Are White Castle hamburgers *that* good?

[LanternWaste]

Are White Castle hamburgers as great as they're rumored to be? I ask because a gal in my office is from one of the flat, northern states and goes on and on about them. She goes so far as to state in absolute terms that they are the best burgers in the U.S. and are the primary evidence of the existence of God.

I'd like to consider myself a connoisseur of fine, fast-food burgers (the best so far being the Whataburger w/ cheese, bacon & jalapenos), but the way she talks about them, I'm tempted to get in my car this weekend and drive northwards til I bump into one.

The closest in Texas we have are the boxes of White Castles in the frozen foods section, but I can't really imagine a box of frozen burgers being all that great.


(My boss is out of the office today, I'm in charge and it's Friday-- so expect more wholly
non-sequiter posts from me throughout the day...)

[Burma Jones]

1. If you have that particular yearning, then yes....

They're soft and onion flavored and they go down like raw oysters...in fact, we used to call them sliders here in the DC area. We didn't have White Castle though, we had Little Tavern, but it was the same thing. I went to White Castle all the time while in college in Illinois.

I used to live in Houston and can attest to the excellence of the Whataburger. or Steak and Shake for that matter....Neither of which we enjoy in the DC area.

[StrongBad]

2. Yes, until you are finished eating them...

...then they can wreak havoc on your stomach.

But, in that moment, it is completely worth it!

[myrna minx]

48. My dad called them "gut bombs."

:rofl:

[lost-in-nj]

3. Yes

They are wonderful! Get a mix of plain and with cheese....
yummmmmm

The only problem is you usually can't go out the next morning.....
If you get my drift :)







lost

[Dora]

4. Didn't have my first White Castle until I was 35.

Overrated franchise food, in my opinion. It's a greasebox just like Jack in the Crack and McDonald's. It's a "my regional food is better than your regional food" debates.

It's a phenomenon I'll compare to the discussion that surrounds Connecticut pizza. People from Connecticut believe that their pizza is the best pizza in the world. Period. Discussion about other pizzas are met with disdain, or perhaps a lesson in the proper pronunciation of "pizza" and "mozzarella." For all I know, CTers may be on to something. But being a westerner by birth, and having never been to CT myself, I don't know and can't judge. I'll simply have to take their word for it and eat my abominable farce of a pizza from the joint across the street.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

18. While I'm sure your pizza is an abominable farce...

so is CT pizza. Anyone who thinks they have the best pizza on earth is amazingly ignorant. Real pizza is from NYC (NJ has it too) and CT pizza is NOTHING like real pizza. It's like chain shit, except for an independent place.

[Dora]

19. Ooooooh. Them's fightin' words!

I'm telling on you.

:popcorn:

[Midlodemocrat]

20. You have obviously never been to Colony Restaurant in Stamford, nor

Pepe's in New Haven.


Best. Pizza. Anywhere.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

22. I'll give them a shot, but I don't think it will change my mind.

The only decent pizza I've found outside of NYC/NJ is "Pie & Suds" in Rhode Island and oddly enough, some place on a volcano in Hawaii over an hour's drive from anywhere else.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

31. I've been to Pepe's

Also been to Bar in New Haven (my Yalie friends told me it was one of the best too).

Neither of them held a candle to any of the classics in Chicago (Lou Malnati's, Giordano's, Geno's, etc.)

And I even generally prefer thin crust to deep dish, but my God...I could die happy after a slice or two of Lou's...

[Tyrone Slothrop]

25. NYC has pretty awful pizza for the most part

There are a few really good places, but none are really *that* spectacular.

The CT pizza I've had has been average to good.

You basically have to go to Chicago if you want good pizza.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

30. NYC has "pretty awful pizza for the most part?"

Methinks you have been biased by Chicago and on drugs while in CT.

[Tyrone Slothrop]

33. It's better than most of the CT pizza I've had

And, as I said, there are a couple of great places...

But seriously, if you've never had real Chicago pizza in Chicago...well, I feel sorry for you.

(And I even generally prefer thin crust, but still...)

[SteppingRazor]

38. BWAHAHAHA!!!!

:rofl:

Chicago? Better than NYC? Seriously??

:rofl:

If you want the best hot dog in the country, you go to Chicago. If you want the best pizza, you go to NYC. I mean, come on, everybody know's that

:silly:

[Tyrone Slothrop]

43. It's not even a contest

The only people I've ever met who think NYC pizza is the best are the same people who haven't left Manhattan in about 20 years.

Most of the people I know agree that Chicago's pizza is WAY better.

Ah well...to each his own, I suppose...

[Tyrone Slothrop]

49. Btw, what places would you recommend?

Grimaldi's is my favorite I've found here (still doesn't even come close to a Lou Malnati's, though).

Also eaten at Joe's, Di Fara, Spumoni Gardens, numerous lesser-known brick-oven places.

Any recommendations other than what's already on my list???

[Chan790]

53. LOL

New Yorkers couldn't even invent NY-style pizza. It was invented in 1924 by Frank Pepe, an immigrant to New Haven, CT from Naples.

[Ohio Joe]

28. You speak the truth

Thw two things I miss the most since I left NY/NJ area, Pizza and Sabrette hotdogs. I've lived in CT, MA and now OH and none of them come close to the pizza you can get back home.

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

32. Yeah, the only decent pizza I've found is "Pie & Suds" in Westerly, RI

I lived in Pittsburgh for a summer. Ugh...it was all Papa Johns, even the independent places were just like Papa John's. :puke:

[Ohio Joe]

35. I've resorted to making my own

I picked up a pizza stone and over the years have gotten to the point where I make a pretty damn good pizza. Even if I do say so my own damn self :)

[lost-in-nj]

46. The best pizza I ever had

was on the boardwalk in Seaside Heights NJ.
Not sure if its still there but we would drive the 2 hours down, park, get the pizza and eat it then go home.
another 2 hours. Yeah it was that good.




lost

[Ohio Joe]

50. Wow, Seaside

I have not been there in over 15 years. We used to go there in the summer, there were a bunch of great little bars where you could hang out all night drinking beer and eating bar pies and BS'ing with friends. ahhh, brings back the memories :)

[lost-in-nj]

55. Unfortunately

they aren't little bars now. (We used to go see Rich Meyers at the Wine Cellar) They are "clubs" and the boardwalk is pretty scary at night.
The place I'm talking about was a stand on the south end of the boardwalk, the name started with an S
Yeah the good old days :)




lost

[HarukaTheTrophyWife]

52. My dad used to drive all the way down to the Keansburg boardwalk

just for a Heidelburg hot dog and a beer, then he'd turn around and come back.

I like Keansburg. It toughens a kid up knowing that they are taking their life in their hands with every dilapidated ride they get on.

[Chan790]

34. CT pizza is the best pizza in the world.

However, California pizza isn't bad, nor is Chicago-style. They're just different. I got a great pizza once from a hole-in-the-wall in Atlanta.

The whole CT pizza brag/complaint come from the fact that you cannot consistently get great pizza anywhere on the east coast once you cross the borders of New England and even parts of NH, VT and Maine are iffy. New York-style pizza is actually from New Haven. NYCers do a pale comparison to the original and once you get south of Newark, don't even bother. The best pizza I ever found living in DC for 6 years required me to drive to Columbia, MD an hour away to go to this little place in a strip mall run by a guy from Brooklyn who could never rack up any business because DCers and Marylanders expect their pizza to taste like Pizza Boli, Dominos or Pizza Hut.

Living in Philly, I got pretty good pizza but the minute you drive 10 minutes outside the city you'd have better luck with DiGiorno than with any local pizzeria. It balances out though, Philly-area Italians don't do pizza, they do cheesesteak, pretzels and water ice. I don't eat the first, but the secord and third are better than any water-ice and pretzel you'll ever have elsewhere. Mexican food in Texas and San Diego is the best I ever had. Regional food excellences are part of what make little corners of America great.

[Dora]

36. Thank you for demonstrating my point. n/t

[Chan790]

42. I thought that was a very reasoned discussion of regional pizza trends

albeit marginally long in the tooth. Like I said, it evens out.

You get crappy pizza, I get burritos made by a guy who thinks tomatillo is a type of relish made out of tomatoes, refried beans come in a can and Mexico is the US state south of Texas. Worse, I haven't had decent spicy bean-curd with broccoli since the last time I went to Chinatown.

[Dora]

51. No dispute or criticism here.

Just sayin': CTers are fond of their pizza.

I'm keeping my opinions about pizza to myself. To me, it's a baked yeast dough with sauce and assorted toppings. The variations are endless.

Mexican food, on the other hand is worthy of debate. I'm from Arizona and I worked in a mom-n-pop Mexican restaurant for three years: I ate Sonoran-style Mexican food twelve times a week.

Then I moved to Texas and learned all about the vomitus that is "Tex-Mex." Thank goodness I had the foresight to keep all the recipes from that restaurant. Now I make my own red chile.

[Magrittes Pipe]

5. Yes.

And tomorrow you will die from a ruptured colon.

But you will die happy.

[Radical Activist]

6. Not really, but

sometimes you just get this craving for them and there is no other replacement. They must use addictive chemicals or something. If you've ever been to a Crystals in the South, its the same thing.

[LanternWaste]

8. A Crystal's *just* opened close by...

A Crystal's *just* opened close by and I'm still looking for the chance to go there and try it out...

First one in town to open I think.

[Radical Activist]

10. Very nice

Its all owned by the same people but they give it a different name in the South for some reason. Does your obsessed co-worker know that?

[Shakespeare]

17. White Castle and Krystal are not owned by the same people.

Krystal is owned by The Krystal Company; White Castle is owned by White Castle Management Company.

[Radical Activist]

60. And what is the parent company

of those two corporations?

[Shakespeare]

62. There IS no parent company.

Those are two completely separate corporations.

[Radical Activist]

65. Actually, they're both owned by

Colonel Sanders and the Rothschilds. ;)

[last_texas_dem]

54. I love Krystal's

One finally opened down here a couple years ago, and I had to try it out because I'd heard they were comparable to White Castle. I used to actually buy frozen White Castle burgers you could heat up in the microwave, since there are none of the restaurants in my area. And I actually liked Krystal's as much as I thought I would; I have to force myself to restrict my intake! I like the spicy chicken sandwiches there even more than the burgers.

[Katina]

7. there is just something about them

that you can't taste anywhere else. When you gotta have one, you gotta have one.

We call them belly bombers. Once you finish eating them, you can still taste them for hours on end...

[LanternWaste]

15. That's gross in an appealing sort or way...

Belly-Bombers? That tickles me for some reason. :P

[Katina]

39. that's the "something about them" mystic.. gross,

in an appealing sort of way.

Belly bombers is our favorite description. It beats the one my SO grew up with....rat burgers! :puke:

[Shakespeare]

9. White Castles/Krystals can't really be lumped with other burgers

They are their own form of food, and yes, they're heavenly in a weird, eww-how-gross kind of way.

The best "real" fast-food burger, however, is In-N-Out.

[Radical Activist]

12. Its kind of a guilty pleasure.

I like them but always feel a little sick/guilty afterwards.

[Midlodemocrat]

13. If you're in the DC/VA area, we have Five Guys Famous Burgers

and Fries. Outrageously delicious, all beef. I can't decide whether I like In 'n Out or Five Guys better.

[Burma Jones]

45. We just had a 5 Guys open up here in Germantown, MD

But I used to get them in Alexandria years ago. They are easily the best fast food burgers on the east coast, and the fries are as good as Thrashers from the beach.....

If only In 'n Out would head east........

[NewWaveChick1981]

11. I grew up eating at Krystal, and I finally had a White Castle burger

on a business trip to Minneapolis ten years ago. They're basically the same, although not exactly. If you eat at Krystal, you know what White Castle is like. I love Krystal and can't help myself when I'm around those burgers.... :rofl:

[SteppingRazor]

14. The best fast-food burger in the history of the world is In-N-Out...

everything else is crap :P

[martymar64]

16. In 'n' Out Urge!!!

I agree! In 'n' Out is the best by far. Great fries too!
I just love cutting up the bumper stickers to create double entendres.

[bullwinkle428]

37. In-N-Out rules the world, in terms of fast-food burgers!! Culver's and

Steak-n-Shake aren't bad substitutes for those of us living in the Midwest, but I had to satisfy my In-N-Out craving last week vacationing in California!

[ElboRuum]

21. They're great, even the ones in the frozen case...

I think its the onions that do it.

I have a hard time calling them burgers... especially if you see the contraption that they're made on.

[Roon]

23. I used to be a truck driver

and I can't believe that I never stopped for a white castle. We don't have them around here. The grocery story used to sell frozen burgers, but I know it's not the same.

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

24. I'm partial to Fuddrucker's myself.

[terrya]

26. Yes

Yes, they're that good.

[noonwitch]

27. They make my stomach hurt

I don't really like the taste, either. Their fries are good, though.

[ComerPerro]

29. The best hamburgers in the nation are at the Westport Flea Market in KC

Whataburger is very good, as is White Castle.

[Zomby Woof]

40. They're wretched

Greasy hockey pucks. :puke:

[Initech]

41. White Castle is pretty crappy, but it makes for great drunk food

Unfortunately I can only get it when I'm out in the midwest... no White Castles in Southern California.

[huskerlaw]

44. I don't know, but...

the movie was damn funny.

[RedCloud]

47. here are two culinary critics that agree

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[momophile]

56. they taste just like you imagine the frozen ones to taste like

The frozen and the real ones taste the same to me.

That said, they do sound good every now and then. But hopefully it will be a while before the urge comes around again.

[rug]

57. The best is watching them deal them on the grill, like a deck of cards

[deadparrot]

58. No.

Ewewewew.

No.

Ew.

No.

:puke:

[Ariana Celeste]

59. I fucking *love* White castles

White Castle is *the only* Fast Food I will eat. Period.

It is the perfect stoner burger! And believe it or not, the frozen ones aren't that bad- if I don't feel like going all the way up to White castle, I will pick up a box at Marsh. You just have to cover them loosely with paper towel and make sure to turn them half way through the cooking time or they will get hard. I have it down to an art.

They are hands down the world's best teeny tiny burgers.

I think I will pick some up tonight.

[LanternWaste]

61. Guess thery're on my grocery list now.

Well, guess a few boxes are now on the grocery list for the weekend and use your culinary wisdom to microwave them. Maybe it'll help me understand the crazy yankee woman in my office a little bit better...

:)

[Ariana Celeste]

63. Enjoy!

It's just too bad the only offer the hamburgers and cheeseburgers at the store- they got some other good ones at the fast food place. :)

[ccjlld]

64. White Castles are ok, but......

There is a place where I grew up that still makes burgers the way White Castles used to make them before they went mass market. It's The Cozy Inn in Salina, Kansas. They started in 1922, one year after White Castles started in Wichita. They are still using the same grill 84 years later.
They mash little balls of ground burger on the grill, smother them in onions, and steam the buns on top of the burgers. Yum! Have been addicted since I was a kid!

http://www.ahamburgertoday.com/archives/2006/05/the_cozy_inn_salina_kansas.php

[Broken_Hero]

66. Their okay...:)

Sometimes, when I'm fiending, I pick up a box of them from the store...:)

[bleedingheart]

67. White Castle + Beer = a bad case of the runs...

so if you are looking for what I think of as the White Castle Colonic...go ahead and do it...