BZ Grill

I had been reading about BZ Grill for a while and finally decided I needed to try it. Happily, the hype is correct - they do make the best gyros in town!

At least, the best I've tried... I have great difficulty imagining that there is better in NYC. No cylinders of processed mystery meat here - there is a rotating spit of layered sliced pork right up front, alongside its fraternal twin of sliced chicken. Although good, the chicken meats tends to get just a tad dry.  The pork gyro, on the other hand is fantastic... moist, perfectly seasoned, and just enough crunchy bits to keep the texture interesting. The sandwich is great (excellent tzatziki sauce):
 

The platter - even better:

Plenty of meat, along with rice, some non-iceberg lettuce, chopped and scrupulously fresh, tomato slices, thinly-sliced red onion, a good dollop of tzatziki sauce and one of kopanisti (feta cheese spread), and toasted pita bread - well worth the 13 bucks they charge for it.

They have a good selection of souvlaki, kebabs, and other simple Greek specialties, but there are other places one can get most of those things, although quality here is assured to be good.  There is NO place else one can get gyro like this.  Open until 11 p.m. daily.

BZ Grill 
27-02 Astoria Blvd., Astoria 11102 
718-932-7858
website

A note on Tertulia

The attentive reader of this blog may have noticed my borderline obsession with Asturias in northern Spain (okay, there’s probably nothing "borderline" about it). When I was there last year, there was already buzz about a restaurant in New York City that was going to serve real sidra, MONTHS before it was slated to open. Naturally, my curiosity was piqued.

When I began to read pieces about it, I got worried. For some reason, I delayed actually going there, most likely fearing disappointment. I finally did go this past weekend, and realized that my fears were well-founded.

I can say nothing of the food, since I didn’t have any. It's far too expensive for me under... well, pretty much any circumstances, and the menu holds no interest for me whatsoever (although I wouldn’t refuse a plate of jamón ibérico if offered one). I readily admit to being a peasant at heart – this "fusion" crap will forever be lost on me, I’m afraid. Give me traditional cooking any day.

Every puff publicity piece I’ve read about Tertulia cites its "roots in the cider bars of northern Spain". Except for the excessive number of knickknacks that pass for décor (which could just as easily be country Italian of French), it’s difficult to discern said roots, if they actually exist. The sidrerías of Asturias all have certain inherent qualities, none of which are apparent at Tertulia. They exist first and foremost for the enjoyment of sidra (more on that in a moment), accompanied by traditional fare, usually heavy on simply-prepared fresh seafood and, of course, cured pork products. Tertulia's menu, full of pretentious fantasies on lightly-Spanish themes, immediately strikes the wrong chord. A sidrería also demands a certain amount of space in which to be able to pour it properly (a bit more on that can be read here), which Tertulia lacks. Fine – I understand the space constraints and costs of Manhattan, but don’t then invoke sidrerías as your inspiration if you can’t even pour the sidra properly. And all sidrerías share a certain relaxed informality only very self-consciously played at here.

The reason for my visit – to try the sidra - unfortunately resulted in disappointment, too. Although they also offer offer sparkling sidra (which has been available in the U.S. for quite some time), my goal was the lightly fermented sidra natural being offered here, as far as I can tell, for the first time. Tertulia stocks a good marca, Trabanco, but you would never know it to taste it. Although sidra natural notoriously does not travel well, they also don’t store it at the proper temperature (too cold) and make only the barest, completely ineffectual attempt to pour it properly, thereby reducing one of the great libationary joys on earth to, at best, an oddity. Sidra is meant to be enjoyed freely, downing each culín in a big gulp, six culínes to a bottle – not nursing each precious, overpriced pour. Of course, that’s the only possibility when one is charged $32 (!!!) for a bottle that costs under 4 euros in any sidrería in Asturias.

Though the fellow behind the bar could not possibly have been more congenial, I felt dirty afterwards.

Tertulia
359 6th Ave., New York 10012
(646) 559-9909
website

Jiang Li Restaurant (鴻意順) revisited

All the favorable qualities I wrote about in my previous post about Jiang Li (鴻意順 - hóng yì shun) I feel even more strongly about now. It has become my go-to restaurant when I've been in the mood for Dongbei food in recent months, and I've tried a few more dishes worth reporting on.

It has always been difficult for me to come here without ordering either the sliced braised pork with brown sauce (山東扣肉 - shān dōng kòu ròu) or the fresh hot pepper with dry bean curd (尖椒干豆腐 - jiān jiāo gān dòu fǔ), both written about previously. Usually I end up ordering both. Now another dish must be added to the list of addictions here: "chives pork with black bean sauce" (三鮮春餅 - sān xiān chūn bǐng). The Chinese name means literally "three fresh spring pancake", which, admittedly, doesn't seem to have much to do with its English translation. What you get is a plate of minced pork that has been sautéed with chives and black beans - the "three fresh (ingredients)" in question (sān xiān is often translated as "three treasure"). What goes unmentioned are the minced jalapeño peppers that are sautéed with it - this dish is not only rich and complex, but fairly seriously spicy! Alongside is a plate of the loveliest thin pancakes I've run across in a Chinese restaurant; fill them with the minced pork, a la "moo shu" dishes of strip-mall Chinese restaurant fame, and experience the desire to order a second plate after polishing off the first one.

The most delightful little snack lurks at the end the menu, which I never would have thought to order had I not seen some at a neighboring table - fried bun with chives and egg (韭菜盒子 - jiǔ cài hé zǐ). It's pretty much what the name says: a fried pastry-pocket filled with chives and scrambled egg, but more delicate than you're probably imagining, and utterly delicious. This post marks my debut as photographer here - I very recently acquired a camera that I'm still learning how to use, and unfortunately the pic of the pork, chives and black bean dish didn't turn out too well. This one is better:


Since Miss Audrey Lo loves her pig intestine, one dish containing it must be ordered whenever she is along, and this week's was a winner - sour cabbage with intestines (酸菜炒大腸 - suān cài chǎo dà cháng). Coarsely-chopped sour cabbage is sautéed with slices of pig intestine and, of course, some garlic. A surprisingly comforting dish.


Also worth noting: they have listed on the wall (Chinese only) 拔 絲 (bá sī) dessert dishes, the chunks of caramelized fruit you dip in cold water before eating to make the sugar coating crunchy. If I can ever muster a bit of self-control when ordering the main dishes, I plan to try one some day. But I fear that day will not be soon.

Jiang Li Restaurant
44-18 Kissena Blvd., Flushing 11355
718-321-1262
(7 train to Main St.-Flushing, south on Main St. to Kissena, veer left, then 6 more blocks)

Manhattan

From time to time, I get asked (mostly by people that don't know me all that well), “Don't you like any places in Manhattan?” Short answer: not really. But, astonishingly, there are people that haven't either the desire or the time to travel out to Flushing just for dinner (very occasionally, I am one of those people), and for those folks I have put together a short list of places where it is possible to actually get a decent meal without paying sixty bucks a head--or more!--for it. Yes, I understand that restaurant prices aren't just about the food but more about the overhead, and in Manhattan that means footing the exorbitant rent bill. But so often restaurants in Manhattan deliver precious little bang at all for the copious bucks. So I'm left eating at the same handful of exceptions I've found, and I felt it was time to share some of them. At the end of the post, I am also including a list of places that may be recommended to you by philistines which you should avoid at all costs.

So, keeping in mind the focus of this blog--reasonably-priced ethnic food or cooking of some identifiable tradition--here are some places I have enjoyed eating without feeling massively overcharged for the privilege, by general location:

Midtown

After the Upper West Side, the worst place in Manhattan to get a cheap, decent meal. But there are a few possibilities.

Sapporo - 152 W. 49th St. (between 6th & 7th Aves.), 212-869-8972. This place has been around for decades, and with good reason. Solid, authentic ramen, and, perhaps even better, donburi and Japanese curry dishes. I can't seem to eat here without ordering curry ramen with extra sliced pork. The quality has slipped noticeably in recent years, but it's still one of the best options in west Midtown. Menu. (Note: there are quite a few newer and trendier ramen places in Manhattan that serve quite delicious food. But I would never counsel anyone to wait in line an hour or more for a bowl of noodles.)

Mee Noodle Shop - 795 9th Ave. (at 53rd St.), 212-765-2929. (After a recent visit, I feel compelled to add a caveat here. They have changed the way they make their curry noodle soup - where traditional food is concerned, change is almost never good, and this isn't - and they were visibly annoyed that I was sitting there eating 45 minutes before closing time. I will not be returning.) Standard old-school Cantonese noodle shop with the best No. 1 broth in town. Standout offerings: curry noodle soup (especially with roast chicken), 10-ingredient fried rice, steamed egg w/Chinese sausage, egg foo young (You're going to have to trust me on this one... I had NO idea egg foo young--served smothered in a rich, brown sauce--could be so delicious. Order it made w/roast pork and no vegetables if feeling particularly indulgent.). Menu here. There are also locations at 2nd Ave. & 49th St. and 2nd Ave. & 30th St.

Burger Joint at the Parker Meridien Hotel - 110 W. 56th St. (between 6th & 7th Aves.), 212-708-7414. Look for a tiny sign in the lobby of the Parker Meridien directing you behind a long, dark velvet curtain. One of the better burgers in town, and certainly one of the best burger values in Manhattan, going here is a little like finding a secret restaurant... one you'll be very glad you found. Website.

Tehuitzingo Deli Grocery (Re-opened - see also under the Times Square heading) - 695 10th Ave. (at 48th St.), 212-397-5956. Although it looks like your basic neighborhood deli/grocery up front, walk to the back where you'll find a food counter that, apart from a food truck or two, makes the only tacos in Manhattan - aside from a couple of the taco trucks - that taste anything like the tacos I ate in Mexico. And it's dirt cheap, too. Menu.

Szechuan Gourmet - 21 W. 39th St. (between 5th & 6th Aves.), 212-921-0233. For a while, after Grand Sichuan on 9th @ 51st closed, this was my favorite restaurant in Manhattan. But then the NY Times gave it 2 stars and it was always busy and the prices went up 20%. But it's still damn good, and still a decent value. Here, the odder-sounding the dish, the better it's likely to be. Menu (old prices).

Lan Sheng Szechuan Restaurant - 60 W. 39th St. (between 5th & 6th Aves.), 212-575-8899. If Szechuan Gourmet is too crowded, this place across the street is really almost as good. And cheaper. Website.

Wu Liang Ye - 36 W. 48th St. (between 5th & 6th Aves.), 212-398-2308. For my money, their "hand-shredded chicken with spicy sesame vinaigrette" cold appetizer and "stir-fried fresh bacon with spicy capsicum" (in other words, REAL twice-cooked pork) are the two best Chinese dishes in Manhattan. But they ain't cheap. Menu (old prices).

Also, the website Midtown Lunch is an invaluable resource for good, cheap food in Midtown, generally a notorious wasteland of overpriced and chain restaurants.

Times Square

If you MUST eat near Times Square, at least make it John's Pizzeria (260 W. 44th St., between 7th & 8th Aves., 212-391-7560). This outpost is certainly the most beautiful location (it used to be a church) of a pizzeria that's been making crisp-crusted, brick oven pizzas the same way for more than 80 years. Other locations are E. 64th St. @ 1st Ave. and the venerable original (since 1929!) at 278 Bleecker St. in the West Village. Website.

Taqueria Tehuitzingo - 578 Ninth Ave. (just south of 42nd St.), 646-707-3916. My friend Jose just informed me that the Tehuitzingo Deli Grocery people have recently opened a small restaurant (with SEATING - this is indeed a step up from the grocery store) near Port Authority. The food is just as good as their deli/grocery outpost, which is to say better than any Mexican food that I know of in Manhattan that does not come from a taco truck. Good, real food, prepared with integrity, which is what the Tehuitzingo folks do. The prices have crept up only slightly (as in 50 cents to a dollar higher than before), and the menu is greatly expanded from the original grocery counter's. This is the one place all you people that come to NYC wanting Mexican food should go. And they're open until 1:30 a.m.!

Chelsea

Uncle Nick's - 382 8th Ave. (at 30th St.), 212-609-0500. This is not the kind of place I would have ever gone to on my own - it's just a little too slick-looking. But a friend visiting from Greece sniffed it out and recommended it enthusiastically... who was I to say no to that? And I was shocked by how much I liked it. It may or may not have helped to have a real Greek chatting up the waiter. If you order with care, the tab can be kept to something quite reasonable. Website.

Legend - 88 7th Ave. (at 15th St.), 212-929-1778. Considering the location (most Chelsea restaurants are much more about the drinks and the social scene than the actual food), a surprisingly good Sichuan kitchen. (Yes, I have an inordinate fondness or Sichuan food.) I have not tried any of the Vietnamese dishes, so know nothing about them. There's a new location almost as good on W. 109th St., a couple of doors east of Broadway. Website.

Lower East Side

Katz's Delicatessen - 205 E. Houston St. (at Ludlow St.), 212-254-2246. A living relic of a vanishing New York. Theirs has to be the most mind-blowingly great pastrami sandwich on earth... hand-slicing makes all the difference. Go here to re-live some of the Jewish childhood you, if you're like me, never had. Website.

Upper West Side

Carmine's - 2450 Broadway (at 91st St.), 212-362-2200. Probably the greatest Italian-red-sauce-joint-on-steroids on earth. Grab as many people as you can when you go because the portions are ENORMOUS. Almost all your favorites are here, in quantities that could choke a horse. The scarpariello chicken wings and fried calamari appetizers are killer, the rigatoni country style is my favorite pasta dish on the planet (with Italian sausage, cannellini beans, broccoli, and roasted garlic), and if you go on a Tuesday, get the double rack of lamb special - you won't be sorry. It's not on the regular menu, but if they happen to have carbonara as a daily pasta special, grab it. And as far as I'm concerned, their chocolate chip bread pudding is the best dessert in NYC. If you have assembled enough people, by the time you divide up the tab, it's quite reasonably priced, too. There is another location I've never been to (because it's by fucking Times Square) on W. 44th St. @ 7th Ave. Website.

Flor de Mayo - 2651 Broadway (at 100th St.), 212-663-5520. 10 blocks farther up Broadway from Carmine's is one of the dying breed of Cuban-Chinese restaurants. The Chinese side of the menu consists of classic strip mall American Chinese fare (shrimp with lobster sauce, anyone?), beautifully executed, and ropa vieja is a beloved standby. But my favorite thing here is their Peruvian roast chicken. Go figure. But do try to avoid the dinner rush... the rudeness of the unwashed natives will kill you, if you don't kill one of them first. Better yet, order for delivery. There's another location on Amsterdam at W. 83rd St. Menu (old prices).

Xi'an Famous Foods (西安名吃) - 2675 Broadway (at 102nd St.), 212-786-2068. See the listing under "East Village". But go EARLY - they're closed by 9 p.m. (!! - C'mon, guys...it's New York City, ferchrissakes).  A bit roomier and less insanely crowded than the downtown locations.

Regional - 2607 Broadway (at 98th St.), 212-666-1915. Another Italian place, this one with an emphasis on regionally-inspired dishes. Low-key ambience with good cooking that won't break the bank. On Mondays, all pasta dishes are $9. Website.

Legend - 258 W. 109th St. (near Broadway), 212-222-4800. See Legend under the "Chelsea" list.

Upper East Side

Oy, gevalt.

East Village

I try to avoid these two neighborhoods like the plague, but occasionally it's fun to hit E. 6th St., the block that is all Indian restaurants. Choosing one can be a bit daunting, but I have found Mitali East to be consistently good, a cut or two above the others nearby. 334 E. 6th St., between 1st & 2nd Aves., 212-533-2508. Menu (old prices). Gandhi is both tranquil and charming (and CHEAP), and I can attest to the fact that it hasn't changed at all in 25 years. This is a good thing, and almost unbelievably, the prices haven't changed much since then, either. It's hard to go wrong with the appetizers, breads, and biryanis here. Consider avoiding the curries and vindaloos, though. They're not long-simmered - as is the case with most joints on this street, the meat and sauce are slapped together when ordered. 345 E. 6th St., near 1st Ave., 212-614-9718. Website.

Ukrainian East Village Restaurant - 140 2nd Ave. (between St. Marks & 9th St.), 212-614-3283. The East Village of 25 years ago (that is, the end days of the REAL East Village, before it become the playground for over-privileged 20-somethings) was chock full of Ukrainian and Polish joints, almost all gone now (RIP Kiev, Christina's, Teresa's, Leshko's...). Ukrainian East Village Restaurant isn't as good as the old Kiev, but it's close enough. And they currently serve the best cheese blintzes that I know of in Manhattan.

Bear in mind - if you go on a Friday night, you'll find yourself in the middle of the regular milonga (tango session) held there! (And before you ask, I have never understood the fanatical following that Veselka seems to inspire.) Menu.

Grand Sichuan St. Marks - 19-23 Saint Marks Place (between 2nd & 3rd Aves.), 212-529-4800. Real Sichuan food in the East Village, without the cramped space and frenetic atmosphere of the Chelsea location. Not quite as wonderful as the now-defunct Hell's Kitchen location, but it will do if one is in the neighborhood. Website.

Xi'an Famous Foods - 81 St. Marks Pl. (near 1st Ave.), 212-786-2068. East Village outpost of what is now a small chain that started in a basement stall at the Golden Shopping Mall in Flushing. They serve what I am assured (by a young woman who lived there for a year) is authentic Xi'an-style food. Cumin lamb reigns supreme here - have it with biáng biáng miàn (hand-ripped noodles), or as a "burger" on a flat wheat bun. Even better: lamb face salad! Stupendous. There is now a location on the Upper West Side. Website.

You are also invited to consult my regular posts about restaurants in Manhattan - these are mostly in the Chinatown and Koreatown neighborhoods. They can be found here.

Avoid

City Diner (Broadway @ 90th St.)
Metro Diner (Broadway @ 100th St.)
Deluxe Diner (Broadway @ 113th St.) Particularly awful.
Sad - New York, not so very long ago, was the land of great little neighborhood diners. There are still a handful left, but most of what you're likely to find are lousy, overpriced places like these. If you MUST have diner food, Viand is reliably good, and they have several locations around town (Broadway @ 75th St., E. 86th St. & 2nd Ave., Madison Ave. @ 78th St., Madison Ave. @ 61st St.). Also, Olympic Flame Diner (Amsterdam @ W. 60th St.) is one of the only decent, reasonably-priced meal options in the Lincoln Center area. Website.

Kitchenette (Amsterdam @ 123rd St.) - I can't tell you how many people have told me they love this place. And I can't tell you how awful every meal I've ever had there has been.

Toast (Broadway @ Tiemann, Broadway @ 105th St.) - When people hear where I live, they often say "Don't you love Toast?" No... no, I don't. It's gussied-up bar food, and not even good bar food at that.

Shake Shack (any location) - Unless you like waiting in endless lines for dry-ish, gray hamburgers, steer clear.

Moustache (West Village) - If you've NEVER had decent Middle Eastern food before, this might be okay for you. But if you have, it sucks.

Wo Hop (Chinatown) - Never been, but I have it on very reliable authority that this must be avoided. Unless it's 4 a.m. (yes, they're open then) and you're drunk off your ass and likely to throw up anyway.

I'm tempted to add Great N.Y. Noodletown (Chinatown) to this list, too - this place most definitely does not live up to the hype. But it's okay at 2 a.m., I guess.

Keens Steakhouse (W. 36th St. near 7th Ave.) - If you've just GOT to drop a C-note or two on steak, do yourself a favor and go to Del Frisco's, or, better yet, head to Peter Luger in Brooklyn. I have seldom been so disappointed in a restaurant with a great reputation... meat of indifferent flavor, and their creamed spinach is inedible.

Just about every Vietnamese restaurant outside of the Bronx.

Hunan Cottage (W. 77th & Amsterdam) - This place used to be kind of great 20 years ago (not in an authentic way, but tasty). No more. Several cuts below average strip mall Chinese food.

I will update this post as more places occur to me.

Uncle George's Greek Taverna (CLOSED)

I really should make an effort to get to Astoria more. Most of the time, though, I head that direction and...keep going to Flushing. Uncle George's Greek Taverna is the first restaurant that inspired me, years ago, to periodically make the trek to Queens for dinner - the one that started it all! But I hadn't been in a while (too much regional Chinese food to explore), and then I read somewhere on the internet that it had closed. That bummed me out, but it somehow never occurred to me to doubt the information. Then someone told me that it had not, in fact, closed, and I finally remembered to have a look for myself when I was I in the neighborhood this evening. Just goes to show - don't believe everything you read on the internet!

I'll be damned if I can figure out why there seems to be so much misinformation out there about Uncle George's. I have read more bad notices of this place than any restaurant that I love that I can think of. And I have never had a bad meal here. Keep it simple and traditional, and you'll be fine. And be sure that at least one meat from the rotisserie is part of your meal. Tonight proved that their kontosouvli (pork) - my single favorite menu item here - is still as great as ever. Fourteen bucks gets you a huge portion of 12-15 chunks of beautifully seasoned spit-roasted pork, plus a side dish (their lemon potatoes are excellent).

 I brought a friend from Portugal here a few years ago who, like most Portuguese, takes good food very seriously. He took one bite of the pork and said "It was worth coming all the way from Portugal just to taste this." The arni souvlas (lamb) is almost as good.

Also not to be missed are the dolmadakia, grape leaves stuffed with rice and meat, served hot covered in an egg-lemon sauce. My favorite grape leaves anywhere. Start with some traditional cold dips for an appetizer--the traditional trio of skordalia (mashed potato and garlic), taramosalata (fish roe spread), and tzatziki (yogurt, cucumber, and garlic) is uniformly great. Not that I'm an expert, but the texture of each one seems just right (unlike those of Taverna Kyclades), and the flavors are clear and strong.

The oven-roasted leg of lamb here is also very good, and I still remember a delicious orzo cooked in the roasting juices that came with it (this was years ago) - I'm not sure if that's something they have regularly, but it's worth asking. Although I've never ordered fish here, carnivore that I am, I'm told their whole grilled fish are good and I believe it. I also hear that this is not the place to get things like gyro and souvlaki, but I can't imagine why you would with so many other stellar options on the menu.

Oh, and it's open 24 hours.  But try to go during more or less normal eating times - at off times, things can rather obviously have been sitting around and warmed up.

Uncle George's Greek Taverna
33-19 Broadway, Astoria 11106
718-626-0593
(N or Q train to Broadway, then 2 blocks east)

Ala Shanghai 上海館子

While in Schenectady, performing a couple of recitals, my delightful soprano Jennifer took me to what she said was the best Chinese restaurant in the area, Ala Shanghai 上海館子 (shàng hǎi guǎn zǐ in Mandarin, which literally means "Shanghai restaurant"). It's damn good for any area.

This place serves better food than any Shanghai-style restaurant in NYC. I would be delighted to have it just a bus (or, if you insist, subway) ride away. Since Jennifer's husband wasn't feeling well, it was just the two of us, so we were a bit limited as to what we could order from the varied and interesting menu, but everything we did get was top-notch. We started with a combination plate of four cold appetizer items: drunken chicken (醉雞 - zuì jī), soy beef (五香牛肉 - wǔ xiāng niú ròu), sliced pork shank (扎蹄 - zā tí), and and salted duck (鹽水鴨 - yán shuǐ yā). This is easily the best drunken chicken I have ever tasted, and the thin slices of brined pork shank were equally wonderful. Thin slices of beef that had been simmered in a five-spice broth were subtly flavored, and the duck - just as good as everything else on the plate.

"Salted veggie w. soybean & tofu sheet" (雪菜毛豆百葉 - xuě cài máo dòu bǎi yè) was a lovely stir fry of salted mustard greens, tender young soy bean and ribbons of tofu skin - a great variety of interesting textures and subtle flavors. Tong-Po pork (東 坡 肉 - dōng pō ròu), the famous dish Zhejiang dish of pork belly braised in soy sauce, sugar, and other spices is also the best version of this dish I have ever tried. The title used to be held by the now-defunct China 46 in New Jersey, but Ala Shanghai's is equally good, and even better for my tastes, not as sweet.

But the culinary star of the evening was their "pork intestine w. onion in pot" (红烧大腸煲 - hóng shāo dà cháng bāo). This is another "red-cooked" dish like Tong-Po pork, braised in soy sauce and sugar, but the slices of intestine are then mixed with a generous amount of scallion and served in a hot clay pot. Stupendous. I have got to find somewhere I can get this dish in NYC.

Ala Shanghai 上海館子
468 Troy-Schenectady Rd., Latham, NY 12110
518-783-8188
website

White Manna

Hamburgers are not something I will be writing about often on this blog. They certainly are the rage these days all over New York City, though. But why an outfit like Shake Shack, for instance, warrants all they hype (or the now 7 locations in NYC, or 12 worldwide, including one in Dubai!) is COMPLETELY beyond me. Gray, slightly dry blocks of ground meat (you cannot request doneness there) are not, and will never be, my thing and I utterly fail to understand their mass appeal. Unless a hamburger is closing in on a half-pound of meat and is red in the center, you can keep it. Unless it's White Manna.

Did you ever wonder if White Castle hamburgers were ever any good? I'm guessing they actually were, over a 80 years ago. According to the Wikipedia page, when they began, they made their hamburgers exactly the same way the White Manna does now:  throw some sliced onions on the hot grill, place a small ball of freshly ground beef (at White Manna, it's still red - you can watch them do it) on the onions, smash the ball into a patty, flip, place the bun on top so the flavors can steam into it, assemble with pickle slice, and serve. But White Castle abandoned the idea selling real food in 1931 when they switched to frozen hamburger patties (the hideous five holes were added in 1951).

First opened in 1946, White Manna was once a mini-chain of five diners in New Jersey. Now there are just two left - the one in Hackensack, and the original location in Jersey City (which is the historic diner building of the 1939 World's Fair in Flushing Meadows). Word on the street is that the burgers at the Hackensack location these days are significantly better. I believe it - they are divine. Sliders made of freshly grilled, freshly-ground beef with grilled onions, American cheese (if desired, and I do), on a steamed fresh potato-flour bun... what could be better? If I can't have the half-pound, almost-mooing slab of red ground meat, this is the next best thing. And there are times when it is THE best thing.

These heavenly bites are, to my mind, worth the trip from just about anywhere, and I often take the NJ Transit bus (165 from Port Authority to Passaic St.) when I can't interest anyone in driving me. It is well worth the effort EVERY time.


(Upper photo courtesy of Alan Baer, principal tuba, New York Philharmonic Orchestra.  Lower photos are mine.)

White Manna
358 River St., Hackensack, NJ 07601
201-342-0914