Burgers Pizza Pasta and ???: Burgers Bowling and Jersey DIners

Thursday, July 13, 2017

Burgers Bowling and Jersey DIners

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White Manna

Hackensack, New Jersey

Photo COPYRIGHT DANIEL ZWICKE

New York's best burgers in Jersey? .. Well, one of the best. New Jersey does have some great burgers and dogs. It was once the Diner Capital of the World and though most are gone, a few old joints can be found here and there. One great old place is White Manna Hamburgers on River Road in Hackensack, New Jersey. The place is awesome, New York has nothing like it. Wish we did. The structure of White Manna Hamburgers is quite rare. First off, old diners are sadly a rarity. This structure is a sort-of a mini-diner. Well a believe it was designed simply as a Burger Stand, and that's what it is, built by the Paramount Company of Oakland, New Jersey some time in the 1930's. The design is beautiful and I've never seen another like it .. White Manna is a live, living Museum Piece that feeds people tasty burgers and shows them a good time. You've gotta love it. I took a trip there with my brother Jimmy a couple of weeks ago. We planned a nice little day together, Bowling at Wallington Lanes our childhood Bowling Alley and still one of America's best .. We planned on going to White Manna and Rutt's Hut for "Rippers" but changed our plans slightly. Instead of Rutt's Hut, Jimmy took me to White Mana in Jersey City. I had never been to White Mana, JC though I had passed it a thousand times. So Jimmy wanted me to check it out. I believe Jimmy likes White Mana JC better than White Manna in Hackensack, I'm the reverse, though I did like the place in Jersey City as well which was a Burger Joint at The 1939 Worlds Fair and brought to Jersey City after the fair and has operated there for more than 70 years. You'll notice a similarity in names. The one in Jersey City is spelled with one "n" and Hackensack White Manna 2 "N'S" .. There's an explanation. When White Mana JC was opening in the Mid 40s the sign maker mad a mistake and made their sign with one instead of the 2 he was supposed to write the sign as White Manna .. He mad it with one n, the owner accepted it and never changed it. End of story.

Back to White Manna Hackensack. Well, the Burgers at White Manna are dam good. I love them. They're all little Slider Type Burgers cooked with onions and put between a Martins Potato Roll. Yumm!!! The are tasty as Hell. I Love them. I Love going to this beautiful little Gem of a Burger Stand and Love the Show they put on as they grill your burger and everyone else's. It's pure poetry in motion.

Yes we went bowling, we had Burgers at White Manna in Hackensack and at White Mana JC .. After we finished bowling with beers and Big Lebowski White Russians we rode around a little checking out our old stomping grounds. Jimmy asked me if I wanted to go to The Colonial Diner in Lyndhurst. He didn't have to ask twice. The Colonial Diner is one of those few Old-School Stainless Steel Diners that Jersey used to be famous for .. The diner has recently been renovated but they kept the old character intact. Jimmy had the Pot Roast Special, I the Prime Rib. We both got Soup, Bread, and plenty of Potato and Veggies with our meal. It was great. I wonderful top off to a wonderful day of Jersey Burgers, Diners, and Bowling. Nice.

Daniel Bellino-Zwicke