CAMDEN -- One after another, Bob Lucas slapped stacks of meat down onto the flat-top grill at Donkey's Place right next to a heaping pile of white onions. It was lunchtime and customers were starting to line up along the wall facing the bar to wait for their chance to order up the sandwich that is quickly becoming one of the most famous in South Jersey.

Even for the lunch rush, Lucas -- the owner of Donkey's Place -- said Monday was especially busy, and it was all because Anthony Bourdain. The famous chef and traveller called Donkey's cheesesteak better than any found in neighboring Philadelphia.

Bourdain visited Donkey's earlier this year for an episode of his CNN show "Parts Unknown," which focused on his home state of New Jersey.

After visiting his childhood shore spot in LBI and talking about the rise and fall of Atlantic City with some of its locals, Bourdain made his way west to Camden to meet with some of its people and try some food at eateries that have remained vibrant despite the troubles going on around them.

Lucas -- who's father opened Donkey's Place in the 1940s-- said the TV crew stopped by unannounced to try the sandwich they've been serving up for years.

Even though the cheesesteak's spiritual home is across the Ben Franklin Bridge in Philadelphia, Bourdain said Donkey's has the best one, and Lucas said it was great to get that kind of recognition on national TV.

"It was pretty interesting," he said. "It's not going to hurt us that's for sure."

Donkey's does their cheesesteaks a little differently. Instead of the traditional long roll, their steaks come on a poppy seed kaiser roll. Lucas said they started doing it because they could get the rolls from close by.

"At the time we started, they were available to us locally from right around the corner at a place about five or six blocks from here," he said. "It's a whole lot different. Some people believe you can't put a cheesesteak on a round roll. Well... you can. Like Bourdain said, it's better than Philly."

The menu at Donkey's Place is pretty simple. A cheesesteak costs $7.50, but it's a little extra if you want double meat or double cheese. A large side of fries is $3.00.

On Monday, people were carrying cheesesteaks out by the bag full. Some were newcomers, like Mike Voigt. He said he's lived in the area a long time but never even knew about the place. After seeing it on TV, he was excited to give it a try.

"I know I like those rolls, and I like how they cook (the meat) slow," he said. "I think I'm going to love it."

Donkey's cooks layer the cheesy meat on top of ketchup and crushed cherry peppers and top that with a pile of sweet fried onions. The kaiser roll is soft and absorbs all of the juices that drip down from the meat without becoming too soggy.

Lifelong Camden Resident Dave Arrington said Donkey's has always been one of his favorite spots and thinks they deserve any recognition they gets.

"I grew up here," he said. "My father used to run a business nearby, and we used to come here a lot."

George Feeney craves Donkey's cheesesteaks so much, it was the first stop he made once he got home Monday morning.

"It took me three hours to get here, and this what I want," he said. "I should be going to the gym and getting some sleep, but this is what I had a taste for."

Lucas was grateful to have the restaurant featured on TV, but he was just as excited to have someone highlight Camden for something other than its crime.

"It's a refreshing thing," he said. "The city's been through a lot of changes. When we lost the employment at RCA, Campbell's and the Ship yard ... those were big. It's tough to recover from that, but that's what happened to our city. It's not a bad city. Nobody has a job and it falls apart."

Alex Young may be reached at ayoung@njadvancemedia.com. Follow him on Twitter @AlexYoungSJT. Find the South Jersey Times on Facebook.