Hiram's • 1932

The deep-fried hot dogs at this Fort Lee roadstand earn their nickname — "Rippers" — from the way their skins split and crackle in the fryer, a technique perfected here since 1932. Pete Demiris and Jeff Escudero run the tiny counter-service spot on Palisade Avenue, where customers still belly up for dogs with mustard and kraut, burgers, hand-cut onion rings, and cheap draft beer. Stop number one on the Anthony Bourdain Food Trail, it remains the kind of place where a plain ripper, crunchy outside and juicy inside, costs just a few dollars.