"When thinking about burgers, I would say it's more important to have tried New York's iconic burgers like Shake Shack's or Bar Six's (and, ideally, the iconic burgers of L.A., too) than to have tasted a White Castle slider." —Sarah DiGregorio, Village Voice food writer
Okay I don't often say this, but she's truly an uniformed person who lives in a bubble and doesn't know what it's like to live in an area where Kobe beef is not the main item on the menu.
I live in the Detroit area. I would put our hamburger area restaurants like Millers and Red coat Tavern and even my favorite like Bagger Dave's here in Berkley up against some of her New York Burgers.
White Castle and it's close cousin Top Hat, were a mainstay for us and a treat when I was a kid growing up in a one income, blue collar home back in the 60's. We ate the bad cuts of beef and mom made them taste good.
White Castle is still a good bargain. AND WHO THE HELL (on her post) doesn't remember what it was like as a kid to eat a twinkie?
Man....she can't be a food critic. You don't what's good unless you know where you came from and what you ate as a kid.
And till you eat all the bad old good stuff, you have nothing to measure anything by.
And if someone stuck a White Castle in front of me, I wouldn't turn it down because it looks "Creepy".
We went to White Castle all the time. There was a rule where everyone got to eat one in the car on the way back home. And a double-pickle burger, or the even-rarer triple-pickle one? That was a sign of good luck, and everyone was envious. Although I think my father was disappointed with me when I ordered one with cheese. He's quite the WC purist.
Listen, I can understand the nostalgic appeal of eating food from your childhood--I actually grew up working class, but my parents just didn't happen to take me to White Castle or Burger King, and I can't help that. My mother grew up on a farm in the Midwest, and was used to cooking at home to stretch money. (My grandfather, on the other hand, did take me out to McDonald's for breakfast, and I still remember how sweet those pancakes tasted.)
When I drove across the country, moving to LA and back, we stopped for fast food a few times, but more often tried to find cheap, mom-and-pop places, NOT because I'm somehow above fast food, but simply that food was more interesting (not the same everywhere), and better to support the local economy.
Actually, I don't live in a bubble, eating only Kobe beef--people don't go into writing for the big bucks. At Fork in the Road, we focus on cheap eats-- things like $1 dumplings in Sunset Park. We get all over the city, just trying to find good stuff, the cheaper the better.
Hey, I had no idea so many people take White Castle so personally. I didn't turn the burger down— I ate it, and I did like it—just thought the patty itself was a little strange. But you never know, maybe I'll get hooked.
@everyone: Sarah/VV does tend to focus on the cheap, good eats. And she doesn't appear to live in a bubble. Part of the reason I posted this as QOTD was that I was surprised she hadn't had the White Castle because she's eaten just about everything else out there.
But, yeah, Sarah, I've found that people take White Castle snubs personally and seriously 'round these parts. ;)
I would also say that if you haven't been to White Manna in Hackensack, you've missed out on a truly great slider that KILLS Whitey's slider. Shopsin's slider is almost as good, but he tends to burn the onions.
@Scoreboard44: Yeah, I know. I like to eat everything—the good and the "bad," the high and the low. Of course, it helps that I grew up with easy access to junk food and the like, so I was able to eat it as a kid. If you weren't raised on it and had never had it, I could see why you'd avoid it. I dunno what I'm going to do when I have kids, since I want them to be able to know what a Twinkie is like or White Castle but I don't want them to get too unhealthy a taste for it.
@ Adam--I do like Shopsins (for some reason I don't mind burnt onions), but I"ll have to get out to White Manna soon.
@ Scoreboard: Thanks for the apology, but if you look at the comments, it's actually my colleague Chantal who made the remark about the Twinkies. I've had them. Chantal was just trying to add to the conversation, I'm sure, and had no idea how offended you would be.
I guess it really is true that New Yorkers don't think there's anything outside of New York (except maybe LA...). It's ok. To each his own, huh? My philosophy is to try as many different burgers as I can, whether WC, Shake Shack or mom n' pop shops on the road. Then I can truly compare.
Adam - I wasn't serious. And I mean no disrespect to AHT! Mad love! Guess I better watch my typing on the interweb as sarcasm doesn't readily translate.
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"When thinking about burgers, I would say it's more important to have tried New York's iconic burgers like Shake Shack's or Bar Six's (and, ideally, the iconic burgers of L.A., too) than to have tasted a White Castle slider." —Sarah DiGregorio, Village Voice food writer
13 Comments:
Okay I don't often say this, but she's truly an uniformed person who lives in a bubble and doesn't know what it's like to live in an area where Kobe beef is not the main item on the menu.
I live in the Detroit area. I would put our hamburger area restaurants like Millers and Red coat Tavern and even my favorite like Bagger Dave's here in Berkley up against some of her New York Burgers.
White Castle and it's close cousin Top Hat, were a mainstay for us and a treat when I was a kid growing up in a one income, blue collar home back in the 60's. We ate the bad cuts of beef and mom made them taste good.
White Castle is still a good bargain. AND WHO THE HELL (on her post) doesn't remember what it was like as a kid to eat a twinkie?
Man....she can't be a food critic. You don't what's good unless you know where you came from and what you ate as a kid.
And till you eat all the bad old good stuff, you have nothing to measure anything by.
And if someone stuck a White Castle in front of me, I wouldn't turn it down because it looks "Creepy".
Scoreboard44 at 8:30PM on 06/17/09
We went to White Castle all the time. There was a rule where everyone got to eat one in the car on the way back home. And a double-pickle burger, or the even-rarer triple-pickle one? That was a sign of good luck, and everyone was envious. Although I think my father was disappointed with me when I ordered one with cheese. He's quite the WC purist.
I do miss Chicago...
NotAmerican at 8:09AM on 06/18/09
Hey everybody, Sarah here--
Listen, I can understand the nostalgic appeal of eating food from your childhood--I actually grew up working class, but my parents just didn't happen to take me to White Castle or Burger King, and I can't help that. My mother grew up on a farm in the Midwest, and was used to cooking at home to stretch money. (My grandfather, on the other hand, did take me out to McDonald's for breakfast, and I still remember how sweet those pancakes tasted.)
When I drove across the country, moving to LA and back, we stopped for fast food a few times, but more often tried to find cheap, mom-and-pop places, NOT because I'm somehow above fast food, but simply that food was more interesting (not the same everywhere), and better to support the local economy.
Actually, I don't live in a bubble, eating only Kobe beef--people don't go into writing for the big bucks. At Fork in the Road, we focus on cheap eats-- things like $1 dumplings in Sunset Park. We get all over the city, just trying to find good stuff, the cheaper the better.
Hey, I had no idea so many people take White Castle so personally. I didn't turn the burger down— I ate it, and I did like it—just thought the patty itself was a little strange. But you never know, maybe I'll get hooked.
sarahdg at 9:03AM on 06/18/09
@everyone: Sarah/VV does tend to focus on the cheap, good eats. And she doesn't appear to live in a bubble. Part of the reason I posted this as QOTD was that I was surprised she hadn't had the White Castle because she's eaten just about everything else out there.
But, yeah, Sarah, I've found that people take White Castle snubs personally and seriously 'round these parts. ;)
I would also say that if you haven't been to White Manna in Hackensack, you've missed out on a truly great slider that KILLS Whitey's slider. Shopsin's slider is almost as good, but he tends to burn the onions.
Adam Kuban at 9:15AM on 06/18/09
Okay. I apologize to Sara. I didn't mean to vent on her like that but the article and some of the comments on the site came across as a bit purist.
Especially the part about the twinkie.
Scoreboard44 at 11:58AM on 06/18/09
@Scoreboard44: Yeah, I know. I like to eat everything—the good and the "bad," the high and the low. Of course, it helps that I grew up with easy access to junk food and the like, so I was able to eat it as a kid. If you weren't raised on it and had never had it, I could see why you'd avoid it. I dunno what I'm going to do when I have kids, since I want them to be able to know what a Twinkie is like or White Castle but I don't want them to get too unhealthy a taste for it.
Adam Kuban at 12:19PM on 06/18/09
@ Adam--I do like Shopsins (for some reason I don't mind burnt onions), but I"ll have to get out to White Manna soon.
@ Scoreboard: Thanks for the apology, but if you look at the comments, it's actually my colleague Chantal who made the remark about the Twinkies. I've had them. Chantal was just trying to add to the conversation, I'm sure, and had no idea how offended you would be.
sarahdg at 3:09PM on 06/18/09
Actually that is what I think I was looking at. (concerning the twinkie comment).
Again Sara, my apologies.
I need to go get a burger.
Scoreboard44 at 3:28PM on 06/18/09
I still need to go to White Castle!
Robyn Lee at 7:33PM on 06/21/09
Boooooo, Robyn Lee, boooooo!
Adam Kuban at 4:25PM on 06/22/09
I guess it really is true that New Yorkers don't think there's anything outside of New York (except maybe LA...). It's ok. To each his own, huh? My philosophy is to try as many different burgers as I can, whether WC, Shake Shack or mom n' pop shops on the road. Then I can truly compare.
Sakura at 6:15PM on 06/22/09
Dunno where you got that one, Sakura. We have lots of info on burgers in places other than L.A. and NYC.
Adam Kuban at 8:44PM on 06/22/09
Adam - I wasn't serious. And I mean no disrespect to AHT! Mad love! Guess I better watch my typing on the interweb as sarcasm doesn't readily translate.
Sakura at 7:18PM on 06/23/09