White Castle : the Castle of Grease

White Castle is an interesting franchise. Ask most of the customers who eat there what they like about the place and most will probably have to think about it for a bit. White Castle doesn't become a "favorite" or a "must have" food so much as it just integrates itself into one of your fast food options.

White Castle's claim to fame is their tiny cheeseburgers. Most adults can eat two or three easily. There is something about the taste of those burgers that is hard to resist. But your stomach resists it later.

White Castle is very greasy. This is hard on the digestive system. White Castle restaurants are usually not as clean as other fast food franchises. The dining area always has messy tables, trash spilling out of garbage cans, and bathrooms that could use a cleaning. Despite all of this, when the White Castle craving hits many of us will find ourselves lined up in the drive thru or dining room ordering these greasy little burgers.

One of the things that is intriguing to adults and children alike, is watching them prepare a grill of burgers. They pop out rows and rows of the little hamburger patties, that are shaped with irregular holes. They line them all up on the grill, and the preparations are reminiscent of an assembly line. Flipping seems perfectly timed. Then they toss them on a bun and that grease soaks the bun to make the bread as much of a greasy delight as the burger itself.

My excuse for this, and I'm sticking to it, is years of family history with these little bites of cheesy burger. White Castle was an economical fast food restaurant long before the days of the "Value Menu" on every fast food menu. Families on a budget could easily afford a treat of White Castle.

As an adult, my uncle took my family there. It was sitting there nibbling on our burgers and fries, he admitted, White Castle had been a part of his life since his teenage years. Before he served the military in WWII, he worked at a White Castle. The days of the ten cent and twenty five cent burgers are gone, the war is over, and still forty years later he enjoys the experience of White Castle food. He vividly described the differences in the restaurant now from the glory days. He also told some stories about how White Castle has evolved over the years.

Listening to the culture of this franchise made for an interesting experience. Now, whenever at a White Castle's I find myself reflecting back upon those days. When did the little burgers become a dollar? How things change!