Okay, here's the thing. The Hot Grill in Clifton, and a couple of other places like Hyram's (either Fort Lee or Edgewater, I can't remember for certain), would actually deep fry the hotdogs -- that didn't make them greasy, as anyone who has deep fried a turkey knows. It just makes the skins quite crispy and imparts a unique flavor to the dog. Now here in the South, where I think they would deep fry a watermellon if you gave them a chance, they for some reason exclude the hot dog from deep frying consideration. I've never understood that.
The other thing the Hot Grill had going for it was the chili -- they guard the recipe jealously, and it is pretty amazing.
They call em rippers.