Jimmy Buff’s

I’ve never had an «Italian style hot dog» before. This was worth the wait! Loved the delicious taste, and my kids enjoyed the cheeseburgers and regular hot dog. The customer service was so friendly and the place was spotless. We’ll be back again!

In my youth I would eat at the J.B. location on S. 9^th Str. in Newark. Sometimes I ride around in my current state of residence and still have not found ANYTHING that compares to J.B.
I wish this was a larger franchise. We need this in every state.

Truly a gem in Kenilworth. It is as simple as it gets. Great food and service. Not fancy, but you won’t leave here hungry. If you have never had an italian hot dog before, do yourself a favor and stop by. You won’t be disappointed.

Food is great sausage is fantastic and try the Matty it’s hugh and great. Potato and pepper is Nicely cooked
Finding the place is difficult you need a GPS as the sign is small and hard to see when you are driving

Every time I go here on the weekends the food is great! I recently went on a Wednesday. My hot dog was burnt and so were the potatoes. I was very upset. I was not expecting that. I guess I have to give them a break for a while. I should have known something was wrong because my food was ready in 10… lol

For some crazy reason, I made it to age 52 without having an Italian hot dog. Amazing, no? Well, I remedied that the other night with a stop at Jimmy Buff’s.
Friendly guy took our order. Three plain dogs and curly fries for my son. Double «red hot» for me with curly fries.
My son who knows a thing or two about hot dogs advised it was one of the best he has eaten. High praise. My sandwich was magnificent. Two spicy dogs, mustard, ketchup, fried potatoes and sautéed onions. No peppers please. I loved every bite although I wish the bread was toasted or griddled-​warmed up in some fashion.
We’re very happy we went and look forward to next time.

Quintessential Jersey Italian hotdog… the stuff of food coma induced dreams, a prescription for nexium, and a wardrobe of fat pants. So wrong it’s right. Yes that good. The Italian double hotdog. 2 nicely spiced dogs (good snap when you bite into them) nestled in a signiture pizza dough bun, topped with fried onions, peppers, and potatoes. Oh those potatoes, perfectly seasoned and deep fried to a golden crisp. They’re so good I swear they season them with crack! Crackity crack crack :-P! I could not finish the double Italian dog. it made me sad Lol. In hindsight I’d order a traditional dog (the pizza dough bun made me hit the food wall) and get a side of potatoes… those potatoes… Mmm. Mmm. Mmm.

I ate at Charlies my entire life and to me that was the gold standard in Italian dogs. However when Buffs opened in Kenilworth I figured I’d give it a shot. I walk in there, look at the woman and say «can I get a double, all the way.» She says «double what, hotdog?» *needle scratch* whoa what? Right there I shoulda walked out. You’re the guys. Who the f*** goes into Jimmy Buffs and orders anything other than an Italian hotdog? Matter of fact the system should go like this:
Walk in
Raise two fingers
Give money
Conveyor belt moves hot dogs into your mouth
Chew/​swallow
Go about your day
I choked back my rage and politely smiled «yes a double… hotdog and a side of fries (elongated cut potatoes that are fried in case you needed clarification.) I sit and wait.
Dog and fries come out. I eat it. Look I’m no food critic. It was delicious. Bottom line. Potatos were fantastic, those silver dollar cuts sing to me, their sweet harmonic serenade soothing my embittered soul. The hotdogs lay betwixt the peppers and onions looking not unlike Venus on a clamshell by famed artist Botticelli.
My only complaint was that there wasn’t more food jammed into the bread. Not that the serving is skimpy it’s just I have no dignity and would have been more at ease if the cashier came out with a leather horse feedbag and affixed it to my face. But there’s always room for improvement.
Next time I stroll in and order a double all the way I better get an approving half nod. You hear me?

I really love Jimmy Buff’s because they’ve the best italian hot dogs & italian italian sausage sandwhichs that I could ever ate!

Ok, nice clean place, good soda options. They serve the hot dogs and cheesesteaks in bread pockets.
I made a mistake and ordered a half a cheesesteak and got half a bread pocket.
They don’t chop up the steak in the cheesesteak which I hated and broke it up myself with my hands. So you get a bread pocket, with several sheets of beef stacked up. Coin cut fries (delicious) .
Really wish they would make the cheesesteak correctly. The hot dogs are very decent and cooked well. I’m going to try it again soon and ask that they chop up the steak.
Not a place I’d run to. despite having to chop up my own steak, everything was delicious.
Ok so I’ve been contacted by the Buff’s themselves.
Apparently the majority of people prefer folded slices of beef with cheese in a bread pocket.
Since I am not a cook I cannot say the cheesesteak was cooked wrong.
I am an eater, so I CAN say that thin beef slices in a bread pocket don’t work for me. The meat is longer than the bread pocket so most of it just hangs out of the sandwich. The cheese was completely stuck to the beef making some sort of flat cheesy patty. It didn’t look right to me. It makes it look like there is way too much bread. Felt like a sliced beef and cheese sandwich. The funny part is I ordered a half by mistake so I got a half a bread pocket and the meat and cheese was way over the edges.
The message from the Buff says I can order it chopped up but I think I’ll pass. I can’t recommend you order one without telling them to chop it up. I say go for it. I raised my review one star because the food really was good and I’m no cook, just offering my opinion.

I loved the double Italian dog onion rings and fries… kids working there are pleasant. polite a smile and quick service. I ordered two chilli dogs also .I still have them in the bag while I eat this lol

I love a good italian hot dog. I don’t get peppers or onions on it, but some good bread, hot dogs, and fried potatoes — wonderful. I happened upon Jimmy Buffs during their anniversary month one year when they were selling their italian hot dogs for — I think — 2 bucks a pop. That month, I visited no less than 4 times, getting a handful of hot dogs each time.
Now I see Jimmy Buff’s as more of a ‘special occasion fat day’ place. I can’t house a few italian hot dogs a month like I did back in the day. In the summer, though, I love a good italian hot dog. And now that I live right down the street, I can see myself coming here a few times.
The staff is friendly, so that gives this place an edge over Charlie’s in my opinion.

Will be moving to Kenilworth in June. Have been exploring the area, and happy to have found this place. The location is very spacious, clean, and well lit.
They offer a great menu that has something for everyone in my family. Both times I’ve stopped by I have gotten the syd dog. Tastes great and cooked to perfection. Kids love chicken tenders and fries. The rare gem is they carry their own brand of soda. I love the grape yet to try the other flavors.
Best part for me walking distance from my new place.

Cant go wrong with these dogs. There is another place Charles and they are good too. But I like Buffs better!

Ok. I have to admit that I had no idea what an Italian Dog was… heck I’m originally from Chicago and everyone knows what a Chicago dog is. I was thinking order one or two? I ordered the double Italian dog. OMG… I could barely finish it… but was it ever good.

Whether you’re stopping in on your own for a quick bite or taking the family out for lunch, Jimmy Buff’s is the perfect place to go. This business has been around since 1932, and for good reason.
The menu has lots of options. You can choose the Italian style with fresh cut onions, peppers, and crisp potatoes or a simple, classic item from the American style menu. However, if it’s your first time, you absolutely HAVE to try what they’re famous for – a hot dog or sausage. (These got them featured on the food network.) They have a bunch of sides to choose from to complement your sandwich (try the onion rings!) Even the veggie sandwich or potato sandwich will have you leaving with a full belly.
Apart from the great food, the restaurant has a clean, inviting ambiance. Perfect for families. They have booths and tables for seating. All along the walls are decorations and newspaper articles from their old locations.
This place will fill you up with quality, classic Italian hot dogs. The business is run by the same family who started it all. For good food and that family-​style feeling, you have to go to Jimmy Buff’s.

Always wanted to try this place out. I did see a feature of the chain restaurant on good network but this particular store I’m happy to say they are clean and have additional parking in the baxk. This comes in handy since they are located on a pretty busy strip. The meats are all made to perfect. Since it was my first time, I wanted to try everything. I went with the Matty special which is a hot dog, sausage, hamburger, cheese, and steak stuffed in bread with peppers and onions and potatoes. I loved the potatoes even by themselves. The special is $ 11.95 but we’ll worth it.

I heard about them on food network a while back, and I wanted to try it out today. It’s very good. I love the taste. The onion rings were delicious. I love that it’s in pocket bread.
The place is very simple and straight forward. You walk in and order, eat and go. We waited about 10 minutes.
Awesome. I’ll come back again.

Sadly, the poor rating for Jimmy Buff’s is mostly for the EXTREMELY odd and bad service. The food wasn’t bad, but the ordering process and service really did this place in as far as I’m concerned…
Came here last night for a quick bite. Entered at 6:15 pm. One customer ahead of us. We wanted a cheesesteak and the hot dog/​sausage combo, with peppers and ketchup.
This simple order turned into a monstrous ordeal. The woman recording (yes, recording. She was writing every word down on pen and paper) screwed up our order twice somehow. Also, when my wife asked what came with the combo, she didn’t know. SHE DID NOT KNOW WHAT CAME WITH THE ORDER AT HER OWN JOB. She then had to bring the boss/​manager out front to explain the menu to us, slowly, as if WE had a processing issue. Irritating.
She finally gets it right. 6:25 pm. Still only two couples in the place eating. The owner or manager proceeds to then keep reminding the cashier to «charge us for the extra cheese» about four times. That doesn’t look good to a customer, and it was extreme belittling to the cashier. The owner/​cook said everything he was doing out loud («Putting the ONIONS on now for Andrew», «Adding the ketchup now»), and it took about 10 minutes for our orders to come out…
Here’s the REAL gas: after REPEATING what he was putting on our sandwiches, ALOUD, there was STILL no ketchup or mustard on either of our orders! Everything was done here at a snail’s pace, and even when done that slow, it was incorrect. 6:35 pm.
An ordeal that could’ve taken 10 minutes less considering the place’s current traffic of business.
Overall, it was a REALLY odd, confusing, and awkward experience with the service and workers here at JB’s. The food came out to $ 12.75, and again, wasn’t the best. The food was ok, which is why I’m giving it a ²⁄₅. But everything else was pretty lousy.

I had always heard about Jimmy Buff’s, about how they’ve been around forever, have been on the Food Network, are legendary in terms of hot dogs etc. Being a bit new to North Jersey, I searched for the closest Jimmy’s and this location popped up. This location is not the original, but from what I’ve heard and tasted, the dogs haven’t changed since day one.
Upon entering, I was warmly greeted by a young man behind the counter. As I scanned the large overhanging menu, he told me to let him know when I was ready. I ordered the single combo, hot dog/​sausage, onions, peppers, and potatoes along with an order of curly fries.
After a few minutes, my order was up! In retrospect, I should’ve probably skipped the fries for onion rings, as between the sandwich and curly fries, I had quite a bit o’ potatoes. That’s not to take anything away from this meal. The roll containing the sandwich contents was that of the pizza bread variety. Both the hot dog and sausage were of the mild variety, as in not spicy or hot. The onions and peppers were crispy as were the potatoes, which were sliced and fried.
This place was impeccably clean and had plenty of room for seating. As I waited for my dog, a steady stream of locals entered ordering to go, some eating in. I really can’t think of a bad thing to say about Jimmy’s as, my experience was top notch. I will be back and will be sure to bring my Southern NJ counterparts along for the ride.