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Five Guys
Anthony
February 27, 2011
Among the specialty chains in New Jersey, Five Guys delivers the best burger for the money. The beef is fresh. The burgers are thick and juicy, and can be delicious (when they are not overcooked by the teenager manning the griddle). Five Guys’ simple menu features two sizes of hamburgers, cheeseburgers, bacon burgers, and bacon cheeseburgers. All toppings are free. Try the jalapenos and hot sauce on a cheeseburger. Thick cut fries cooked in peanut oil are outstanding.
The Union Five Guys is the closest to EthnicNJ.com. There are multiple locations of this DC-based chain throughout New Jersey. Kudos to the chain for providing a link to nutritional information. (You might not want to look at the calorie counts if you really love these burgers.)
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White Rose System
Anthony
February 17, 2011
The Perfect Slider?
There are no better sliders than the gems of beefy goodness cooked on Rich Belfer’s griddle at Linden’s White Rose System. Simply cooked – griddle-steamed with sliced onions – the burgers are thin but still juicy in the middle. Fresh chopped beef is delivered daily at 5 am, and you can taste it. The meatiness of the burger blends perfectly with the soft white bun (small) or Kaiser-like roll (large). A few round pickle slices are served on the side. You can add ketchup if you want, but it’s a shame to mess with perfection. Belfer’s burgers are heralded because the beef shines through, in slider form. We were lucky on the Saturday we visited. We got the last burgers of the day at 2:30 pm, because the meat had run out.
Rich runs one of the friendliest counters in Jersey.
White Rose System also serves breakfast – hot grits available every day – and its Taylor ham egg and cheese sandwiches are supposed to be among the state’s best. Why “White Rose System”? According to burger expert Josh Ozersky, when White Rose opened in 1958, it was one of the independent restaurants that mimicked the White Castle chain, down to the name and shape of the building. That explains the jumble of Jersey slider joints serving sliders with “White” in their name.
A classic American joint, the tiny, chrome-encased restaurant sits on an industrial stretch of East Elizabeth Avenue not far from the old GM plant. Look for the American flags fluttering in the breeze and a roadside sign advertising the day’s special. Inside, there are six coveted stools at the counter, a few more facing the window, and a couple of tables. You can see, hear and smell the grill from the moment you open the door.
You’ll probably start chatting with Rich, the owner and grill man, soon after you sit down. He’s Jersey born and bred, and there’s no friendlier guy behind a Garden State counter. Rich has a firm burger point of view: his son has never eaten a fast food burger. And why should he? A White Rose System slider is the way burgers were meant to be.
Clark White Diamond
Anthony
February 12, 2011
The single cheeseburger sliders at Clark White Diamond are just about perfect – fresh beef steam-griddled with sliced onions, served with yellow American cheese, a pickle and ketchup on a soft white bun. Devoured in three bites, the flavor explosion is what a childhood memory tells me White Castle burgers used to taste like. If you crave a sack of sliders, skip the fast food chain and come to Clark, or one of the other Jersey slider temples and taste the real deal.
Just off Parkway Exit 135, the classic chrome plated Clark White Diamond has a counter with 18 stools and two booths. There’s other diner fare on the menu, even a “CA Burger” with lettuce (!). You’re here for the sliders, though, so load up on the single burgers or cheeseburgers and enjoy some traditional Jersey American food.
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