Hamburger Chill
One thing America is famous for is the hamburger. So much so that “burgers” were featured as part of New York’s 1939 World’s Fair. Two of the original diner buildings, now sitting in New Jersey, are still serving their famous sliders. Whether it’s with one “n” or two, the burgers and the ambience can’t be beat. Contrary to how the automat Horn & Hardart would market itself (“You can’t eat atmosphere”), at White Mana/Manna that’s the whole point.
The 1939 World’s Fair featured these hamburger stands as an ideal of shifting models of dining, specifically fast-food restaurants. Undoubtedly inspired by the growing fad of “diners” spreading across America, White Manna diners were originally five in number built by the Paramount Dining Car Company of Oakland, New Jersey. It was an imitator of White Castle and its “slider” which was started in 1921. I don’t think it a coincidence that these burger joints were given their new lease on life immediately following the end of World War II (note the glimpse of a burger “wagon” near the beginning of William Wyler’s classic film “The Best Years of Our Lives” in 1946, a film entirely about what America would look like in the post-war age).
The name “Manna” was borrowed from the divinely-sent sustenance mentioned in the Hebrew Bible. As the story goes, the first of these two surviving structures — White Mana — was relocated to the very busy highway of combined Routes 1 & 9 in Jersey City in 1946. But a mistake was made in the signage spelling Manna with only one “n” and the decision was made to leave it be. That same year the second original White Manna (with two “n’s”) was placed along River Street in Hackensack. In addition to their diminutive size, perhaps the most significant feature of these prototypical burger joints is the semi-circular counter with the grilling station placed at the front center.
No doubt the debate as to which one has the better burgers will never be settled — White Mana’s burgers feature smashed beef patties with diced onions while White Manna’s burgers are a bit heftier and served with a handful of grilled onions. But one thing is common to both: You can’t eat just one.
White Manna | Hackensack, New Jersey
photographed in 2026
White Mana | Jersey City, New Jersey
photographed in 2022
