Entries tagged with 'New Jersey'
Posted by Nick Solares, June 17, 2008 at 10:00 AM
If it's Tuesday, it must be time for another review from Nick Solares. Nick is also the publisher of Beef Aficionado, his blog that explores beef beyond burgerdom.
As the newest member of the AHT team, I thought it appropriate to follow in Adam's intrepid steps and venture across the Hudson on a pilgrimage to two of America's most historically significant Hamburger establishments. I speak, of course, of White Manna in Hackensack, New Jersey, and White Mana in Jersey City, New Jersey. Adam visited both three years ago to the month, and while he raved about the burgers he ate in Hackensack he was less enthused by the Jersey city location. While I have eaten at both places on previous occasions I did so as a civilian, without the responsibility of reviewing the joints and putting them in to the context of the modern burger landscape.
Both establishments are now operated independently of each other and indeed have different owners but they were both founded by Louis Bridges back in 1946. The story goes that the structure that houses the Jersey City location was originally situated at the 1939 World's Fair and was then moved to its current resting place on Tonnele Avenue.
White Mana opened its doors on June 2, 1946, and has been going ever since; it is open 24 hours a day. The only major change, aside from the fact that the burgers cost a little more than the 10¢ they did back then is that during the 1980s, is that the restaurant lost an n in its name as the result of an error at the sign makers. The missing n was never straightened out, and the reconfigured name stuck.
The diner proved such a success that Bridges open three more Mannas in north Jersey in the 1940s, although now only the original and the Hackensack locations remain.
In reverse order to Adam's trip I started in Jersey City and then went north to Hackensack. While I am in complete agreement that the latter is far superior, I am not sure that I would necessarily countenance against visiting the original location in favor of the White Castle nearby as Adam did. I recommend you visit both!
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Posted by Adam Kuban, May 13, 2008 at 1:05 PM
From stageleft.com
From a recent IMversation, emphasis added:
12:32:10 PM guineapigloverNJ*: i ate a cheeseburger at Stage Left restaurant this past weekend after reading the George Motz book
12:32:13 PM guineapigloverNJ: and thought of you :)
12:34:58 PM NYCSlice: heheh
12:35:00 PM NYCSlice: was it good?
12:36:22 PM guineapigloverNJ: it was really fantastic
12:36:25 PM guineapigloverNJ: moither's day lunch
12:36:31 PM guineapigloverNJ: and one of the owners was talking to us
12:36:36 PM guineapigloverNJ: and i mentionded the motz book
12:36:37 PM guineapigloverNJ: and AHT
12:36:48 PM guineapigloverNJ: and the guy apparently has a radio show
12:36:51 PM guineapigloverNJ: and interviewed george
12:37:34 PM guineapigloverNJ: apparently the burger is made from their steak scraps
12:37:59 PM guineapigloverNJ: there was bacon, but it was unnecessary
12:38:09 PM guineapigloverNJ: http://www.restaurantguysradio.com/sle/rg/
12:38:13 PM guineapigloverNJ: that is their radio show
* Screen name has been changed to protect the innocent. Though I really do hope there is a guineapigloverNJ out there somewhere.
Update
1:25:07 PM NYCSlice: was this one of the guys:
1:25:08 PM NYCSlice: http://www.stageleft.com/sl/dine/
1:25:17 PM guineapigloverNJ: yeah, dude on the left in the gray suit
1:25:21 PM guineapigloverNJ: he was very friendly
1:25:50 PM guineapigloverNJ: he also explained that at one point, they tried to make the burger smaller
1:25:53 PM guineapigloverNJ: because it is big
1:26:10 PM guineapigloverNJ: but that it didn't cook the same way, so they kept is as is
1:26:29 PM guineapigloverNJ: i, of course, said better to have some left over than to eat all of a less-than-stellar burger
Update 2
1:34:24 PM guineapigloverNJ: oh dear lord
1:34:31 PM guineapigloverNJ: i just emailed the link to my sister
1:34:33 PM guineapigloverNJ: and she was like
1:34:38 PM guineapigloverNJ: "you didn't include my quote!"
1:34:42 PM NYCSlice: uh oh
1:34:42 PM NYCSlice: hahahah
1:34:44 PM guineapigloverNJ: i have no idea what she is referring to
1:34:47 PM guineapigloverNJ: so i await confirmation
1:35:29 PM guineapigloverNJ: haha
1:35:33 PM guineapigloverNJ: she said
1:35:35 PM guineapigloverNJ: "i don't generally eat much of anything in nj, but this could very well be the best bruger in the state"
1:35:46 PM guineapigloverNJ: and by bruger i believe she means burger ;)
1:35:50 PM guineapigloverNJ: such a new yorker!
There's your quote, Sister of GuineapigloverNJ!
Stage Left Restaurant
5 Livingston Avenue, New Brunswick NJ 08901 (near George Street; map)
732-828-4444
stageleft.com
Posted by Adam Kuban, January 11, 2008 at 8:00 AM
Slider Joint Will Appear on 'Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives'
Via Roadfood.com, I just learned that White Manna in Hackensack, New Jersey, might be featured in an episode of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives on the Food Network. Air date is January 28 at 10 p.m. ET. (Check your local listings for channel.)
I say might be featured because I couldn't find it listed among the locations on the show's page on the Food Network website.
White Manna makes some awesome sliders in a seriously old-school little building that looks like it's been operating since the '30s. AHT visited quite a while back. Here are some photos from the trip:
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Posted by Adam Kuban, December 13, 2007 at 3:15 PM
These were taken at White Rose System in Highland Park, New Jersey, over the weekend.
Great burger often referred to as an oversize White Castle burger because of the cooked chopped onions and similar roll. VERY TASTY!
—Rob K.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, August 7, 2007 at 2:34 PM
AHT founding editor "Hamburger Matty" Jacobs appears in an article on Metromix New York in which he visits the new Five Guys location in Brooklyn Heights:
“We'll start with the brass tacks, the burger's heart and soul—its ground beef. At Five Guys, they grind and hand-pack the meat every morning, guaranteeing a fresh patty. Unfortunately, they will only serve their burgers well-done, which is fantastic if you’re a fan of eating hockey pucks. While Five Guys locations in College Point, Queens, and Philly have defied the odds, burgers at the Brooklyn Heights location were both tough and dry. All is not lost though, as the location is new and a burger is more than just meat."
There's a nice photo slide show to go with it, which Matty shot ("The new lens I'm using is nice," he says).
Five Guys Rip-Off, But Better?
Photographs courtesy of Jason Perlow
In other Five Guys news, Jason Perlow of Off the Broiler alerts us to the fact that there's a Five Guys clone in Fairfiew, New Jersey. When he IMed me about this, I was like, "Yeah, yeah, Jason." But clicking through to his post, the similarities are striking. From the interior design scheme to the menus to the burgers, the place looks like a straight-up Five Guys rip-off. But ...
But ... Burger Boys does onion rings, and Perlow says they're actually good: "Good onion rings though — this is one deficiency at Five Guys that Burger Boys actually remedied."
The other major difference is that Burger Boys uses canola oil instead of peanut oil for its fries, resulting in a less crisp product, Perlow says. But at least the peanut-allergic can eat there.
Posted by Adam Kuban, July 11, 2007 at 12:00 PM
Photograph from jsmooth995 on Flickr
Jason "Off the Broiler" Perlow hits Hamburgão, a Brazilian hamburger joint in Newark, New Jersey. As Perlow says, "Brazilians are quite serious about their junk food. They love to stack sandwiches high with all sorts of toppings you and I might think as weird or excessive — but once you’ve had a Brazilian sandwich, you’re going to be hooked."
The "cheese tudo" sandwich pictured above is essentially a burger piled high with—among other things—fried egg, corn, potato sticks, lettuce, tomato, and mayonnaise.
Related: The Star-Ledger's Munchmobile visits Hamburgão
Hamburgão
288 Lafayette Street, Newark NJ 07105
973-465-1776
654 Market Street, Newark NJ 07105
973-465-0777
282 Kearny Avenue, Kearny NJ 07032
201-991-1771
Posted by Adam Kuban, November 22, 2006 at 9:55 AM
Heaven help us. Hackensack, New Jersey, slider joint White Manna now has a MySpace page: myspace.com/white_manna.
Posted by Adam Kuban, October 16, 2006 at 9:00 AM
Photograph by Jonathan Lurie, courtesy of Off the Broiler.
Name: Jason Perlow
Location: Tenafly, New Jersey
Occupation: technologist, foodblogger, and Internet food-discussion pioneer
How often do you eat burgers?
Several times a month, although my wife tries to keep it down to once a week—she doesn't like it when I eat too much meat.
Where did you eat your most recent one?
I had a really good, old-school twin burger platter at Holsten's in Bloomfield, New Jersey, recently. Its an old-time ice cream parlor, soda shop, and luncheonette-type place that dates back to the late 1930s, and not a damn thing has ever changed about it. Toasted, soft burger bun, with American cheese melted on each side, cooked on a grill, just the right meat-to-bun ratio, with slices of crisp bacon, and cooked perfectly medium-rare. Very simple and straightforward, but that's exactly what you want sometimes.
Cheese: American, cheddar, other?
I order burgers with American cheese for the most part, only because I believe it's the ideal melting cheese on a burger. It's used more than anything else for a very good reason. However, I have in no way an exclusive relationship with processed cheese slices—I love a good cheddar burger or Monterey Jack or a good Swiss or even a blue-cheese burger from time to time. I've even had burgers with melted port-wine cheesefood on the top, and it works phenomenally well. And pizza burgers with mozzarella kick ass.
Ketchup or mustard?
Both, if I'm making them at home. And sometimes mayo, too, depending on my mood. Mayo and Dijon mustard mixed together with a bit of horseradish is great, applied liberally to a toasted bun with a totally plain broiled burger, medium-rare, with nothing else on it—the mustard and mayo and horseradish combined with the juices make an incredible natural sauce. Try it sometime.
Sesame-seed or plain?
I like sesame seeds. But I love a good kaiser roll with poppy seeds or onion roll, if we're talking about a platform for a large burger. You can't beat a nice rye for a patty melt, either, which I think is a perfectly valid type of burger. The toasted English muffin is totally underrated as a burger platform, too.
Grilled, griddled, or broiled?
I think all preparations are equally valid because there are different genres of burgers. At a summer cookout, a backyard burger formed by hand has to be grilled. The classic fast-food or diner burger has to be griddled, and the steakhouse or pub burger needs to be broiled. But each of these burgers has to have a different meat composition, fat makeup, and quantity of meat for each to work under the right circumstances.
And how would you like that done, sir?
Medium-rare, if I have the choice.
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Posted by Adam Kuban, October 2, 2006 at 9:51 AM
IMG_4914-2, blogged to AHT from the Flickr photostream of jasonperlow
Jason Perlow: http://www.flickr.com/photo_zoom.gne?id=254962686&size=o
Jason Perlow: thought you'd enjoy that
Jason Perlow: had that last night at White Manna
Jason Perlow: I had eaten there for over 10 years and not once was aware you could get lettuce and tomato on a burger.
nycslice: crap!
nycslice: awesome
nycslice: thnx
Jason Perlow: I saw them taking out lettuce and tomatoes and I was like "wait, what do you use those for?"
Jason Perlow: and everyone else in the room was staring at them like "you have lettuce and tomato?"
Jason Perlow: they apparently also make egg creams there
Jason Perlow: and its not on the menu
WHITE MANNA
AHT Review: White Man(n)a, a New Jersey Pilgrimage
Address: 358 River Street, Hackensack NJ 07601 [map]
Phone: 201-342-0914
Hours: Mon.-Sat., 8:30 a.m. to 9 p.m.; Sun., 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
Cost: Hamburgers, $0.95; cheeseburgers, $1.05
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 18, 2006 at 12:00 PM
Forget the gravy train, you've booked a ticket on the Burger Express. Next stop: Listburg, where the populace is obsessed with notations and rank. The latest resident to settle in our sleepy hamlet is Jason Perlow (left), founder of eGullet.com and publisher of Off the Broiler, where this list is also available. Mr. Perlow's list, he tells us, is in no particular order. Beefy thanks to Jason! —The Management
MY TOP BURGER LIST | Words and Photos by Jason Perlow
White Manna, Hackensack, New Jersey
Got to have it as a double with grilled onions and cheese with extra pickle. Your stomach is going to rumble big time after eating four or five of these, but the indigestion and heartburn is well worth it. They look unattractive, lopsided and smooshed up. But they'll kick the crap out of you if you disrespect them. Kind of like most people from Jersey.
Louis Lunch, New Haven, Connecticut
They got weird rules, the burger is bizarre, both in preparation and in presentation. It doesn't matter, it makes sense, in an almost proto-evolutionary way. Its like eating the missing link in burger anthropology.
O'Rourke's Diner Steamed Cheeseburger, Middletown, Connecticut
Connecticut is home to the strange burgers. While Ted's in Meriden is the steamed cheeseburger everyone has heard about, O'Rourke's really is the original. Make this place part of your lifetime burger pilgrimage.
NationWide Meats, Sacramento, California
Sacramento is hot as hell, but its also got one of the best burgers anywhere. The beef they use here is top quality, there's plenty of it, their burger dressing is outstanding and their super thick-cut fries are magnificent.
Burger Joint, San Francisco
The menu is minimalist. The neighborhood is weird. Don't miss this place.
Blue Smoke Jazz Standard Burger, New York City
Before there was Shake Shack, there was the Blue Smoke Burger. Can't think of a better burger to have when listening to Jazz and having a cold beer.
Shake Shack, Madison Square Park, New York City
Yes, the place is hyped beyond belief and the lines are infuriating. Doesn't matter. Go, go, go. Even if you have to camp outside overnight to get a place in line the next day.
McSorley's Burger, Greenwich Village, New York City
It's cheap, but its beefy, topped with raw onion, and it's the perfect accompaniment to some of the best beers in town, in the oldest, surliest Irish Bar in the city.
Johnny Rocket's #12 Burger, various locations
Something about the Red sauce they put on this thing, combined with the thin-style burger with crispy edges makes this one unique and worthy of mention, edging out the other Micro-chains.
White Castle Double Cheeseburger, various locations
Perhaps I have saved my favorite for last. Before there was Harold and Kumar, college students have been making late night inebriated treks to the Castle for over six decades. Its the ultimate working class burger, which proudly features grease as an ingredient. Don't forget the extra pickle, it brings everything into Zen-like balance.
Well, there's Mr. Perlow's list. Dig it? Got a beef with it? Leave a comment. Better yet, submit your own list and take up residency in Listburg.
Posted by Adam Kuban, May 16, 2006 at 9:54 AM
At the beginning of the Meaty Month of May, A Hamburger Today asked some noted eaters for lists of their favorite burgers.
Famous Fat Dave (above) of The Hungry Cabbie delegated his Top 3 list to his fares. I'll let him explain:
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Posted by Adam Kuban, May 10, 2006 at 5:00 PM
Here's a killer list we've mentioned on AHT but have never elaborated on. It's Alan Richman's top 20 from his July 2005 story "The 20 Hamburgers You Must Eat Before You Die" in GQ. Do click through to read the entire piece; it quickly made its way onto the Required Reading list at AHT HQ. Bon appétit! ...
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Posted by Adam Kuban, April 14, 2006 at 4:58 PM
Gerald just commented: "There are Fatburgers in the Tri-State?! Where?!"
Well, Gerald, you could hit up the Fatburger locator to find out, but we did it for you. The Jersey City location is probably the best bet for you and other residents of NYC.
FATBURGER (Jersey City, New Jersey)
Location: 286 Washington Street 07302
Phone: 201-332-2244 [map]
FATBURGER (West Nyack, New York)
Location: Palisades Mall, 1000 Palisades Center Drive 10994
Phone: 845-727-5000
FATBURGER (Rockaway, New Jersey)
Location: 321 Mount Hope Avenue 07801
Phone: 973-989-0100
Posted by Adam Kuban, July 13, 2005 at 2:00 PM
ARCHIVES > NEW JERSEY > REVIEWS > AHT REVIEWS
Over at our sister site, Slice, we were somehow cajoled into "hiring" a "nightlife editor" who goes by the name of Trixie (left). Labor laws being what they are, we've been unable to fire her, and so she sits around the Hatchback Media offices, making fun of the boss and doing very little in the way of actual work for Slice. She's a rare bird, indeed.
For the past several weeks, Trixie has been telling us that A Hamburger Today needs to make a post about her Wednesday night activities.
"What might those be?" I asked, fearing the worst, given her name.
"$5 burger and a beer at Willie McBride's Pub in Hoboken," she answered.
Now we were talkin'. 'Bokenite Trix often stops by this Irish pub on Wednesdays for the $5 special and reports that the burgers are "really yummy." And, of course, you can't beat the price, which includes fries, she says.
What kind of beer does she get? "Something light, usually a Coors Light." Does she order cheese on her burger? "No. I do not."
How does she order them? "Rare."
Did we even have to ask?
WILLIE McBRIDE'S
Location: 616 Grand St.,, Hoboken NJ
Phone: 201-610-1522
Short Order: $5 burger and a beer night on Wednesdays
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Posted by Adam Kuban, June 4, 2005 at 8:00 AM
HACKENSACK and JERSEY CITY, NEW JERSEY
We asked, and you delivered. Oh yes, you delivered, you dear, dear greasy-handed readers. Among your tips on finding good sliders was one that led us to tiny diner White Manna in Hackensack, New Jersey, which in turn led us to the similarly named White Mana (one n, mind you) in Jersey City.
And so this reporter worked all day yesterday as visions of tiny hamburgers danced in his head. Sliders were also doing a jig in the head of Honey P., who works with me. This trip was especially important to Honey P. because her friend has been badgering her for years to try White Manna and HP wanted to get it over with to put an end to the nagging. I was looking forward to her company on the trip, but she had to go to some art thing instead. (Hmmph: Warped priorities if I ever seen 'em.)
Well, she missed out, because White Manna in Hackensack was worth all the hassle I endured getting there. The pilgrimage involved the NYC subway and trips on two different commuter trains in Jersey before I met up with one-time Slice Garden State bureau chief Amanda G. and her dad; their help and generosity was greatly appreciated. We drove from the North Hackensack train stop to White Manna, at the intersection of River and Passaic Streets and were greeted by the cutest down-at-the-heels art deco diner I've seen in ages (see photo above).
Opening the door, we were hit with the unmistakable aroma of onion, and quickly plopped down on stools at the U-shaped counter. We ordered an assortment of hamburgers and cheeseburgers—with onions (unlike White Castle, whose burger stylings White Manna aped in the 1940s, you have the choice of forgoing the pungent topping). We also put in a couple orders of fries with the friendly cooks there (see photo at right).
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