White Castle (restaurant)
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White Castle is the oldest American hamburger fast-food restaurant chain. It is known for square burgers, commonly referred to as "sliders" (or "slyders"), which were priced at 5 cents until the 1940s, and remained at ten cents for years thereafter while growing smaller. For several years, when the original burgers sold for 5 cents, White Castle periodically ran promotional ads in local newspapers which contained coupons offering 5 burgers for 10 cents, takeout only. The typical White Castle restaurant architecture features a white exterior with a crenelated tower at one corner to resemble a medieval castle. The Chicago Water Tower, which stands on Michigan Avenue, is said to be the model for the classic building.
History
The company was founded in 1921 in Wichita, Kansas, when entrepreneur Edgar Waldo "Billy" Ingram partnered with cook Walter Anderson, who had developed an efficient way of cooking hamburgers quickly. Anderson's original method used freshly ground beef and fresh onions. The ground beef was formed into balls by machine, 18 to a pound, or 40 per kilogram. The balls were placed upon a hot grill and topped with a handful of fresh thinly shredded onion. Then they were flipped so that the onion was under the ball. The ball was then squashed down, turning the ball into a very thin patty, The bottom of the bun was then placed atop the cooking patty with the bun top on top of that so that the juices from the beef and the onion would permeate the bun. After grilling, a slice of dill pickle was inserted before serving. Management decreed that any additives, such as ketchup or mustard, must be added by the customer. Anderson's method is not in use by the chain today, having changed when the company switched from using fresh beef and fresh onion to small, frozen square patties (originally supplied by Swift & Co.) which are cooked atop a bed of dehydrated onions laid out on a grill. The heat and steam rises up from the grill, through the onions. In 1949 five holes in the patty were added to facilitate quick and thorough cooking. The very thin patties are not flipped throughout this process. This "steam grilled" method is unique among major fast food restaurants.
Ingram's business savvy, argues David Gerard Hogan in Selling 'Em By the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food, not only was responsible for White Castle's success, but for the popularization of the hamburger. For example, to counter charges that burgers were not healthy, Ingram paid several young men to dress as doctors and eat White Castle hamburgers, the idea being that if doctors ate it, it had to be healthy. This same logic led Ingram to fund a study in which a medical student went on a ten-week diet of nothing but White Castles and water. The experiment, though dubious, yielded results and increased legitimacy for the hamburger in general and White Castle in particular.
In 1933 Ingram bought out Anderson, and the following year the company moved corporate headquarters to Columbus, Ohio. The company remains privately held and its restaurants are company-owned; they are not franchised in the United States (international White Castle outlets are a different matter). Co-founder Billy Ingram was followed as head of the firm by his son E.W. Ingram Jr. and grandson E.W. Ingram III.
Marketing
White Castle was an early example of successful fast food marketing. While the White Castle company is based on four earlier hamburger stands owned by Anderson, the current name was chosen by Ingram in 1921 to distinguish it from other, less salubrious fast food outlets that many consumers were reluctant to visit. (White Castle's own facilities, prior to 1921, were considered shoddy by some.) "White" was chosen for its connotations of purity, while the "Castle" element was selected as it suggested stability and permanence. This factor was essential in the store's early successes, so much so that several chains (some of which still exist, such as Krystal) imitated the formula.
White Castle's innovative approach to preparing and presenting its hamburgers created a loyal following that, over time, developed slang used today by patrons and restaurant staff to communicate an order or otherwise discuss White Castle products. For example, a customer ordering a "sack of six with both," will receive six burgers with both ketchup and mustard (this is also a reference to White Castle's habit of keeping three bottles of condiments at hand for the burgers: ketchup, mustard, and a combination of the two—or "both"). An individual who consumes 6 or more "slyders" in one sitting earns the distinction "slyder pilot." Its burgers are also sold in frozen boxes in grocery stores nationwide. White Castle aficionados, however, argue that frozen slyders only loosely resemble those sold in the restaurants.
White Castle's marketing campaign capitalizes on the unique qualities of its product. "The Crave" is depicted in radio and television spots as a sort of addiction to White Castle burgers. An individual afflicted by "The Crave" can only be satisfied by slyders. While "The Crave" marketing strategy is presented in a light hearted, tongue-in-cheek fashion, many loyal patrons of the restaurant contend they do become afflicted by "The Crave" from time to time. It is argued that the size, construction and cooking method of White Castle burgers is unique among fast food products. Therefore, it is conceivable that "The Crave," in fact, is a specific yearning for the attributes possessed only by slyders. Another possible explanation is that affordability and convenience of White Castle burgers makes it an ideal choice after one suddenly feels peckish. This is more true after consumption of alcohol, which heightens one's appetite for carbohydrates and fat. Food from White Castle has long been considered to be a part of cannabis culture since people are also said to be afflicted with "The Crave" if they are under the influence of cannabis. This is prominently displayed in the stoner film Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle.
Every year for Valentine's Day, White Castle offers to reserve a candlelit table for two complete with a server.
In 2003, White Castle unveiled a new logo and has been promoting the slogan "What You Crave" since 1994.
Menu
White Castle is most well known for its hamburgers, but it also has a variety of other items. The menu varies depending on your region, but here is an idea of what most restaurants serve:
- Hamburger
- Cheeseburger
- Double Cheeseburger
- Jalapeno Cheeseburger
- Bacon Cheeseburger
- Chicken Ring Sandwich
- Chicken Breast Sandwich
- Chicken Supreme
- Fish Sandwich (with Cheese)
- French Fries
- Onion Chips (or Rings)
- Chicken Rings
- Clam Strips
- Fish Nibblers
- Mozzarella Cheese Sticks
- Hash Browns (breakfast hours only)
- Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
- Bacon, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
- Sausage, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
- Bacon, Sausage, Egg and Cheese Breakfast Sandwich
- Coca-Cola soft drink products
- Fresh Brewed Iced Tea and Sweet Tea
- Coffee and Hot Chocolate
- Coca-Cola and Fanta Icees
- Milkshakes (Chocolate, Vanilla, Strawberry)
Typically the breakfast menu is available from 5:00 AM until 10:00 AM, but some stores have attempted to boost overnight sales and start breakfast service as early as midnight. The regular menu is available 24 hours a day.
Trivia
- White Castle closed its original stores in Kansas in 1938, and attempted a failed return to Kansas in the 1990s. To this day, there is not one single chain store in the state. In fact, as noted below under "locations," the chain's extent is strictly limited to the eastern/southeastern sections of the Midwest, with the major exception of the greater New York area.
- For the release of Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle, Time Warner set up a temporary White Castle on the Sunset Strip in Hollywood from July 22 - August 11, 2004. The site, a full-size replica of one of the original White Castle restaurant designs, was set up adjacent to the Standard hotel, thus making this restaurant the only White Castle outside of the company's normal area of sales. [link]
- White Castle is also featured in the movie Saturday Night Fever when the characters Tony, Joey, Double-J, Bobby, and Stephanie eat there. It's mostly remembered for when Double-J shoves a hamburger into Joey's mouth, and Joey starts barking like a dog and stands on the table.
- As well, a White Castle restaurant is briefly seen in the beginning of the first Wayne's World film as the scene where the guys sing Bohemian Rhapsody ends.
Locations
White Castle can be found in the following regions or cities in the United States [link]:
- Ann Arbor, Michigan
- Anderson, Indiana
- Chicagoland
- Cincinnati
- Greater Cleveland
- Columbus
- Dayton
- Detroit
- Evansville, Indiana
- Highland Heights, Kentucky
- Newport, Kentucky
- Indianapolis
- Kenosha, Wisconsin
- Lansing
- Lexington, Kentucky
- Eatontown, New Jersey
- Elizabeth, New Jersey
- Little Ferry, New Jersey
- Jersey City, New Jersey
- South Amboy, New Jersey
- Union City, New Jersey
- Louisville, Kentucky
- Metuchen, New Jersey
- Nashville
- New Brunswick, New Jersey
- New York City Metropolitan Area and Long Island
- Richmond, Indiana
- St. Louis
- Toledo, Ohio
- Twin Cities (Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota)
- Lincoln Park, Michigan
See also
- Krystal - considered to be much like White Castle but for the Southern United States.
- Little Tavern - a similar chain in the Baltimore-Washington area.
- White Tower Hamburgers [link]
- Hip hop music group The Beastie Boys, whose mentions of White Castle on six of thirteen tracks of their 1986 multi-platinum Licensed to Ill album, gave widespread exposure to the restaurant chain.
- Harold and Kumar Go to White Castle
Logos
External link
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