Man, 88, Continues Quest To Find New Jersey's Most Perfect Hot Dog

MIDDLESEX, NJ — This Wednesday, 88-year-old Harry Baram will continue his lifelong quest: To find the perfect hot dog in New Jersey.

Baram, of North Haledon, is making his 107th "hot dog crawl," as he calls it.

"The three of us get together and do this a couple times a year," said fellow hot dog enthusiast Larry Presta, 62, of Pompton Plains, joined by Ron Rauschart, of Montville. "I search hot dog groups on Facebook to see which ones in each county are the best. Then we divvy them up by county."

This August, they're patronizing Union County hot dog sites, plus one in Middlesex borough. On Wednesday, they'll stop at: The Blue Lady food truck in Scotch Plains, 1950 Originals in Westfield, Sal's Dog House food truck in Clark, Munce hot dog truck in Rahway and finally ending in Junction Grille on Mountain Avenue in Middlesex.

The idea originated in 2017, when Presta met Baram at a church they both attended.

"Harry mentioned that he proposed to his wife at a hot dog place in Paterson. My father was a police officer in Paterson, so I knew the place very well," said Presta.

"It was 1961 and it was a hot dog place near the Great Falls," recalled Baram. "It's no longer in business. I had the gentleman put the engagement ring in the French fries, and she said yes. Let's just say I wasn't a big spender."

"I got such a kick out of that story that we started talking about our shared love of hot dogs," continued Presta. "We decided to do a hot dog crawl and we enjoyed ourselves so much that we said let's do another one. And another one. And here we are today on our 107th hot dog crawl."

In 2020, Baram's son, David Baram, turned their story into an award-wining PBS documentary, "One All the Way.” The documentary is about their love of hot dogs, but also chronicles the rise and fall of Paterson. The industry that boomed there at the turn of the century launched the city's numerous hot dog joints and grills, which offered a quick lunch to blue-collar workers. But the documentary also chronicles how Paterson's factories and mills closed, and the city fell into poverty. The film won 14 awards and was such a hit that it is aired annually by PBS.

And they're not just looking for any hot dog. They're on a search for the holy grail of frankfurters: The Texas Weiner.

"The Texas Weiner more difficult to find than ever," said Baram. "It's a deep fried hot dog with a special lamb casing that prevents the hot dog from exploding in the high temperatures of the deep fryer. It's then coated with brown mustard, raw onions and chili on top. Never put ketchup on it. That's un-American."

Baram considers himself lucky just to be alive today to continue his hot dog quest. Ten years ago, he was diagnosed with multiple myeloma, a bone marrow cancer that used to be a death sentence.

But Baram credits his survival to the treatment he received at Hackensack University Medical Center, specifically from Dr. David Siegel, chief of the multiple myeloma division at John Theurer Cancer Center, which is home to one of the world’s largest myeloma programs.

“Dr. Siegel walked in, and for the first twenty minutes, we didn’t even talk about cancer,” Baram recalled. “He saw my Giants gear and we just started joking around, talking like old friends. He had this way about him that just put you at ease. Then he looked at me and said, ‘Alright, here’s the plan. You’re getting your first chemo tonight, and we’re going to do surgery on your back.’”

He had spinal surgery in 2015 and then 16 weeks of chemotherapy. That same year, Baram was offered a stem cell transplant. He was 78 years old at the time, which was considered extremely advanced age for a stem cell transplant.

But Dr. Siegel and his team perform more than 400 blood and marrow stem cell transplants a year at John Theurer, which is among the top ten programs in the country for stem cell transplants.

His doctor urged him to do it; Baram said yes. Eight months post-transplant, he was playing in his son’s charity golf tournament.

"From the moment I met him, I knew he was a fighter with an incredible spirit,” said Dr. Siegel of Baram's determination to not only live, but enjoy life to the fullest. “Seeing him thrive ten years later is the greatest reward in this profession. He is a testament to what’s possible when you combine modern medicine with an unbreakable will.”

So, do the three buddies have a favorite hot dog joint in New Jersey?

"We really never say best, because for Harry and I, you could put chili sauce on a paper bag and we'd eat it and say it taste good," said Presta. "But Hot Grill in Clifton definitely ranks up there."

"We've enjoyed them all and we do all we can to help these hot dog places keep surviving," vowed Baram. "Because so many have closed their doors."

"And people say cancer is the worst thing that can happen to you. For me, these have been the ten best years of my life."