3 NJ 'Hole-In-The-Wall' Restaurants Listed Among Best In America

ACROSS NEW JERSEY — If you're looking to get breakfast or lunch somewhere off the beaten path, there are at least three restaurants in New Jersey that can give you what you want.

Three restaurants made The Daily Meal's list of "America's 75 Best Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurants" for 2019.

A restaurant had to meet these criteria to make the best hole-in-the-wall restaurants list, according to The Daily Meal: It is small and does not look like much on the outside but provides delicious fare and a sense of "that feeling that this is the place and that there's nowhere else quite like it" on the inside.

Here are the three New Jersey restaurants and what The Daily Meal said about them:

• Panchos Mexican Taquería (Atlantic City): "Atlantic City, New Jersey’s small and unassuming Panchos Mexican Taquería was opened to cater primarily to employees of the local casinos, but it quickly achieved a level of local renown. Why? For one, the tortillas aren’t just homemade, they’re made to order. Second, tacos and huaraches are filled with a wide variety of expertly prepared proteins like steak, chicken, brisket, goat, tripe, chorizo and carnitas."
• Summit Diner (Summit): "The Summit Diner is the quintessential New Jersey railcar diner, dating back to 1929. The state’s oldest diner is also one of its best-preserved, with a long counter, some booths, plenty of old wood and an ancient griddle. The only menu is up above the counter, and you can’t go wrong with the burger or any of owner Jimmy Greberis’ Greek fare. But the must-order is the slider, which isn’t what you’re thinking: It’s actually a Taylor ham, egg and cheese sandwich, the classic Jersey breakfast."
• White Manna (Hackensack): "A North Jersey legend, White Manna is one of the last remaining diner-style burger joints that arose in the tradition of White Castle. What’s served here is the perfect interpretation of that form, honed over decades and decades, unchanging. Walk up to the tiny counter, place your order with the grillman, and watch as he smashes a small wad of meat onto the flattop with a handful of thin-sliced onions, keeps careful track of it as it cooks, and sandwiches it into a Martin’s potato roll. Not only is this an ideal burger eating experience, it’s also easily one of the very best burgers in America."

See The Daily Meal's top 75 "hole-in-the-wall" restaurants list.