You can hardly say that anything or anyplace is "unique" anymore.
But the fresh, sizzling hot steak sandwiches at Donkey's Place in my hometown of Camden, NJ really are unique! And they've been that way for 75 years!
Nobody anytime, anyhow, anywhere has been able to duplicate a Donkey's Place concoction. Can't even come close.
The scent of Donkey's Place greets you before you even step through the doors. Maybe it's those not-too-thin slices of fresh cut steak. Maybe it's the heavy, saturating aroma of onions. Maybe it's the mixture of steak, onions, cheese, pickles and beer.
No other steak tastes like this. No other onions. No other cheese. And certainly no other round poppy seed roll -- another Donkey's Place trademark.
Over its seven-plus decades, at one time or another, just about everybody has been to Donkey's Place. Even Anthony Bourdain has raved about this dowdy dive on the edge of Camden's Parkside section not far from the corner of Kaighn and Haddon Avenues.
But Donkey's Place takes it all in stride. Doesn't matter who you are, everybody's treated the same -- in a prompt, efficient, non-nonsense manner surrounded by a level of grittiness that just keeps getting richer and grimier year after year.
Here are some photos (with another Camden native, Joe Surowiec) from our most recent visit . Mmmmm . . . does wonders for your appetite!
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