Ask any New Yorker who was around in the 70s, 80s, or 90s, and they'll tell you one thing was for sure: running into a White Castle for a "sackful" of sliders and onion rings was the norm, no matter what time of the day or night it was.
But despite having originated in Ohio, White Castle is and will forever be considered a quintessential piece of New York City history.
Fact is, you can still witness this classic establishment serving up those amazing sliders today in a select number of locations around NYC.
The one on 8th Avenue near Port Authority is a lean, mean slider production machine that always has griddles full of burgers cooking, as customers await their meals-- practically drooling.
The way their burgers are made has been the same for nearly ninety-five years now, and New York has been part of their delicious history for eighty-five of them.
But it's not just those steamed, onion-covered sliders, or the fact that they are still the cheapest burgers around, that make New Yorkers line up.
You see, there's more to it than that.
It's those deliciously crispy onion rings, possibly the only ones still around where you can hear that crunch just as you bite into them.
All that yumminess being said, here are 9 delicious reasons why White Castle will forever be a part of quintessential NYC.
1. Open 24/7
The greatest part about WC is that no one will look at you funny for ordering a fish sandwich, three double cheeseburger sliders, and a root beer at 9 a.m.
Seriously, where else can you get all that goodness 24/7?
2. Those nostalgic pictures hanging up inside
White Castle's interior walls have enlarged, black-and-white pictures of their "Golden Oldie" days hanging up everywhere.
Those framed pictures are oftentimes so charming and nostalgic that you can't help but simply stare at them as you devour that amazing meal.
3. Onion rings
The onion rings and fries are perfectly golden and fried in pure vegetable oil. Might I add, they are also perfectly salted so that you don't have to add any whatsoever.
Gettin' hungry yet or what?
4. Free, unlimited refills
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They have free, unlimited drink refills and actually have Barq's Root Beer and Fanta Orange still on tap!
It would be great, though, if they'd bring back that non-carbonated, orange drink from way back in the day for WC newbies to enjoy, don't you think?
5. Great customer service
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There is absolutely zero attitude at the counter and WC's staff seems to actually enjoy doing their jobs. (We're looking at you, Starbucks!)
Bottom line is, this is quite possibly the most unpretentious eatery in all of NYC. And that's hard to come by nowadays.
,6. Those old-school vending machines filled with toys
There are plenty of quarter and dollar vending machines where the kid-in-you can still get "Sticky Hands" and toy trinkets!
The toy machine at the 8th Avenue location dispenses fake mustaches-- perfect for anyone who wants to test-drive a hipster 'stache before committing.
Even more, children are still handed WC paper chef hats when available. Amazing!
7. Chicken rings
Make no mistake about it, they are the original fast food joint with chicken rings.
Those perfectly-rounded rings look like small donuts and the meat inside is always juicy. They're 530 calories/serving, but WC definitely isn't the place to be counting your calories.
They're as uniformly golden brown as their fries and onion rings. Perfect!
8. Customer appreciation days
impresoso #whitecastle #doublecheese #burger the size is cute. the taste is 😱. No more than junk food. XXX!!!!
There are plenty of customer perk days that sometimes even include two free sliders/person (there was actually one just this past Friday).
(By the way, you can definitely get away with going to more than one location and getting two free burgers over and over again... but if anyone asks, you didn't hear that from us.)
9. Their often imitated, never duplicated burgers
Last but not least, WC's little burgers-- each 1/18th of a pound-- are often imitated but never duplicated.
Their patties come to the stores frozen and with those holes already inside, and they are then steamed with the bun, both on and off.
Other famous places of hamburger nostalgia try to pull off the same thing (only with non-frozen meat), and it simply never does taste the same.
What's the trick? Who knows.
Fact is, nothing really ever tastes as good as the original, right?
Love your burgers? Read 11 Juiciest NYC Burgers You Just Gotta Sink Your Teeth Into ASAP.