Roadside Eating: White Manna Hamburgers
Monday, March 15, 2010 at 1:07PM
If you ever find yourself driving through Hackensack, New Jersey, make sure to visit White Manna Hamburgers. Like the onion-laden sliders they serve, the building itself is diminutive, plunked down in at the corner of River Street and Passaic in 1942. This weekend, after a few rounds of Karting at a nearby track, my friend and I stopped by to sample their burgers. I love American roadside architecture, and White Manna has a wonderful aged appearance to it; one that speaks to decades of simultaneuous love and neglect. The sign on the roof used to have white lettering painted on it, but all that remains today are the neon tubes and the faintest traces of the letters that once were behind them. Like an unrestored vintage car, it retains all its original character, yet it admittedly looks kind of shabby.
Once inside, you are greated immediately by the cooktop, which is right in front of the door. You give the cook your order, and she smacks some balls of ground beef on the greasy grill along with the other orders, already sizzling away. It takes a few minutes to get your burgers, but in the meantime you can savor the archetypal diner environment around you. The place is tiny and cramped, but I wouldn't have it any other way.
The food itself was ok. I have had much better burgers in my life, and I left smelling like onions. But who really cares? The beef sliders are tastily complemented with potato buns, and the comfort food rounds out the complete nostalgic roadside burger experience perfectly. The Automobiliac approves.
Click the image for more photos of the diner.
Diners, Hackensack, New Jersey, White Manna, roadside in Roadside Attractions
Reader Comments (6)
This reminds me of the show Alton Brown tried to do on small roadside restaurants. I believe they had to end it early due to so many of them being closed thanks to chain restaurants on the interstates. I had a wonderful eating experience a few weeks ago that I'm sure you'll appreciate - driving back from MO we stopped in the town where I bought the Midget, drove around a bit and found the little frontage road motel and restaurant I ate at when I bought the car. No name, just "restaurant" on the front. Food was fine, nothing fancy, but the fried chicken we ordered had to be breaded and seasoned first as apposed to removed from the freezer bag and dropped in oil. It's simple and far from extravagant, but makes such a difference - I mean when was the last time you reminisced about that McDonald's you stopped at off the highway?
Thanks for sharing, Gabe. The only McDonalds I can romanticize is the one on Canal Street in Manhattan. It is the best McDonalds I have ever had...for real.
Yes, it is sad how few of these type of places have survived. I plan to add more of them to the site over the summer.
Are you SURE those aren't Miichael Paul Smith photos?
Did you meet the girl in the off-the-shoulder top?
I did, Noah, but she gave me the cold shoulder.
i confess, i love this place. i also recommend hiram's in fort lee for more artery-clogging goodness.