The late Anthony Bourdain has inspired many around the world to make food a big part of their travels.
While planning to visit new places, I look for ideas where to eat based on places featured on Food/ Travel shows. Places recommended by Anthony Bourdain tend to just about always be really good.
On the New Jersey episode of Parts Unknown (which aired back in 2015), Bourdain visited Hiram’s Roadstand in Fort Lee. Since seeing the episode, I’ve wanted to visit.
During a recent visit to NJ, we stopped by Hiram’s Roadside. Thanks to COVID-19, we couldn’t dine inside the tiny restaurant. We opted for one of our picnics in the car which my 3.5 year old Theo is always excited for!
Just outside of Hiram’s, the restaurant has a little memorial set up for Anthony Bourdain. I thought this was a nice touch and awesome way to honor him.
Once I went inside, almost immediately I noticed a plaque given to Hiram’s for being stop number 1 on the Anthony Bourdain Food Trail.
I then had a very difficult decision to make… What should we order!
I knew that Hiram’s was famous for their deep fried hot dogs also known as rippers. We had to get a couple of these delicacies as well as a chili cheese version. It was hard to turn down ordering a cheeseburger for $3.25. We also go an order of fries and onion rings.
The fries were decent but nothing special.
The onion rings were incredible. The breading was loaded with flavor and crispy, too. If you ask me, these were a real treat and star of the menu. Kim said they were the best onion rings she’d ever had.
The hot dogs at Hiram’s are definitely on the larger side. They’re very flavorful and had a decent snap due in part to being deep fried.
I might be mistaken but I’m pretty sure the dogs are a blend of beef and pork. The buns were buttered and toasted which made them also really stand out.
Overall, we were pretty impressed with the hot dogs.
I love burgers so I had to give one a try. After taking the first bite, I was really glad that I did!
I expected this to be a very thin patty but it was actually a pretty nice size for a cheap, road stand burger.
The burger came on a toasted bun and I would’ve liked to have eaten the whole thing but I had to share. 🙂
Last but not least, we gave the chili cheese dog a try. The chili was pretty good and had a little peppery heat but nothing too crazy. The problem with the chili I felt was that it dominated the flavor of the whole package.
I didn’t even notice the cheese and I could barely make out the excellent flavor of the tasty hot dog.
Final Thoughts:
It was nice to finally try the food at a spot which Anthony Bourdain called, “My happy place.”
During better non-pandemic circumstances, I’d love to get the full experience and dine inside. Regardless, we really enjoyed the meal!
Hiram’s Roadstand is located at 1345 Palisade Avenue in Fort Lee, NJ.
Other Bourdain Inspired Food Reviews:
Island Miler- Crif Dogs is awesome, been a couple of times. I used to love Gray’s Papaya for the recession special, what a deal! Papaya King is also awesome but I think I’ve only had it from their trucks!
I still gotta watch the Parts Unknown NJ episode. But, I do remember Hiram’s from the No Reservations NJ episode and have wanted to go since then. Same for Criff Dog too, though we didn’t have time last time I was in NYC. We did, however, get to try Papaya King, which was really good and really cheap!