outselling each other. The original restaurant in Newark had shut down, but there have been other restaurants run by Jimmy's family and other practitioners in the art of the Italian hot dog that are still keeping the Italian hot dog meal alive. Variations In New Jersey, there are many variations on the original Italian hot dog, typically involving replacing the hot dog with another meat such as sausage, cheesesteak, hamburger, or chicken. Sometimes french fries are used in place of the potatoes. Commonly, the dogs are dressed with spicy mustard and ketchup. Some variations also include hot dogs where everything inside even the hot dog is deep fried. While you can use ketchup for the Italian hot dog it is frowned upon by locals, as Hank Shaw a New Jersey native himself says, “I've even heard of a few versions of this sandwich that use ketchup, a condiment which, when combined with a hot dog, will get you whacked in most parts of Jersey.” One popular variant in Belleville uses two long hot dogs, french fries, fried peppers and onions, topped with tomato sauce and placed in a pizza bread roll. The roll, spelled "apizza" and pronounced "abeetz", is cut along the side into a pocket. A&W Hot Dogs and More used to sell an Italian dog which consisted of a Polish sausage in a hot dog bun, topped with tomato sauce, mozzarella cheese, and Parmigiano-Reggiano cheese. Another variation of the Italian hot dog is one made by Hank Shaw a New Jersey native, he had tried the Italian hot dog when he was 13 years old. What he adds to his Italian hot dogs is that he uses these ingredients, extra virgin olive oil, salt, potatoes which are then peeled and cut in ½ inch chunks, green peppers, a large onion, Italian seasoning, beef hot dogs, sandwich buns and mustard. Dickie Dee's take on the Italian hot dog is more healthier than what the hot dog is typically associated with. Everything about Dickie Dee's Italian hot dog is similar to Jimmy Buff's except for the oil which is used. Dickie Dee's uses peanut oil. Jimmy Buff's Italian hot dog uses cholesterol free soybean oil to deep fry their ingredients. The Italian Hot Dog and New Jersey Natives To many New Jersey natives the Italian hot dog was simply a meal to enjoy when starting or ending their day. To