For the retail operation, such as it is, of Best Provision in Newark, park in front of the formidable-looking brick building on Jelliff Avenue, scamper up the loading dock and muscle aside the heavy gray swinging door.
Vegetarians, beware. The 80,000-square-foot plant — one giant refrigerator, with temperatures at 40 degrees or cooler — is fragrant with the earthy, funky aroma of raw and cooked meat. Workers operate machines with oddly poetic names — choppers, shrink tunnels and the Frank-a-Matic, which stuffs, shapes and sizes hot dogs. A shiny space-capsule-like contraption is used for brine distribution.
“In July, we’re packing out 100 pounds (of hot dogs) a minute, all day,” Rich Dolinko says.
Where’s the beef? It’s right here; Best Provision, celebrating its 75th anniversary this year, is the food icon most Jerseyans have never heard of. The company doesn’t produce chicken, pork or any other meat; it’s hot dogs, pastrami, corned beef, roast beef and brisket — all beef, all the time.
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