Battle of the Whites: White Castle

White Castle
Hundres of locations in the US
5151 Stelton Road (Location visited)
South Plainfield, NJ

When I was in Panama, if you wanted burgers, the only options were fast food chains (we had the usual MickeyD’s, BK and Wendy’s, with brief stints from Hardee’s and other shops). After I moved to Canada, I became a bit more conscious of the fact there were more shops in addition to the ones found there. I mean, why should I? Back in Panama, while they filled a niche, there were better food (in either mom-n-pop shops or street vendors, et al). So, when I saw there was a movie called “Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle”, my first thought was “White Castle? What is that?”. Of course, I found out eventually but, alas, my curiosity to find out what was actually served in White Castle couldn’t be satiated…

Before I continue, I must admit I have not seen the whole Harold & Kumar movie – only bits and pieces. I have been told it is really hilarious but, regardless, there is one detail I know about the movie that makes a really silly connection to this post: The White Castle they were looking for is supposed to be in New Brunswick (as in New Brunswick, New Jersey, again, not the Canadian province)! And guess where was I! OK, I wasn’t in New Brunswick but, at a rock’s throw away, which, for almost all practical purposes, it feels like I was doing something similar! Of course, sans some herbs, hehehehe.

As for the food itself, as some of you know, they sell small square burgers called slyders (though it is trademark is for the way the burgers slide out – more of that in a moment). Since this was my first experience with this (mini burgers aside), I thought to go for the “basic” order (more of that in a moment). After I made my order, I couldn’t help myself take the pictures below.

Since it was behind a glass, this was the best I could do without setting up my Speedlight. Of course, that raised some funny looks until I told them I was on a trip from Vancouver and we do not have White Castle here. Mentioning that made the staff more relaxed and was able to continue snap a couple of more pictures. (Of course saying that with a different accent to prove you are not “local” helps a little bit! ).

Behold, their slyders! Again, since I wasn’t sure what to order, I went for their basic combo order, a Sack Meal which contains four slyders, fries and a drink. On that night, I wasn’t that hungry (as I had a snack from a “surprising” source, more on that on tomorrow noon’s post – yes as in tomorrow Saturday! With two posts!!!) so it would had been more than enough. However, being a sucker to try other things, I made an additional order of two other slyders of a “special” item they were having.

So here is their slyder. If memory serves me right, had I ordered one by itself, it would have settled me back around US$0.70. It is funny I mention it as I recall my first experience with a MickeyD’s hamburger (20+ years ago) was about the same price! The overall burger was meh, not much to talk about. You could barely “feel” the beef patty was there as it did not provide too much flavour. I have the hunch the fact the patty is small contributes to that lack of taste. The onions went a similar path which I thought was disappointing. But, then again, they were cooked long time before it hit the burger…. Most of the flavour was in the form of the catsup and the pickle, which also provided a slight crunchy “bite”.

The “other” slyder I ordered was a (time limited?) special they were running. You can guess what it is by the shredded look… No, it is not brisket! Instead, it is pulled pork which was loaded with a BBQ-like sauce. Unlike the burger, errr…, slyder, which had almost no taste and a bit of texture (thanks to the pickle), this one had a bit more. Unfortunately, it does not mean it was something good. Here, the BBQ-like sauce felt… Unnatural. It had some odd form of smoke taste which, fortunately, was dampened by, again, some odd sweetness it had. If it wasn’t because of that combination, I might have not gone past the first bite. Why did I continue eating it? To make sure I wasn’t making it in my head…

Overall, it is what it is. While it was relatively “cheap” (the whole order was under $8), I can think of better things to eat. Heck, I might have gone to a Subway instead! But, then again, some people like them for their own reasons and I might if I had grown up with it. Fortunately, I did not grow up with them…

Now, to close this post, you might wonder why this post is called “Battle of the Whites”… Well, just come back by noon (Pacific time) to find out!

Tagged under: Burgers • Chain Restaurant • New Jersey