YDKJ Diner Challenge! Manny’s Diner, Clark

by Alice Magdziak • July 3, 2015 • Dinerland, Food, Union • Comments (0) • 2404

Manny’s Diner of Clark is a diner in all senses of the word but it’s also a little elevated. All the classic dishes we tried were nicely presented, very well-seasoned and made from high quality ingredients.

To commemorate You Don’t Know Jersey’s fifth anniversary year, we’ve been checking out some of those famous New Jersey diners to see if we can determine which ones we like best. We chose five dishes that we felt epitomized a NJ diner and that would tell you a lot about how the rest of the menu will be. Those classic items are:

Taylor Ham, Egg and Cheese on a Roll

The roll was a little dry and fell apart toward the end of the sandwich but the meat, egg and cheese were excellent. There was lots of well-grilled Taylor Ham with cheese layered between the slices. The eggs tasted really fresh and were even a little creamy. How’d they do that?

Omelets

Normally, we go with a Western omelet but this Red Eye with cream cheese, smoked salmon, capers and red onions could not be ignored. The eggs had that really creamy quality that we noticed in the egg sandwich, too. What kind of special egg source does Manny’s have? These are really great eggs! This was a killer omelet. The home fries were nice and crispy just how we like them. Perfect breakfast dish right here.

Pancakes

I’ve never been filled up by one pancake like this one before. I shared the pancakes with my fellow diners and each person got one. We were all amazed at how filling these were. They were thick and dense just like a classic diner big pancake should be.

A Burger

Ed got the Jersey Burger with Taylor Ham and American cheese and you can see how juicy it was. The burger had lots of well-seasoned beefy taste and it was loaded with Taylor ham and cheese. This would definitely be on our short list of best diner burgers.

Chicken Fingers

The chicken fingers were lightly breaded with what seemed like it included corn meal in the mix. The chicken itself was a nice piece of chicken breast that was very moist inside the coating.

Now, along with those classic dishes that we’re getting at each diner we visit we’re also choosing some wild card menu items. Sometimes we see something that we just have to get. Sometimes a dish is a particular diner’s specialty or was recommended to us. Here’s what we went off-script for at Manny’s.

Cuban Panini

I’m a sucker for a Cubano and this was a giant one! This sandwich was cut into three pieces it was so big. We definitely got our money’s worth on this one. It was a little haphazardly put together, I felt, and not quite pressed together very much. It was more of a Cuban sandwich than a real panini. That being said, it was hearty, tender meat and had really good pickles on it.

Patty Melt

This Patty Melt was a really great one! The good patty that we already tried on the Jersey Burger was this time sandwiched on buttery rye bread with Swiss cheese and lots of grilled onions. This sealed the deal on Manny’s having some of the best diner burgers around. I’d come back for this patty melt alone.

Eggs Over Easy with Grits

One of our breakfast companions got this simple dish but it was so pretty that we included it here. Again, Manny’s eggs were rich and creamy. The grits were really good with a little added butter. They also offered cheese or a few other mix-ins for the grits.

Check out all the pictures from our visits to Manny’s Diner in Clark: