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Chowhound

Review – Updated Jan 15, 2012

Good burger karma permeates the 25 Burgers location in Linden, which occupies the same building, and appears to use the same griddle, as the world-renowned slider mecca White Diamond of Linden, which closed in 2009. Linden is the second of five 25 Burgers locations in Jersey. The original location is in Bound Brook. Others are in Branchburg, Matawan and Woodbury.

The 25 choices on the menu include 12 Angus beef variations, some chicken burgers, specialties like a Pulled Pork Burger, a Blue Claw Crab Burger and a Chipotle Bison Burger, and one burger – #25 – that changes monthly. These beef burgers aren’t sliders – they are larger and not all cooked with steamed onions. Even with some crazy toppings though, the burger underneath is very good. The meat isn’t cooked to death like many other fast food versions. There is juice in the middle and it tastes like beef. The soft deli or onion buns match well. The topping combinations make for a delicious, but messy meal. Try the amazing Six-Alarm Burger – #7 – (salsa, jalapeno and hot peppers, chipotle sauce, pepper jack cheese, lettuce and tomato). The “Boardwalk Fries,” medium thick cut and generously sprinkled with seasoned salt, are outstanding. 25 Burgers also serves hot dogs and shakes.

Two down, twenty-three to go!

Burger options abound in Linden, NJ.  You can still enjoy classic Jersey sliders at White Rose System on Elizabeth Avenue. On St. George Avenue, 25 Burgers offers some of the best burgers among the new crop of specialty chain burgers joints. Sit at one of the small tables against the windows, or order yours to go. Great burgers are alive and well in New Jersey.

Review

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.

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.

Rich runs one of the friendliest counters in Jersey.

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.

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New Jersey Monthly
Roadfood.com
Serious Eats

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HollyEats.com

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