White Castle Hamburgers

In My Humble Opinion
1

I have yet to meet a person who is ambivalent about White Castle burgers. Everyone I’ve met either loves them or hates them.

For those who don’t know, White Castle is a hamburger chain found mostly in the Midwestern U.S. At least, that’s the theory. Apparently in Ohio and Indiana they’re in every dipshit little town, but in Illinois they’re only in major metro areas (such as Chicago and suburban St. Louis). Grrrr! :mad:

The burgers are about one inch square and are boiled, for lack of a better choice of words, in an onion broth. Slap on a piece of American cheese and a little bit of ketchup and it’s burger Nirvana.

Obviously I’m in the Love 'em category. Every time I’m in St. Louis or Chicago I make it a point to load up. I can generally eat about 8 at a time, 10 if I’m really hungry.

I invite everyone on these boards to chime in with the Love 'em or Hate 'em. If you have any funny or amusing White Castle stories, I’m all ears. I’ve got three.

STORY THE FIRST: I was 16 and on a church youth group trip to somewhere in Missouri. On the way home, the youth minister pulls the van into a White Castle in St. Louis and loudly announces, “Here we are at White Castle! And you thought you had to die to go to Heaven!” I was a White Castle virgin at the time, and ever since then I’ve been hooked!

STORY THE SECOND: When Mrs. HeyHomie and I started seriously discussing marriage, I determined to talk to her about some serious issues. “Pepsi or Coke?” She answered “Pepsi.” :smiley: “White Castles: Yes or no?” She responded “Hell yes!” :smiley: “Cubs or Cardinals?” She responded “Cardinals.” :eek: Two out of three ain’t bad.

STORY THE THIRD: I had this T-shirt that said something to the effect of “White Castle: Belly Bombers.” I was wearing it one day when I was in a town called, of all things, White Castle, Louisiana. I remember the locals asking me where I got it, and the disappointed looks on their faces when I said “St. Louis.”

Share your stories and opinions, please.

2

I’ve had them and their near-equivalent as produced by Crystal. I can take them or leave them.

3

[homer simpson]
MMMMmmmm-mmmm…sliiiii-ders.
[/homer simpson]

4

[homer simpson] Mmmmmm . . . White Castle gutbombers! Mmmmmm [/homer simpson]

5

Hey HeyHomie:

White Castles are about 3" X 3" X 1/4". Also, they’re steamed and topped with grilled onions. I don’t think that your description gave them justice. And they’re much better than Krystal’s. Something about the texture.

Anyway, I eat White Castle at least once a week. And if you’ve been drinking and are hungry, White Castle is like ambrosia. Of course, in the morning you will see the devil while sitting on the bowl.

6

The Food of the Gods, if I may be so bold to call them that. Please don’t call them boiled, they are lovingly steamed on a griddle, with diced onions so that their perfume may infuse the 5-holers[the requisite # gouged out of each patty before cooking] with other-worldly goodness. Used to be able to down 10 of ‘em, “Buy 'em by the sack” is one of their delightful advertising slogans. And their called sliders for a reason, 2 bites and they slide right down. Unfortunately, all the stores in my area have closed up. I ask ya’ now, who WOULDN’T want a little piece of heaven for 40cents? Apparently, a lot of people in my neck of the woods. Won’t you do all you can to spread the goodness of these ethereal delights?

7

All it takes it getting sick after eating them ONCE, and you’ll feel differently. Trust me on this.

Out here in Arizona, once people find out I’m from Chicago, they all hit me with the same two things:

  1. Oh my God! You guys have White Castle! You’re so lucky!
  2. Oh my God! You guys have Steak & Shake! You’re so lucky!
    I always respond with the same answer to #1:

“We didn’t want to go to White Castle. It was 3:00am. We had to go to White Castle.”

Gotta tell you, I miss #2 a LOT more than I miss #1. However, I now have In & Out Burger to ease the pain. :slight_smile:

8

White Castles are heavenly at 3 a.m. after a hard night of drinking. Other than that, I can’t stomach them.

9

They have them in New York City. Deeeee-lightful stuff. I had my first about two years ago. Apparently you can get a case of 20. It even comes in a little cardboard case with plastic handles. Very cool.

Anyway, they are absolutely wonderful. God, I love them. Especially after drinking.

10

I lean more toward hate.

11

That would be Krystal, mainly available in the southeastern US AFAIK. Affectionately known as Grease-tals (or rectum rockets by some). I’ve never had White Castles, but Krystals are one of those things that I’ll eat maybe once a year at the most. I’ve always imagined White Castles to be similar, although the only place I’ve lived that they had them was in Nashville.

12

I love em too, but ever since I have discovered late late night Chinese places I haven’t had them much. I much prefer a plate of Ha Gow[sub]shrimp dumplings[/sub], xiao long bao[sub]soup dumplings[/sub], stir fried rice cakes with pork and ginger or salt and pepper squid at 3am, the chili oil, hoisin sauce, and Sriracha sauces work wonders on the Guinness:) Plus they end up costing about the same!

I fear I am depriving my kids of an important childhood memory so I will have to make an effort to take them there more often, WC kicks the Clown’s ass! :slight_smile:

13

Mr2U and I have considered organizing a religion around sliders. I can eat 10 cheeseburgers in one sitting. Easy. Mr2U can double that.

Mike, seriously, take your kids there - I remember when I was growing up, my Dad would take my brother and I to the one in LaGrange once a week - it was our “Dad time” - I STILL remember it. Then again, I’m also a little odd - you’d probably faint if I told you the lengths I went to to obtain a Green River soda for MY son so HE’D have a “memory”… :wink:

14

What Chastain86 said. I used to LOVE them.

However. Last April, after drinking a little bit too much, I got four cheeseburgers, an order of mozzarella sticks, and an order of the chicken rings, and I ate all of it. The next morning was one of those rare occasions where I was so hung over that I vomited. While kneeling at the toilet, I realized that White Castles manage to smell exactly the same after a few hours of digestion.

Haven’t had them since.

15

The classical definition of Nirvana is “the complete absence of desire”.

I had a meal of gut-bombers once. I have a complete absence of desire to repeat this.

Regards,
Shodan

16

I work with a number of slider fanatics. They even get excited about the wonderful recipes that come out of the annual White Castle Recipe Contest.

Personally, they scare me, and I’ve never had the courage to try one.

17

Put me down in the “Love 'em” category. We don’t have White Castle out here in California, so I have to seek them out whenever I travel. Then I eat sackloads. Junk food Heaven. :smiley:

18

Krystal’s are better for the mere fact that they have more meat. White Castles have 5 holes in the patty. Five! There’s not that much meat to begin with then you start drilling holes in em? Bah! Granted, I’ll eat them in a pinch, but given my druthers I’ll take four Krystals and a bowl of chili to dip them in.

19

Love 'em. It’s probably a childhood memory thing - there were White Castles all over the place back when dinosaurs roamed the earth. I had thought they were out of business when, 'lo and behold, they built a brand new one near my house a couple of years ago! Mrs. Rimshot and I went into paroxysms of joy, to the consternation of our kids.

Our kids will now eat them, to be polite (and out of fear that they won’t be fed anything else if they don’t), but they haven’t acquired our love for them.

And as it turns out, the memory and anticipation of White Castles is always just a little* bit better than the reality. No matter - they’re still good.

Reading the posts, I wonder how highly they rank in the pantheon of Things Eaten Only While Drunk?

20

Love’em love’em love’em! I just ate a few on Sunday, the first time in quite a while. I used to eat there a lot, but I have tried to eat better as I get older and fatter. Anyway, Krystal’s is a pale imitation, but there good enough when it’s the only choice. There is a certain quality to them that is really only apparent after drinking many beers and ordering them at 4:00AM.

On a sad note, the neightborhood WC Lounge closed a while ago, after being in almost the same spot for 60 + years. It was at the intersection of three main arteries, and there wjust wasn’t room for a drive thru. So the bastards closed the place. Now I have to drive 15 minutes instead of 3 1/2. :frowning: