A neighborhood landmark is the winner of our N.J.'s best hot dog joint showdown.
It’s official. Tommy’s Italian Sausage & Hot Dogs in Elizabeth is New Jersey’s best hot dog joint.
The walk-up hot dog stand, in the city’s Peterstown section, bested nine other finalists in our epic month-and-a-half long search.
‘”I was thinking I was not going to win, tell you the honest truth,” said a jubilant Tommy Parrinello, owner of Tommy’s Italian Sausage & Hot Dogs. ”There are a lot of hot dog guys.”
Elizabeth Mayor J. Christian Bollwage was among those to stop by and congratulate Parrinello.
“Your father would have loved this,” Bollwage said of Tommy Parrinello, who opened the stand in 1969. “If you grew up in Elizabeth, you always came to Tommy’s and Jerry’s.”
Jerry’s Famous Frankfurters, another Jersey hot dog landmark, is steps from Tommy’s.
It’s never easy picking a winner in one of our N.J.’s best showdowns, but this was particularly tough, with all 10 finalists masters/magicians in what they do, whether grilled, deep-fried or dirty water dogs; chili dogs, Italian hot dogs or dogs with varying (and often unusual) toppings.
But Tommy’s stood out for its Italian hot dog, as perfect a sandwich as can be found in New Jersey, with the bread, potatoes, peppers, onions and mustard in complete harmony. The potatoes? Hot and crispy, and no one does them better.
Cops and firemen apparently love the place; they were in abundance on both my visits to Tommy’s. The “neighborhood feel” to Tommy’s was unmatched in this competition.
Tommy Parrinello opened the stand, on 2nd Avenue across from Olympia Square, on July 5, 1969.
“Our father would never let us forget the date,” Tommy Parrinello, his son and the current owner, said, laughing.
The elder Parrinello started off selling just sausage, but added hot dogs because Jerry’s Famous Frankfurters, steps away, started selling sausage, too.
“I love feeding people,” Tommy Parrinello, the current owner, said. “My father would always say, give them the best, they’ll always come back.”
A neon sign proclaims “World’s Greatest Chili Hot Dogs,” but you go to Tommy’s for an Italian hot dog. You can get it as a single (one hot dog, plus peppers and onions) double (two hot dogs and the rest). Feeling brave? You can even order a triple Italian hot dog, for those either seriously hungry or seriously not caring what their doctor thinks.
A Best all-beef hot dog is used, along with Idaho potatoes, fried in soybean oil. They’re so good you can buy them by the cup, bypassing the bread, peppers and onions altogether.
Within walking distance are two Jersey food landmarks – Di Cosmo’s Italian Ice, and Spirito’s.
The judges who served in an advisory capacity on our visit to Tommy’s (I alone made the final decision) strained for superlatives in their evaluation of Tommy’s.
Lisa Bicocchi said Tommy’s “hit it out of the park,” and singled out the “great, fresh Italian bread taste,” the hot dog’s “wonderful but subtle garlicky/spicy flavor,” the “fresh and sweet peppers,” and the potatoes, which were “perfection.”
Raymond McGillick said the Italian hot dog “was everything I expected of a first-class Italian hot dog and more.”
Joelle Bacino called the potatoes “amazing – crisp on the outside and soft on the inside, sliced thin . . . I could have eaten an entire bucket.”
John Fox admired the “fresh” bread, and said Tommy’s potatoes “are better than any other place serving this sandwich.”
Our epic search for N.J.’s best hot dog joint began in mid-June with a call for nominations. More than 100 places were nominated; every one was put on a ballot, divided into four regions – North I, North II, Central Jersey and South Jersey/The Shore. (There are so few hot dog joints in South Jersey that we combined South Jersey and the Shore.)
About 30,000 people voted; the top six vote-getters in each region became 24 of our semifinalists; I picked the other 26. I visited all 50 semifinalists over three weeks, then picked 10 finalists, which were re-visited with teams of assistant judges.
In all, I drove 3,590 miles, sampled 150-plus hot dogs and somehow lost two pounds.
Kudos to all our finalists; you all are great at what you do. You can find semifinal and final round reports, including tons of mouth-watering photos, at nj.com/jerseysbest.
Here are the other nine finalists:
Andys’ Roadside Dive, Mt. Arlington
Destination Dogs, New Brunswick
Hiram’s Roadstand, Fort Lee
Hot Diggidy Dog, Chatsworth
The Hot Grill, Clifton
Maui’s Dog House, North Wildwood
Randy the Hot Dog Guy, Hillside
Relish, Belmar
Rutt’s Hut, Clifton
Peter Genovese may be reached at pgenovese@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter at @PeteGenovese or via The Munchmobile @NJ_Munchmobile. Find the Munchmobile on Facebook and Instagram.
