POLL: Who loves White Castles?

Nothing tastes better after a long night out, and surprisingly, no hangover the morning after. Wonder if there's a correlation? I only eat them on weekends, as I fall into the "I love them, but they do not love me" category.

They leave a "furry" sensation and aftertaste that I dislike. I'll eat them in a pinch but rarely, if ever intentionally.

Yum. Why only less than a handful of times a year? Because they're loaded with fats, I suppose. And as godawful as white bread is, I can't imagine a white castle on an authentic whole grain bun.

Another guilty pleasure.... When we have an evening out dancing, a tradition we started down south, a late dinner/snack at The Waffle House. Grilled cheese sandwich with egg and bacon and a waffle loaded with syrup. Oy. And the wait staff are always so sweet.

I like mine with extra pickle,onion, and ketchup and mustard. Back in Chicago most of the castles had the ketchup and mustard mixed together in the same bottle, they just called it sauce. I get the crave about 2 or 3 times a year.

I was raised in PA, did not have a WC I moved to NJ. They are my guilty pleasure, especially since they added the mozzarella sticks (do not care for thier fries). When my Ex lived in WV after I moved here, I took him bags of them when our daughter stayed with him. I still wonder what he looked forward to more, the daughter or the White Castles <joke>

Years ago, I read an article that claimed that beef liver was part of the WC patty. That may account for the taste and some of the digestive complaints.

For me, the best thing about White Castle is the breakfast. The bacon, egg, and cheese sandwiches actually have a real cooked egg on them. Decent coffee too for a fast food joint.

But I love White Castle. Breakfast, lunch, or dinner.

draft Big Red @ White Castle is, hands down, my favorite carbonated soft drink of all time.

For the last several years I have made our Thanksgiving stuffing out of White Castles. I am not kidding. Everyone always oohs and ahhs over it - even folks who claim to loathe White Castles. You have to get 'em without pickles for the recipe to work right though. I normally buy the frozen ones - they come without pickles automatically. I am already looking forward to this year's batch.

Shout out to the Chicken Rings, as well - and the Jalapeno Burger.

I don't eat there that often, either...it doesn't upset my stomach, exactly - it's just that the taste seems to stay with me for hours. But it is almost as if they were specifically formulated to soak up alcohol, isn't it?

Now that has to be some super yummy stuffing...!!! Can you share the recipe?

When I was producing Off the Cuff for WFPL, I had the good fortune of interviewing David Hogan, author of Selling 'em by the Sack, the entire history of White Castle, which goes back to the early 1920s. White Castle didn't invent the hamburger, but really helped legitimize it due to very strict sanitary requirements, quick service, and as good a coffee as you could get back in the day. And they were doing it long before Ray Kroc.

Rumors have always swirled around the chain - about what's in the meat (baby food is the most frequent ingredient you'll find in the clone recipes) and, more recently, that the onions aren't really onions anymore but rather onion flavored cabbage, which could explain some of the digestive, uh, interest.

I'm one of those weirdos who actually likes my cheeseburgers with tartar sauce rather than mustard, but I can't live without the pickle. That was Hogan's primary objection to the frozen variety, although it's pretty simple to keep a jar of hamburger dills in the fridge. The frozen ones are better if you thaw them first, of course, and sometimes it's difficult to wait. The times I most crave the darned things are the times I'm in the least suitable shape to drive to get them, though, so there's usually a box of six in my freezer, just in case . . .

Now that has to be some super yummy stuffing...!!! Can you share the recipe?

Glad to!


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White Castle Dressing

10 White Castle hamburgers, no pickles
1 1/2 cups celery, diced
1 cup diced yellow onion
1 tablespoon fresh thyme
1 1/2 tsp. ground sage
1 teaspoon minced garlic
1/4 cup coarsely chopped Italian flat-leaf parsley
3/4 tsp. coarsely ground black pepper
1/2 to 1 cup chicken broth
2 eggs, lightly beaten
Kosher salt to taste

Dice the burgers into pieces and add diced celery, onion, parsley and seasonings. Toss and add chicken broth and beaten eggs. Mix well but do not "over-squish". Note: Allow 1 hamburger for each pound of turkey, which will be the equivalent of 3/4 cup of stuffing per pound.

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And that's it! The recipe as it was given to me had instructions to stuff the cavity of the turkey and did not include eggs, but after taking sanitation courses in school I can no longer condone cooking stuffing within the bird (yuk!), so I just throw it in a casserole dish with some foil atop and bake it, oh, say at 350 F for about 35-45 minutes, taking the foil off near the end to crisp the top up.

Man, those sanitation classes will mess with your appetite but good, won't they? Just got my ServSafe certification today (more than I'll ever need to work in Kentucky as state requirements are, sad to say, far less stringent).

Marsha.. I am making that this Thanksgiving. That is pure genius.

I <3 White Castle. I dine on them at least 2-3 times a month. Usually for lunch. There is not much in the world better than 4 cheese and a large Big Red.

Hmm... I think I know what I'm having for lunch tomorrow.

I grew up in CA and had heard of them but had not had one till I moved out here. A friend took me shortly after arriving raving about how good they were and I had to try them. I bought a sack and I have tell you that is a deffinent aquired taste, I had 2 thinking the first one was just a little off...nope I promptly handed my friend the sack. He seemed a little sad that I did not like them but he had no problem finishing them off. I miss my good old double double from IN AN OUT burger, I'll leave the WC to you all.

I love them anytime but especially in the wee hours of the morning after a few drinks. We live right up the street from the one on Preston so we used to go about once a week when we first moved to GTown. Now, we go once a month or so. Actually, WC sounds good for dinner...grabbing my keys...