If you read Burger Beast regularly and don’t know about White Castle and its sliders, then you’ve got a lot to learn. White Castle is a regional burger chain that is still family-operated.
Billy Ingram and Walt Anderson founded White Castle in 1921. The first location was in Wichita, Kansas. Many, including myself, believe White Castle is responsible for the burger revolution.
White Castle‘s signature burger is, of course, the slider. Their slider is a small square burger cooked/steamed on a bed of onions. The burger patty also has five holes in it, which helps with the cooking process by allowing steam to rise through it.
It is never flipped. The Slider is much like a potato chip; you can’t have just one.
With White Castle in only a few states, your best bet if you need one is to check out your nearest supermarket’s frozen foods section. It’s not the same thing, but it’s close.
And when you’ve got a craving, it will temporarily satiate that need.
White Castle Cravers
White Castle Locations
White Castle has restaurants in 13 states, with a location in Orlando, Florida, slated to open very soon. The last time there was a castle in Florida was in 1967. There were two locations in Miami, Florida, my hometown.
I have been able to snag some sliders from the Cravemobile when it stopped in Miami and Orlando.
| WHITE CASTLE STATE LOCATIONS | WHICH ONES HAS BURGER BEAST EATEN FROM? |
| Florida | Cravemobile in Orlando and Miami |
| Illinois | |
| Indiana | New Castle |
| Kentucky | Bowling Green and Lexington |
| Michigan | Flint |
| Minnesota | |
| Missouri | |
| New Jersey | Little Ferry |
| Nevada | |
| New York | Elmhurst and Jackson Heights |
| Ohio | Columbus |
| Pennsylvania | |
| Tennessee | Nashville |
| Wisconsin |
Kentucky
New York
New Jersey
Ohio
My two road trips to Columbus, Ohio, revolved around White Castle.
The first time I checked out their original HQ, and the second time was to do a signing for my book All About the Burger at their flagship location.
Tennessee
Cravemobile in Miami
In late 2015 White Castle found itself back in Miami via a stop by its Cravemobile. I helped them coordinate their stop in exchange for one thing, that I got the first slider in Miami since they left almost half a century ago.
Just shortly after their arrival, I had a Crave Case with 30 sliders in my hot little hands. The case itself has now become part of my Burger Museum‘s collection of artifacts.
My Burger Museum Collection
Here is a small part of the White Castle collection from my Burger Museum.
Are you a Craver?
A Craver is a White Castle fan. There is even a Craver Hall of Fame for all the real hardcore devotees. I haven’t been inducted into it yet, but I am getting my acceptance speech ready for whenever that day comes.