Who: Don, Joe, Pupu
Where: White Manna, Hackensack, New Jersey
FooFood: The VERY BEST EVER Burgers of New Jersey (and probably the entire Northeast)
Established in 1946 on the bancs of the Hackensack River, the minuscule diner is named after Manna, the biblic food. The diner is no 500 sq feet, kitchen included! The smell of roasted onions and steaks submerges you at the very moment you pull the joint's door open. You find yourself quite literally in a face-to-face with the robust cook, a big dude who prepares the marvelous little burgers with complete indifference on a grill right behind the U-Shaped bar.
Joe, Pupu, and your humble author sat down at the last three idle fornica stools. Barely seated, the somber man asks us "how many?" Hmm, there's not much time for hesitation: the guy is from the impatient sort. As if with a single voice, we scream "four" to the Master's attention - four per person, this is a given (you should know that the burgers are not bigger than the size of your fist). You've got the choice between Hamburgers and Cheeseburgers - onions are comprised, you'll have to take them off if you don't want any!
Once ordered, the cook throws a dozen steakballs on the grill before flattening them with his gigantic spool. He covers the meat with a handfull of roasted onions. With agility and his bare hands, the guy takes the steaks off the grill by squeezing them awkwardly into a bun.
As a matter of fact, those aren't simple "buns" - they are legendary, like the whole goddamn rest. Called "Martin's Potato roll", they are a a sort of fresh bun made out of God-knows-What-Potato-Wheat.
Before handing you the Burgers on a small carton plate, you earn a last grim look, followed by the customary "Pickles?"
Where: White Manna, Hackensack, New Jersey
FooFood: The VERY BEST EVER Burgers of New Jersey (and probably the entire Northeast)
Established in 1946 on the bancs of the Hackensack River, the minuscule diner is named after Manna, the biblic food. The diner is no 500 sq feet, kitchen included! The smell of roasted onions and steaks submerges you at the very moment you pull the joint's door open. You find yourself quite literally in a face-to-face with the robust cook, a big dude who prepares the marvelous little burgers with complete indifference on a grill right behind the U-Shaped bar.Joe, Pupu, and your humble author sat down at the last three idle fornica stools. Barely seated, the somber man asks us "how many?" Hmm, there's not much time for hesitation: the guy is from the impatient sort. As if with a single voice, we scream "four" to the Master's attention - four per person, this is a given (you should know that the burgers are not bigger than the size of your fist). You've got the choice between Hamburgers and Cheeseburgers - onions are comprised, you'll have to take them off if you don't want any!
Once ordered, the cook throws a dozen steakballs on the grill before flattening them with his gigantic spool. He covers the meat with a handfull of roasted onions. With agility and his bare hands, the guy takes the steaks off the grill by squeezing them awkwardly into a bun.
As a matter of fact, those aren't simple "buns" - they are legendary, like the whole goddamn rest. Called "Martin's Potato roll", they are a a sort of fresh bun made out of God-knows-What-Potato-Wheat.
Before handing you the Burgers on a small carton plate, you earn a last grim look, followed by the customary "Pickles?"
The Burgers come along with homemade fries - fries served by the moment you take a seat - no matter whether or how many burgers you intend to order. There's no special orders anyway, no place for veggie-tree-huger-freaks.
VERDICT: The Burgers are DELICIOUS: very tasty, very juicy, they have a slight sweet taste thanks to the roasted onions and the sweet bun. It's your calling to put ketchup and mustard at your heart's desire (and maybe, just maybe, under the disapproving look of the Master).
VERDICT: The Burgers are DELICIOUS: very tasty, very juicy, they have a slight sweet taste thanks to the roasted onions and the sweet bun. It's your calling to put ketchup and mustard at your heart's desire (and maybe, just maybe, under the disapproving look of the Master).
I gotta say I miss this place a lot!!! It was rated 12th best burger place of the nation by crazy dude who travelled the US on an ULTIMATE quest: finding the best burger ever.
RépondreSupprimer