White Castle

[elyse]

No there are three in Manhattan. There's the one near my house, up in Spanish Harlem. There's the one directly across the street from the ESB. And there's the one over on Eighth near the tunnel.

What's the ESB?

[Fat Guy]

Empire State Building.

[elyse]

Thanks. And the one in Spanish Harlem is off 125th st. and Malcom X?

[Jason Perlow]

Man, I hope I still have some in the freezer.

[Fat Guy]

Thanks.  And the one in Spanish Harlem is off 125th st. and Malcom X?

No that's not Spanish Harlem, that's regular Harlem. There may be one there too for all I know, making the Manhattan total 4. Spanish Harlem is on the East Side. The White Castle near me is around 103rd and 2nd, I believe. I'll check the address later, or someone else can on the WC Web site.

[pjs]

They used to put a piece of cardboard printed with the reasons why your "burgers" had all those holes in them to stiffen up the bottom of the take-out bag.

I didn't care about the holes. All I wanted--and demanded--was that my burgers were steamed after assembly in that contraption on the counter.

PJ

[elyse]

Thanks.  And the one in Spanish Harlem is off 125th st. and Malcom X?

No that's not Spanish Harlem, that's regular Harlem. There may be one there too for all I know, making the Manhattan total 4. Spanish Harlem is on the East Side. The White Castle near me is around 103rd and 2nd, I believe. I'll check the address later, or someone else can on the WC Web site.

Yeah, there is one in regular Harlem. Or was last time I was up there.

[Jason Perlow]

Are ALL White Castles open 24 hours? Or only some of them?

I think the prevailing theory is, the crappier the neighborhood, the better the chances of a WC being open late at night....

EDIOT: Scratch that, they are all open 24 hours

http://www.whitecastle.com/cravitivity/cra...ty_message.html

[Jason Perlow]

So what's with this faker Krystal chain?

http://www.krystalco.com

They apparently also have TWO BITE hot dogs.

Apparently they even have MORE locations than WC if that can be believed... over 400 versus 340 odd for WC.

[Taboni]

I had 6 with cheese as my last meal as a single man. Ate them in the sacristy of the church about 10 minutes before the wedding and got ketchup on my shirt. Very popular with the wife

[Kerouac1964]

And their frozen burgers are microwavable, or for the oven?

I believe they are precooked, and just need reheating.

I think the best way to prepare the frozen ones would be to steam them hot with the lid off your steamer. Put them on a treadle, so they the buns don't get too soggy.

Lordy, I've been craving them for several days. We don't have one in Sioux City.

[tommy]

I think the best way to prepare the frozen ones would be to steam them hot with the lid off your steamer.  Put them on a treadle, so they the buns don't get too soggy. 

actually, they steam up quite nicely following the directions of ripping open the plastic bag and throwing them in the microwave. i wouldn't bother with an oven or steaming, although i've never tried either.

[fresh_a]

Tommy- where do you buy yours? A supermarket?

[fresh_a]

As an interesting aside, after McDonald's , the biggest fast-food burger restaurant iin France is the "Quick" franchise. Perhaps an equivalent of the "slyder", I had a couple burgers last night, and I can assure you all, it does do justice to its namesake..

[tommy]

Tommy- where do you buy yours? A supermarket?

yes. so the cooking method i suggested is for those, rather than the frozen-at-the-store version, which i've never had.

[fresh_a]

Wish I could get 'em in PAris!

[tommy]

Wish I could get 'em in PAris!

perhaps we could arrange some sort of time share. you could come live in NJ for a month and eat all of the white castles that you want, and i could live in paris and eat all of everything other than white castle that i want.

[sagestrat]

So what's with this faker Krystal chain?

http://www.krystalco.com

They apparently also have TWO BITE hot dogs.

Apparently they even have MORE locations than WC if that can be believed... over 400 versus 340 odd for WC.

Krystal was a mainstay during my childhood in the Southeast. The burgers are the same concept as WC (don't know which came first--probably WC), and back then, they had a decent breakfast (real eggs, etc.) and I believe the milkshakes were actually real. The burgers, like WC, were popular drunken feasts (as well as hangover remedies). This was especially popular during Mardi Gras season for happy revelers.

Krystal facts: The average cow yields about 3,240 Krystal patties.

Crystal Gayle (stage name) is apparently named after the singer's frequently-visted local restaurant in Nashville.

[sng sling]

No there are three in Manhattan. There's the one near my house, up in Spanish Harlem. There's the one directly across the street from the ESB. And there's the one over on Eighth near the tunnel.

I think of it as a Midwest/Heartland thing, though.

Sorry FG -- no imagination tonight -- what's the ESB???

When I lived in CT, always stopped at the one in the Bronx on the way to Manhattan. After "Bonfire of the Vanities" the trip had a little more focus!

Since I've been in Asia, a stop at the WC at 95th & Cicero en route to/from the parents' has been part of the Chicago visit ritual. My wife's comment was "that's not food!"

Been eating them forever -- we used to get coupons for 10 for a buck (about 45 years ago). I was delivering papers then, and we'd get extra copies for coupons to buy enough (30-40) for a family slider treat.

[KNorthrup]

White Castles were the meal my wife and I ate on our wedding night.

Funny, we had burgers on our wedding night as well.

You know, that could be an interesting thread.

I've been seeing the version in the grocery freezer section for several years but the instructions are incredibly high maintenance if you don't have a microwave.

At least one restaurant in town is now doing bite-size burgers for appetizers and they're great. Fun.

[Jason Perlow]

Are WC and Krystal the only two chains offering mini burgers?

I remember Burger King once offered "Burger Buddies" for a very short period.

Were there ever any other mini burger chains? And by chains, I mean more than 2 restaurants, this includes very local chains.

[elyse]

sng sling.

Empire State Building.

[DVSDave]

Are WC and Krystal the only two chains offering mini burgers?

I remember Burger King once offered "Burger Buddies" for a very short period.

Were there ever any other mini burger chains? And by chains, I mean more than 2 restaurants, this includes very local chains.

Jason, I cannot answer your initial question, but I must ask you (and everybody else)....

Remember "KFC"'s Chicken Littles? (or what the f they were called?) Those were the fried chicken patty, served on a spongy bun with a dollop of rancid mayo that haunted my childhood years (Mom would buy them because they were cheap, I would eat one and ask myself if I did anything that pissed off Mom that day).

That said, Castles were a regular in my college diet. Regular sliders, maybe a sack of chicken rings or mozz sticks if I felt up to it. Never had a WC hamburger frozen, w/cheese, or sober for that matter.

[hjshorter]

Were there ever any other mini burger chains? And by chains, I mean more than 2 restaurants, this includes very local chains.

Jason, I cannot answer your initial question, but I must ask you (and everybody else)....

Remember "KFC"'s Chicken Littles? (or what the f they were called?) Those were the fried chicken patty, served on a spongy bun with a dollop of rancid mayo

I did a short stint working at a KFC in college. Chicken Littles didn't have mayo on them. It was Miracle Whip.

Now that Little Tavern has closed there is no mini burger franchise in the Washington DC area that I know of. I sense a marketing opportunity for some chain to make up for that deficiency.

[Fat Guy]

Miracle Whip isn't mayo?