White Manna, Hackensack, NJ

             Me - outside White Manna, petrol station.


Hackensack is a remarkably awkward place to get to if you're as lazy as I am, but in a "relentless" pursuit of hamburgers on my short holiday I felt obliged to make the trip out to White Manna, a tiny shack in the New Jersey town that's been in exactly the same place since 1946, trufax. 

Anyways, White Manna are famous for one thing - sliders (a subject I broached in a previous post) and the little, chrome diner is widely considered to be the place that all other sliders shacks must compare themselves to. Ordering at White Manna is something of a lottery, and not something really designed for oh-so-polite English people, but the lady running the griddle seemed to be some sort of Rain Man-esque hamburger savant. From the moment someone in the awaiting crowd barks out an order she sets in motion a ruthlessly efficient cooking method which I'll outline right now, yes.

• Apply ordered number of meatballs (fresh ground chuck) to the searing hot griddle. Single is roughly 1oz, double is, well, double this.
• Season and then, if ordered with onions, smash ethereally thin slips of onion directly in the meatball to form a small disc.
• After a good crust is formed on the cooked side, flip, apply cheese (American) and bun (Martin's). 
• Allow steam arising from the onions to cook the remainder of the burger, melt the cheese, and impart onion goodness into bun.
• Remove from griddle, place on paper plate and apply pickles to , rightly, be distributed amongst the burgers by person eating.

The onions being allowed to cook that way is the key to this slider's success - because of that light caramelisation the onion takes on it adds a sweet note which with melted, neon cheese is present through every bite. And is delicious. The quality of the beef is great (again) and despite it being cooked all the way to well done, it has sufficient fat in it to still remain juicy throughout. Is this where photos go? Yes, yes it is:

       White Manna's 'showpiece' griddle, there for all to see.

                          Soon for my face.


White Manna is cramped, busy and difficult to get to for those who can't drive (damn London's fairly efficient public transport system) but the sliders would be worth a trip twice as long, the generally really nice clientele make waiting for a seat far more bearable - maybe because hearing English people in Hackensack is a novelty - the only thing worth worrying about is how to order. For that, just ask Steve Martin.