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White Manna

Holly Moore

By Holly Moore
in New Jersey: Dining

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John

John

Posted
Posted
and let's not even get started on White Rose.

Sorry, but I love White Rose! I think their burgers are better than White Manna and White Diamond. Slightly bigger in size and a better bun to meat ratio. One night I hit White Manna in jersey City and the White Rose in Roselle. No comparison. White Rose much better. Go for the large bacon cheeseburger on a hard roll.

There are different types of burgers, and this one is my favorite fried/fast food burger. For the bigger charbroiled burgers, Barnacle Bill's in Rumson and Gaffer's in West Orange are great.

Rutt's is so special because of the quality dog they use (Thumann's) and the fact that this dog is made specially for deep frying. It is certainly different than other types of hot dogs and may be an acquired taste for some. My family hates Rutt's hot dogs. Many people expect a spicier all beef dog when they go to Rutt's and are disappointed when they taste a ripper. Plus deep frying is a turnoff to some.

John the hot dog guy

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tommy

tommy

Posted
Posted (edited)
and let's not even get started on White Rose.

Sorry, but I love White Rose! I think their burgers are better than White Manna and White Diamond.

and White Diamond too!!!!

(i was just kinda pointing out that there are a few "clones" of the great Manna around. not sure which came first, though, although Clark's White Diamond has been there for some years now).

(and i actually meant to say White Diamond, but White Rose came out. it's all so very confusing.)

Edited by tommy (log)
tommy:eats.com
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John

John

Posted
Posted

Not positive, but I think White Rose System was first and White Diamond and White Circle were offshoots. Don't know if White Manna came before or after. I'm in the Clark White Diamond every day. I deliver their mail, although I don't eat there every day.

John the hot dog guy

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Helena Robinson

Helena Robinson

Posted
Posted (edited)
[

My brother was born at Margaret Hauge. I wasn't.

I was born at Margaret Hauge. Family lived in Union City until we moved to Jackson when I was 4 1/2.

Don't recall much about those days... But, does being born in Jersey City make me a "REAL Jersey Girl???" After all, I often tell people, " I was born and raised in New Jersey - and willing to admit it." :smile:

Edited by Helena Robinson (log)
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Taboni

Taboni

Posted
Posted
There's a White Manna evil twin called White Mana?

Yes, but I refuse to go there.

As a native of JC, and born at the Hauge (my mom was director of OB nursing there so I imagine she helped deliver a few of you!) I take exception to this comment. Why is the venerable White Mana (the original I believe---at least I know the building dates from the 1939 Worlds Fair) held in such disdain?? I have tied on many many late night feedbags there and nothing beats it.

note: I read somewhere that there were actually 4 or 5 White Manna diners in NJ in the 40s and only the 2 remain. Not sure why the dropping of the extraneous "N" in the JC one.

Get your bitch ass back in the kitchen and make me some pie!!!

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Jason Perlow

Jason Perlow

Posted
Posted

Only the one in Hackensack is the "original". Its the Manna with 2 N's, not 1.

Jason Perlow, Co-Founder eGullet Society for Culinary Arts & Letters

Foodies who Review South Florida (Facebook) | offthebroiler.com - Food Blog (archived) | View my food photos on Instagram

Twittter: @jperlow | Mastodon @jperlow@journa.host

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pete ganz

pete ganz

Posted
Posted

The book doesn't really say much. It just goes into how the guy who came up with this idea, Louis Bridges, introduced this concept for a fast food restaurant at the World's Fair in 1939. It mentions there originally being 4 stores, but doesn't say which came first.

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tommy

tommy

Posted
Posted
The book doesn't really say much. It just goes into how the guy who came up with this idea, Louis Bridges, introduced this concept for a fast food restaurant at the World's Fair in 1939. It mentions there originally being 4 stores, but doesn't say which came first.

you just saved me a trip to the bookstore. shew. i'll head to the pub instead.

tommy:eats.com
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NJ2FLA

NJ2FLA

Posted
Posted (edited)

I wonder if any of the older *ahem* participants on here would remember Botwiniks deli in Bayonne. Supposedly this was quite the place years ago.

My mom is from JC so that's why I asked about the hospital, she said everyone was born there from JC! Guess not huh?

Then I heard the stories of Uncle Milty's down by the water.

Edited by NJ2FLA (log)
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jhlurie

jhlurie

Posted
Posted
Only the one in Hackensack is the "original". Its the Manna with 2 N's, not 1.

Until a source emerges that offers testimony to the contrary, I will hold my belief

that the original is in Jersey City. Until then we can agree to disagree.

AOL city guide

Jersey City history

Guess what? If you Google search for "White Manna" eGullet occupies the top two spots. So our search for the truth goes in a circle. :wink:

A little more digging leads to this site.

Much closer to an answer if not 100% there, since arguments can be made based on both chronology and who owned what (and when) if you are using a term like "original". The Hackensack location is definitely "older", at a minimum.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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jhlurie

jhlurie

Posted
Posted

Here's a little something extra...

While searching for White Manna I also came across the work of a painter named John Baeder.

White Manna Hackensack, by John Baeder

White Mana Jersey City, by John Baeder

Baeder's site is also filled with images of many other iconic "joints", including White Rose System, the Super-Duper Weenie truck, the Bendix, the Empire, the Market, White Diamond and dozens more.

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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tommy

tommy

Posted
Posted
Guess what?  If you Google search for "White Manna" eGullet occupies the top two spots.  So our search for the truth goes in a circle.  :wink:

And at No. 4 HollyEats doesn't even show. That sucks. :angry:

if you google "tommy new jersey", a post by me comes up as the second link returned. scary, if not a bit off topic.

tommy:eats.com
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  • 2 months later...
jhlurie

jhlurie

Posted
Posted

It's kind of a useless debate, but most of the stuff we've found indicate that NEITHER of them is the original. Neither the original "ever" (that one was at the World's Fair in 1939), nor probably in New Jersey (the one on Tonnelle Ave. opened in 1946, the Hacksack one a few years earlier--but the language describing all of this is vague and suggests that there were other locations even before that). I don't think EITHER location is owned by the family of the original owners any more--the Tonnelle Ave. location has passed through at least two other owners for sure. On the other hand, the Hackensack location was apparently torn down and rebuilt pretty much from scratch in the 1970s, so you could argue a loss of continuity based on that.

Neither. :smile: That's my conclusion based on all of the evidence and I'm stickin' to it!

Jon Lurie, aka "jhlurie"

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babyluck

babyluck

Posted
Posted

I'm so confused! Are the other "Whites" just ripoffs of Manna or are they somehow connected? White Diamond, for one, has a completely different method of cooking the burgers (they smash the meat to oblivion) but everything else seems pretty similar.

Another question: are they diners? There is a lot of talk on the web about "what is a diner?" but it all seems to be useless. Here's one basic criteria of mine: at a diner, you order sitting down but pay standing up. Therefore, White Diamond is not a diner.

Queen of Grilled Cheese

NJ, USA

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