White Castle [Yep, white castle]

LTH,

Picked up the Blessed Mary Kay and family at Midway last evening including Mr. Hamburger himself, 12-year-old Michael. When they visited last July our first stop was Poochie's, though Michael did manage to fit in a slider or two later in the week, which he loved.

Soon as they got in the car Michael started lobbying for White Castle sometime during the visit. His enthusiasm was such that I called an audible and, instead of Vito and Nick's, hit the White Castle on 63rd, just outside Midway.

Nothing says White Castle like a 30-burger Crave Case.



In addition to the Crave Case of cheeseburgers I got 10-regular and an order of fries. Fries tasted dried out and were not very good.

How were the burgers you ask? Michael loved them, as did his dad and 8-year-old sister, though Mary Kay took a nibble, mumbled something about being from Southern California and tofu and gingerly set her slider down. Ellen and I had a couple of sliders each and liked them just fine though, truth be told, if I don't have another WC for a year or two it's ok by me.

Of course we had sliders leftover, which I heated in the microwave for the kids breakfast. Hey, I'm an uncle, not a nutritionist. Anyway, it's not like I've never had White Castle for breakfast myself.

Sliders and Eggs for Breakfast.


Enjoy,
Gary

Hi,

You can really wow your visitors by making turkey stuffing with those sliders! Just think about Michael's essay, "What I ate on my vacation." He will surely bring home an 'A' with those White Castle homestyle recipes and stories.

You're a good uncle!

Regards,

I am really fond of the occasional WC. I am pretty sure it is because I grew up in Chicago and have thus been around WC most of my childhood... But then again I grew up around McD and BK too and as an adult wouldn't touch either.

Thanks for the story and the great pics! Now that you have my mouth watering I will have to take a detour to pick up a sack of ten this week!

WC is a regular favorite around here as well. Fries always stink. Onion rings are much better, and go perfectly on top of those cheesburgers. For a while they were serving garlic cheeseburgers which I really liked , but these have sadly vanished. Maintaining the ring-food theme, chicken rings are good as well. Try the clam strips (no kidding!). Must go early as I believe it's illegal to be there after midnight unless intoxicated.

I too am fond of White Castle burgers. But I prefer Krystal as my slider of choice. Alas, the closet one that I am aware of is in Bowling Green, KY, a tad too far for a quick dash.

WC is a guilty pleasure of mine too... well given the state of mind I am typically in when I go there, I usually don't feel guilty till the next day and WC is probably the least of my worries.

G Wiv wrote:Nothing says White Castle like a 30-burger Crave Case.

With the possible exception of the 100-burger Crave Crate. It exists.

I tried WC for the first time a couple of years ago by Indy (they don't exist in central IL) and I have to say that I was underwhelmed, even knowing what they were going to be like. I guess that's good since I'd have to travel 2 hours for one!

My cheap fast food burger of choice is Dairy Queen.

Can't believe I'm writing this, but I believe the double cheeseburger sliders are the superior choice, because they have enough goo to keep them from getting too dry.

For those that are familar with Krystal, do you recall ABC Burgers (I only remember them in Florida)?

Oh, and the jalapeno burgers with or w/o Dusseldorf mustard = awesome.

I also double down for the chicken rings, and even like the fries.

I have to make a WC stop now and then and when I do it is always a double cheeseburger or three with WC applied Dusseldorf mustard and ketchup and extra pickles. Nothing says hangover chaser like White Castle.

Yep. And nothing clears a room faster than me the next morning after a night of beer and white castles.

I swear, there's something in those sliders that makes me keep coming back, sour stomach or not.

The garlic cheese was quite good, as was the chipotle cheese. Too bad neither of them are around anymore. The iced tea served at White Castle is also really good, better than almost any iced tea in the North.

Krystals, by comparison, are rather dry, thanks to too-fluffy buns and the lack of holes in the burgers. Their chicken sandwiches (called Chiks) are superior to White Castles, though. I eat Krystal about twice a year, which is as often as I have to make a connection in the Atlanta airport.

Again I shame myself but I actually quite like the chicken sandwiches at WC... ahh well not like I had any dignity anyway...

Where is the Krystal in the ATL airport? I have a feeling that will be usefull information when I'm waiting for my flight on 1/1/07 at 3 p.m.

I must confess, I do love me some White Castles, though watching my diet has kept me from having any for a little while.

I have a brother who moved to Phoenix -- any time I visit, I had better have at least a 10-sack of White Castles with me if it is to be a friendly visit. His kids (3.5 and 6 yrs old) love them now, too, so I suspect I will have to bring more next time I go.

And, once, just after she moved to Vegas, my mother talked me into bringing her 100 White Castles. When I called ahead to order them, the woman who took my order thought I was joking. I finally convinced her and made plans to pick them up. They were packaged in a taped brown box -- way too big to take on the plane! The snotty teenager behind the counter smirked at me and asked if I "wanted fries with that." Sigh. I took the WH home and removed them from the boxes, repackaging them in ziplocs so I could put them in a carry-on tote bag.

Lots of people commented on how good the plane smelled and my mother was thrilled (although I assured her I would not be bringing 100 again). Guess WH will always have a place in the hearts of those who have grown to love 'em!

There are a couple of regional differences in WCastles, and whenever we are in the Indianapolis area, (or most Indiana locales actually) we will order a few sides of onion chips.

Don't know why they don't have the rings, but the chips (kinda like wedges) are very good.

They are not minced onion, but rather a onion cut like an apple (top to bottom versus cross cut) then breaded and fried.

Good stuff

Willkat98 wrote:There are a couple of regional differences in WCastles,

In the New York area, ketchup comes standard on White Castles burgers. It is the only place that does that. I found it disturbing.

I generally agree with Bruce, but Krystal is the exception that proves the rule. Krystal is the toothless, dirty, cranked-up Southern cousin of White Castle. While White Castles are always spotlessly clean and antiseptic under their surgery lights, Krystals are, more often than not in my FL/GA experience, filthy. The burgers have the WC GI effect, but more so, and don't taste nearly as good. (Dry, as the other poster noted.) I have vivid memories of seeing a man thrown through a plate glass window in the Krystal on Dale Mabry in Tampa, near the (primary) adult entertainment district. (By the way, the gentleman's defenestration was egressive.) Then again, maybe all of this makes Krystal better for a certain genre of fast food.

The Krystal in Atlanta Airport (which, coincidentally, might have the slowest escalators in the western hemisphere) is in concourse A, down near the end of the terminal building, although I can't remember which end. I'd recommend the sampler pack, which gives you a couple of Krystals, a Chik sandwich, and a Chili Pup (similar to the coneys of Cincinnati, but with a more neutral and less regional chili flavor). Wash it down with an unsweetened iced tea--even at the airport it's excellent. Speaking of drinks, it's damn near impossible to find Pepsi products in a broad swath of the country from Richmond, VA west to Shreveport, LA. You would think that with the international distribution capability of the sugar-water companies, Pepsi would at least try to make its presence known in the South.

Thanks for that!

To change the subject for just a moment... is there a Chik-fil-A in the Atl airport? I've had a request to bring some home.

Stagger wrote: is there a Chik-fil-A in the Atl airport? I've had a request to bring some home.

I know there is one in the Philadelphia airport.

i love Castle's Deep Sea Sandwiches. they come plain, but i ask to "customize" them by putting on onions & extra pickles. this takes even longer then the std Deep Sea which is already a wait, but are they ever worth it to me. usually, i will have finished an "appetizer" of Chicken Rings before i even get home. WC chicken rings are not natural, i'm not even sure it's chicken...but i don't care.

Stagger wrote:Thanks for that!

To change the subject for just a moment... is there a Chik-fil-A in the Atl airport? I've had a request to bring some home.

I'm 99% sure that there is...unless I'm thinking of the wrong airport. But I'm pretty sure that I've dined on Chik-fil-A at the ATL airport.

stewed coot wrote:Can't believe I'm writing this, but I believe the double cheeseburger sliders are the superior choice, because they have enough goo to keep them from getting too dry.

I always order sliders with extra pickle. This seems to help in avoiding the "dried out" problem. They must make up nonstandard burgers from a fresher source.

LionRock wrote:

Stagger wrote:Thanks for that!

To change the subject for just a moment... is there a Chik-fil-A in the Atl airport? I've had a request to bring some home.

I'm 99% sure that there is...unless I'm thinking of the wrong airport. But I'm pretty sure that I've dined on Chik-fil-A at the ATL airport.

I'm 100% positive that there's one, although I don't remember which terminal. I was starving and too short on time to stop - and the smell of it was killing me.

As far as White Castle, my last visit home involved a 4:14am run to the WC location on Western & Roosevelt. I drunkenly proposed ordering the crave case, a proposition that my more sober friend who was driving met with a crazed look and "Are you sure?". After several attempts at talking me out of it, he caved and let me order it - I ate four burgers and put the rest of the case in his fridge, only to regain consciousness just a couple hours later, truly regretting my dietary decision in the multi-directional manner of disturbance that only food like White Castle can cause in my nearly iron-clad stomach.

The worst part? As I was headed out, he stopped me and told me I had to take the remainder of the case with me. I left it sitting on a table at the Des Plaines Oasis, and made a "free to a good home" post on craigslist - for some reason the post was flagged and removed within hours.

Hmm looks like I'm gong to have to find some sort of disposable cooler and hope they let me bring it on the plane with all of my recording gear.

Back to the thread at hand. I had a similar experience to Pete. I woke up yesterday morning a "tad bit" late for work and found the remainder (well 8 burgers) of a Crave Case in my fridge. While I'm not entirely sure how they got there, I can say that microwaved day old Sliders are actually a great hangover cure as I felt like my old self by the time I got to Lee Wing Wah last night, no regrets at all... well about the WC anyway .


edit for spelling that, at the time, was actually pretty impresive considering my state of mind...but in retrospect... well...

Stagger wrote:To change the subject for just a moment... is there a Chik-fil-A in the Atl airport? I've had a request to bring some home.

I believe the one at Indianapolis is still there (outside security by the B/C checkpoint), but it's been about a year since I've been there.

Stopped at White Castles this evening. I guess the choices tonight were either stopping at WC for hamburgers or Costco for their greasy "sits here for an hour pizza."

At least at the Lake in the Hills store, they have actually learned how to run a drive through. Three minutes in and out. And the food was very fresh.

I cna now confirm that Krystal is infirior to WC. I did stop in the ATL Airport and picked up a few. While everything was good and fresh they put some sort of mustard sauce on the burgers that completly overpowers the rest of it. Like ketchup on a hot dog, mustard on a slider just doesn't work!

Also, interestingly, while the Airport directory made NO mention of a Chick-fil-A I saw several people walking around the A and T termanals with Chick-fil-A bags... By that time I had already had my junk food and didn't bother to ask.

Stagger wrote:While everything was good and fresh they put some sort of mustard sauce on the burgers that completly overpowers the rest of it. Like ketchup on a hot dog, mustard on a slider just doesn't work!

The WC in Aurora used to put extra onions, pickles, and a shot of something that was like a mixture of ketchup and mustard mixed together, on your burger if you asked for extra "E". (Everything). That sauce also had an overpowering mustard flavor, and didn't work well either.