Burger Deluxe Diner Wayne New Jersey Gets An A+
We were not really looking for somewhere to have dinner but after a meeting and a few sales calls in Jersey City and Hoboken New Jersey earlier we were headed home. There are plenty of places to buy lunch in Hoboken, but no place to park so we kept driving. It has become 15 years more overbuilt than when it was already too overbuilt. I remembered why we moved away as I drove past the lovely brownstone at 933 Bloomfield Street where my children spent their first years.I felt sad at the relative poor quality of life there except for the view of Manhattan which is still awe-inspiring. The atmosphere in the HarborSide neighborhood in Jersey City reminds me of Midwest cities that built sterile downtowns in the 60′s when people moved away to the suburbs. Over on the coastline of the Hudson River, there are fabulous new highrises, townhouses, and marinas. Still NJ though, and always will be. Wrong side of the culinary landscape. We went into a cafe at ground level under one of the highrises where there was coffee and some miserable cold tired “panini” sandwiches left over in the glass case. No thanks. I am all paninied and latte-ed out. Manhattan prices too.
So when we passed the Burger Deluxe on the highway out on Route whatever, I said, well it is either going to be really really good.or…..
Well. Burger Deluxe is an unexpected treat. First of all, there is the outrageously fresh and chic decor of a real diner gone mad with two-tone vinyl and those strange lights that evoke memories of Telstar the satellite.
The menu isn’t cheap but it is first rate. I had a BLT (with delicious red potato salad as good as my mom makes) and Noel had a peppersteak burger- perfectly rare as ordered!- with homemade french fries in a paper cone. Pellegrino water to drink. When the waiter asked me how I wanted the bacon cooked on the BLT, I knew at once we were in for a treat!There were cupcakes on the menu: carrot, coconut, and red velvet. There was a pomegranate milkshake. And burgers made out of all kinds of other things besides beef. There was a Duck-Chicken burger! For another time. For Sure. Coffee was divine.
All together worth the trip from anywhere. Even Manhattan! Same restaurant group that owns Oceana, one of our favorite places. How unlikely. And we aren’t even “diner” people. Wayne New Jersey…..by the malls……
