’s the classic. What’s your order? My classic is two mustard chili and a medium pineapple. One cheese chili, one mustard chili. Well done with a pineapple. [Music] You have to appreciate that this hot dog looks almost like how you would imagine a chili dog in your mind. Yeah. And this is how it has looked. This is hot dog emoji since Yeah, exactly. since the 1930s. That’s crazy, right? M. You know, a lot of hot dogs when you bite in, the first note is always salt and then garlic. It went sour to that oniony sweetness. Pair it with the [Music] pineapple. I get it. Holy I I’m not like even like mugging for camera right now. A little bit of spicy total savory umami bomb in the natural casing hot dog. So natural casings, everyone talks about it. We always hear it on every food show. So what it is, it’s the sub mucosa of the intestine. Sorry, I don’t mean to be gross, but that’s what it is. Natural casings have a load of collagen. So, the collagen when it gets hot, it kind of keeps everything moist inside and makes that snap right when you crack into them. Waldorf Atoria has nothing on us. Honest to God, come to a place where the flat top looks like it does here at Boulevard Drinks. The good places have a bunch of dogs out cuz they know they’re going to sell a bunch of dogs. It’s not just a flat top. It’s how we cook it on the flat top. Very low fire. A hot dog to go from left to right where we serve it. Sometime is on a 35, 40, 45 minutes. I love that there’s a high science to this stuff. Where do you stand on ketchup and mustard as condiments on hot dogs? Many people say that you can only have mustard on a dog, but the next place that we’re going to go to, they kind of slather the thing with ketchup and it’s in Newark. And I’m not gonna say anything about ketchup in that establishment. That’s all I’ll say. Rob Martinez will sleep with the fishes. Exactly. I’m trying to protect my neck. I hope your next hot dog is a masculine hot dog. This was a classic done by a master. But next, we’re going to show you a different type of master. It’s an art that you can really only find in New Jersey, and these people do it uh the best I’ve ever seen it. It’s art from New Jersey, otherwise known as art. [Applause] [Music] So Rob, where have you taken me, my brother? So we’re on Bloomfield A here in Newark, New Jersey, and we are at Dicky De’s. Have you ever had an Italian hot dog? I have not had an Italian hot dog. An Italian hot dog is deep fried dog. Okay. It’s in a bread called pizza bread that’s then filled with peppers, onions, and fried potatoes. It’s one of those spots. Generations of people have come here. Generations of people work here. I think you can just feel the pride when you go in. You are my hot dog sherpa. Lead on. Okay. Perfect. [Music] Ricky D. Rob. Pleasure. Rob. Absolute pleasure. Brother, you you are the the titular Dicky D. Yeah. Started in uh 1958. My uncle and my father and they brought it up until maybe about 20 years ago. And then they said they didn’t want to do it. So then I took over. Now it’s third generation, my sons. I am quaking in my boots quite literally at the sheer size of these dogs. What makes it Italian? Is it the bread? I guess you could call it all with the peppers, onions, and the potatoes. It’s on the Italian style bread. This is like an Italian loaf of bread on the outside, but on the inside it’s nice and fluffy. Pizza bread. Pizza bread. Pizza bread. It’s like this. That’s the whole bread, and we cut it in half and make doubles or singles out of Now, how many are you guys selling like on a busy week? Couple hundred pounds. Easy. Really easy. Now, is there like a lingo like the same way you like you go to Philly, you get a whiz wit, you know he’s whiz, give me a double hot dog with the works. Bang. You’re done. Over there. It’s not a vet. What’ you say? It’s about an inch deep. Yeah. About an inch, inch and a half deep. It’s a deep fried dog though. Is that the signature for the Italian hot dog? Probably. Yes. We use peanut oil. Best oil for frying in my humble opinion. Low key, there’s a guy making one of the most glorious Italian subs right here. And I I know it because I had an erection first before I saw this. This guy’s great. So that’s I know. I love this guy. I love you right back. This place is the first and only place I’ve ever had an Italian hot dog. They didn’t invent it, but they actually did invent the Italian cheeseburger, which as a pro move, we might want to try as well. I think I’m going to need a marupial pouch to make it today. Let me see if I do this right. Double dog works. Mustard catcher. That’s it. Bang. My name’s Paulie. I’ve been here since I was a kid. My father brought me here. Now I got kids. My daughter, I brought her up here. I take him down to my friend’s house. What are these? They don’t know what they don’t even know what they are, you know. And I said, “These are Dicky D’s. This is a a real Italian hot dog.” I’m James. My mother took me here. She knew Dicky D before he even had the place. So, we came here uh from day one. There’s nothing like it. It’s the only real Italian hot dog in America. [Music] It feels like I’m holding a cat’s mitt. How do you do it? Do you just nibble on the little bit of hot dog here at the end? You can’t be gentle eating it. You got to eat it. You got m Holy hell. The potatoes are like legitimately perfect. The bread is Oh, yeah. superb. this bit here on the bottom where the sausage, the dog, the peppers, and the onions meet. That’s like sausage and peppers from the San Janeiro Festival. And then you go up and it’s almost like um breakfast home fries. Wow, that is terrific. I can’t believe how light this bread is here. This is cuz I love you. Thanks, pal. Love you, too. I love you, too. I think it’s also worth mentioning like some people looking at this, they might be like, “This sandwich is ridiculous. Some bites you only get potatoes. Some bites you only get hot dogs.” This is a invented during the depression. You know what I’m saying? This sandwich, it’s not a bug that it’s unbalanced like this. It’s a feature. It’s meant to fill you up for the day. Everybody pretty much comes here for the Italian hot dog or the Italian combo. But one pro move is that I’ve seen a lot of people getting the Italian cheeseburger. Ricky D himself actually invented this. I’ve never tried this, so I really wanted to pick it up. Please, please, please. I want to see your reaction. [Music] really works. Oh, this is crazy. The cheese on here. What wouldn’t be good on this bread? Exactly. Napoleon said an army marches on its stomach. This is like what feeds the true army of the working force of great towns like the brick city of Newark. I’m so down. This is unbelievable. These types of institutions are disappearing around America. And so when you find someone like Rob who’s who’s young and willing to take up the mantle and you have something like this that’s so unique, you know, you want to appreciate it while you can. You told me there’s still one more version of the Jersey hot dog I’ve yet to try, right? Yeah. Arguably the most iconic New Jersey hot dog. Rippers. Rippers. Because when I eat another hot dog, I will surely rip my pants. [Music] I know I could easily have been a Sopranos extra. You got me in a parking lot on a rainy day by Route 21 in Clifton, New Jersey. Clifton. This is Rut’s hut. It’s been here almost a hundred years since 1928. I’ve always wanted to come to Rutton. I don’t want to overhype it, but I think that this is one of the best hot dogs in the world. The other thing is I have a surprise for you. Somebody with an amazing culinary pedigree who is also a Jersey native is joining us. Brad Leone is going to come in with his big old brain and his big old opinions about hot dogs. One way or another, we got hot dogs to eat. Let’s go get some Ruts Hut in the gut. [Applause] [Music] All right. So, we’ve been joined by the manager of the Bada Bing strip club in Loi. Satin Dolls, you mean man? That’s the real name, right? He’s no phony baloney, but he is Brown Leone. What is going on? And you are a Jersey native from where in Jersey? Northern New Jersey. Up is about as north as you can get. I’m in Sussex County, Vernon, New Jersey. Rutat, you know, legendary. I’ve been coming here for for years. this my whole life really and it would just be a pit stop whether you’re going to like a Giants game or devil’s game if you’re coming down below as we called it you go down below it’s like down towards the city it was you got you came in got you got a ripper where is the dividing line for you I would say Morristown and up Morristown and up would be North Jersey in my opinion wait can we show can we pull up a map right now on screen right here can we put one up so Marstown and up that’s north of the Leone Dixon line. That’s right. So, let me ask you this. North of the Leoni Dixon line, is it Taylor Ham or is it pork roll? Oh, no. You say pork roll. I don’t even know what you’re talking about. You know, I don’t know about down here, but that’s some South Jersey Pork roll. Taylor Ham for life. I don’t want to hear nothing else. There’s basically a language here that people from New Jersey know about and the rest of us don’t, which is that there’s ways to order the dog the dunness that you want. You who was called Marvis. And there’s Duck Alarange as well. We found out. So you ordered duck? Yeah. They did duck a lar one of Anybody else want to try? So there’s lots of kind of esoterica here that are just kind of baffling. We’re talking about a deep fried hot dog, right? The ripper here. So when you’re wellness, it’s I think it’s talking about how fried how crisp you want that thing. Yeah. You can get an in-n-outer, which is like they just dip it right in the oil. Very short time. There’s the medium, which is sort of like the one that Bill will give you if you don’t if you don’t specify. After the medium is the the Weller, which is a little bit well done. And then finally, there’s the cremator. The cremator, huh? Yeah. And every time you order a cremator, Bill will kind of bang his ring on you. What do you want, Bill? That’s what they got to know. They buy Is that death knocking at the door? I think we should probably start with what I guess Bill feels is the best representation for my first ever ripper. Yeah. Homemade relish and mustard, which was on the counter. Can I do that? Yeah. Well, more towards the medium. More medium there. Yeah. Like that. That’s nice. That’s speaking my language, Bill. And now we relish up. Yeah. I’m going to go do that paper plate and wall. Look at that. This is the rut touch coat is the is the relish. If you don’t have this, you missed the whole point of this place. Wow. Did you just hear the soul clap? I just got the relish. Man, you guys make that here. Yeah. Only here, brother. I’m going I’m going going this. Oh my god. Yo, ain’t go wrong. Adam, you’re not going to faint, are you? Can’t beat that relish, man. This is outrageous. Hot dog. Outrageous. Eat 25 of those. No problem. Oh yeah, no problem. Mhm. This is like singular. Like I’ve not had anything else that tastes like this. It’s both texture as much as it is taste. The ripper itself is so good. I’m just blown away that the simplicity of a bun, a hot dog, mustard and relish can be so different from every other hot dog with mustard and bun and relish I’ve had anywhere. This is wild. That that relish a freaking game changer. You’re right. It’s it does magic on that classic. Let’s say summer busy week. How many dogs you selling? A significant amount. Enough to keep the doors open. Thousands. That’s That’s the key. We don’t sell enough hot dogs. We got to lock the doors. No, but would you say in the hundreds and the thousand? No kiss and tell. We said, what a gentleman. I like that about you. Don’t let him pry that out of you. All right. This guy work for the IRS or something. Jesus. I do. I do. People have been coming here 90 plus years. I’ve had people say, “Oh, when we were kids, it was the only thing our family could afford. We come here on a Saturday, everybody in the back of the wagon, and it was a treat for us.” First off, I got to give love to my Gizzy guide today. You I’ve had vast respect for for many, many years. Bill, honest to God, you’ve given generations of people so much joy and so much love. And there’s a reason why Ruts Hut is always in that conversation of the goated great hot dog establishments and great eeries. The food’s consistent. It’s great and has been for 100red years. And if you miss the relish, you’ve missed Rodside. It’s the people, man. It’s you. It’s the people behind the counters, the lady there checking to make sure that we liked everything. That’s it, man. You’re feeding the people that make New Jersey what New Jersey is. And that’s why it’s always been special to me. Give Jersey their flowers. Giants are Jets. Steelers. Oh, come on. Geners. Bill is the one who’s always wanted to do a hot dog episode. He is at Ruts Hut. We have a Rutz ripper here. How do you feel so far? I feel like dancing. Take this dog for a dance. Go Bills. Oh, Bills, you ear. He’s going to jump through a table when we’re done. That one. That’s what I’m talking about, though. Holy I think this is the best hot dog I’ve ever had. Wa. That’s what I’m talking about. Oh, they heard that mic drop in recy. You heard it here.