White Castle's iconic slider changed how Americans viewed hamburgers and fast food.
The famous fast-food eatery has always focused on quality over quantity, and its menu changes have
been few but significant. Here's what happened in White Castle menu history the year you were born.
White Castle opened up its first location in Wichita, Kansas in 1921.
The idea was to create a restaurant where diners could enjoy the then unfamiliar taste
of the hamburger and also enjoy a spotless atmosphere and quick and polite service.
The founders of White Castle hoped to change the reputation of ground beef,
which was at the time extremely poor. That reputation was entrenched by works like
Upton Sinclair's The Jungle, a 1906 novel that depicted the beef industry as highly unsanitary.
Upon opening, the first White Castle menu was exceptionally simple,
with only four items. This allowed for greater quality control.
Those delicious White Castle sliders were the only entree available,
with Coca-Cola and coffee to drink and apple pie for dessert. The tiny burger patties were
made small in order to speed up the cooking process and seal in the meat's natural juices.
Though the vintage patties looked relatively familiar to White Castle's sliders of today,
there were a few key differences. Back then, the raw patty was cooked directly on a grill
and flipped, as opposed to today's steam and set method. The sliders were then topped with
diced onions, salt, and pepper, and then placed on a bun and dropped in a sack. Diners also had
the option of adding other toppings, such as pickles, cheese, lettuce, and tomato.
White Castle did well throughout the Great Depression, growing its number of restaurants
to more than 100 and inspiring knock-off brands to follow their lead. Unfortunately,
World War II presented serious challenges to the chain. Sliders, Coke, and coffee made up more than
half of White Castle's menu at the time, but when the U.S. Government began rationing sugar, coffee,
and meat during the war, it became difficult to maintain the old menu.
White Castle turned to other menu items to pick up the slack. In addition to sliders,
customers could also order fried egg sandwiches, hot dogs, grilled cheese sandwiches,
and baked beans. White Castle also offered French fries for the first time. As for the sliders,
they received a slight change due to an onion shortage. Rather than use fresh onions on the
burgers, White Castle began using more widely available dehydrated onions. While the chain
abandoned most of these menu changes after the war, it kept the dehydrated onions.
Once World War II was over and servicemen came back to their jobs, White Castle was not quite
out of its difficult years. Food shortages were still an issue, as was finding employees. During
this time, one innovative White Castle operator in Cincinnati named Earl Howell made a big change
to the way his location made its sliders. The result was a better burger for a lower cost.
"Dude, that was awesome. Where the hell did that come from?"
"I don't know. Eating those delicious burgers made me feel like a new man."
In order to get more sliders from a single pound of beef, the operator cut down the size
of the sandwiches and then drilled five holes into each patty. Not only did this save cash,
but it enhanced the burger's flavor, as the patty's juices were better retained and it
made the burger cook faster. It also meant shorter wait times for hungry customers.
Around the same time, White Castle also switched from cooking its patties directly on the grill
and then topping them with onions, to piling up the onions on the grill first and then layering
the patties on top. This cooked the meat with steam, and the method is still in use today.
By the 1950s, White Castle was certainly not the only major fast-food player on the scene.
Other chains were thriving and soon McDonald's and Burger King would both take off.
Other competitors included Steak n' Shake, Howard Johnson's, and Bob's Big Boy.
What gave these restaurants a potential edge over White Castle? They all believed in franchising,
something White Castle still refuses to do.
White Castle's owners realized that they needed to stay ahead of the curve. So they decided
to expand the chain's stalwart menu in ways only previously done out of sheer necessity.
White Castle looked to previous successes from World War II for inspiration and found French
fries, which it added back to the menu. The chain also tried out milkshakes for the first time. The
two menu changes were successful. You can still find both of these options at White Castle today.
Most know the story of McDonald's Filet o' Fish and how it was added to the menu
as an effort to attract Catholic customers who couldn’t eat meat on Fridays. However,
McDonald's was not the first to come up with this concept.
Instead, White Castle was at the forefront of the fast-food fish sandwich trend,
offering it in an effort to attract Catholic customers during the Korean War.
The fish sandwiches were only available on Fridays, but they proved relatively successful.
However, White Castle did not make them a permanent menu item at the time.
Today, however, you can get a White Castle fish slider, with a breaded fish patty, tartar sauce,
and cheese served on the same steamed buns that are used for the regular sliders.
Beyond the innovation of fish sandwiches, White Castle was still having success with
its very limited menu and, in 1961, the chain sold its billionth burger.
When White Castle makes a menu change, it doesn't fool around. The brand takes
things very seriously, as evidenced by how slowly the menu has changed over the years.
In 1962, White Castle would make its very first permanent entree menu addition that was not the
result of wartime shortages. It would not make another menu change for two decades.
The big change? White Castle released a cheeseburger. Appearing 41 years after the
original White Castle slider, the cheeseburger was an exact replica of the regular slider,
with its onions and pickles, only with the addition of a miniature
slice of cheese. The menu addition was a success and the cheeseburger remained.
In 1986 White Castle decided to head into the world of fast-food breakfast.
As such, it was decided that all of its offerings would be made to order,
using only freshly cracked eggs, unlike the liquid and frozen eggs that you find at other fast-food
chains. White Castle's first breakfast sandwich was a breakfast slider with egg and cheese,
along with the customer's choice of sausage or bacon,
all served on the same steamed bun that you get with a regular slider. The sandwich would
be the lone breakfast menu item until 2011 when White Castle launched a toast sandwich.
The menu change accompanied certain other, larger changes for the brand, such as the
launch of its frozen line of hamburgers in 1987 and its introduction of drive-thru's in 1980.
By the late 1980s, White Castle had begun testing out new menu items on a small scale,
partially thanks to new leadership that included E.W. Ingram III,
the co-founder's grandson. Tested menu items included chicken nuggets and double burgers,
which, in the vein of the McDonald's Big Mac, takes two patties and wedges a third
layer of bread between them, with extra toppings to go along with the extra patty.
However, White Castle realized that its customer base was aging. They weren’t attracting a younger
audience. In an effort to attract a new generation, they introduced a kids' meal:
The Castle Meal. This new menu item came with one slider, fries, a drink,
and a prize, all in a cardboard castle. The effort increased sales with both kids and parents.
While the 1990s were quiet for White Castle, the next two decades would present an ever-growing
menu and a rotating selection of seasonal and promotional items. It all started in 2001,
when White Castle introduced its Crave Case, a case of 30 sliders.
White Castle also introduced its Cravers Hall of Fame and inducted its inaugural class of Cravers.
Some of these famous inductees included Alice Cooper, Stan Lee, and, of course,
John Cho and Kal Penn, stars of the cult hit, Harold & Kumar Go to White Castle.
"You guys kept talking about White Castle last night so much,
it started to make me crave it too."
Over the years, the Crave Case experience has evolved, like when White Castle launched Crave
Copters to deliver Cases via drone. In 2020, the company realized that not everyone necessarily
needs 30 sliders at once, and so introduced the Crave Clutch, with 20 sliders to the box.
In 2002, White Castle changed up the chicken game with the
introduction of this rather untraditional fast-food item.
It was a great success, as White Castle Chicken Rings now have something of a cult following.
In an effort to compete against chicken options at other fast-food restaurants,
the Chicken Rings are available two ways: As a slider that includes two chicken rings
on one bun and topped with the cheese of your choice, or as a side. Variations of the chicken
rings over the years have included flavored and pretzel-coated Chicken Rings, but the original
rings remain a reliable menu item at White Castle, much to Cravers' delight. Some have even gone so
far as to propose using Chicken Rings, or have exchanged the tasty treats at their weddings.
In 2011, White Castle finally expanded its breakfast menu with the introduction of a new egg
and toast sandwich. The new menu item went beyond the simple breakfast slider, while still holding
true to its values and focus on high-quality and freshly cracked eggs. But the White Castle egg and
toast sandwich wasn't just unique in that it was a new breakfast menu item. Its uniqueness also lay
in the fact that the egg and toast sandwich was one of White Castle's only "normal"-sized items.
Deviating away from its precious slider buns, White Castle introduced this sandwich
with standard toast, a fried egg, and a choice of bacon or sausage. Simple, easy,
and with a decidedly nice crunch that the breakfast sliders lacked,
the toast sandwich was a hit. Today, you can enjoy this meal with a combo of two toast sandwiches,
including a side of round, miniature hash browns and coffee.
In 2014, White Castle took breakfast to a whole other level, with Belgian Waffle
Breakfast Sliders, something that was intended as a promotional item only, but which soon became a
permanent part of the menu. What exactly is it? An imported Belgian waffle straight from Brussels, as
well as a fresh egg, cheese, and a choice of bacon or sausage. In addition to the Belgian Waffle
breakfast sliders, White Castle has also offered a variety of other Belgian waffle-sandwiched menu
items since. These include a chicken and waffle slider, with a breaded chicken breast, bacon bits,
and country gravy, that was considered part of the lunch/dinner menu, rather than a breakfast item.
White Castle also made its first foray into the world of meat alternatives in 2014,
with the introduction of its veggie slider. Featuring a Dr. Praeger's veggie burger made
from vegetables such as carrots and spinach, the burgers were grilled and
then placed on a slider bun, instead of being cooked White Castle's usual way.
With the hit in the Belgian Waffle Breakfast Slider on its hands,
White Castle finally made the decision to go all-day with its breakfast. Previously,
customers could only order items like Belgian Waffle Breakfast Sliders during certain hours.
They called the new all-day breakfast menu its "Anything, Anytime" menu. White Castle didn't
offer its full breakfast options 24/7, but it did provide some of its most popular options,
like its original slider with egg and cheese. They also included a newer item that featured
a hamburger slider topped with egg, cheese, and onion, but sans pickle.
The decision wasn't necessarily groundbreaking on White Castle's part,
however. The menu change came along with similar menu updates around the country,
as when McDonald's began all-day breakfast the same year. Still, compared to other
fast-food joints, White Castle's all-day breakfast makes it stand out from the pack.
In 2018, White Castle became the first fast-food chain to offer the plant-based Impossible Burger,
in the form of the Impossible Slider. The burgers look, taste, and "bleed" like real
meat. Each Impossible Slider was topped with smoked cheddar cheese, pickles, and onions. As
much as vegetarians may have been interested, reviews of the new slider were uneven at best.
While reviews weren't always kind, the vegetarian Impossible Slider was certainly beloved by many,
as White Castle's sales exceeded expectations. But White Castle was still leaving out one group
of consumers that fast-food restaurants have a knack for overlooking: Vegans. That
slice of cheese topping the Impossible Slider was made out of dairy, after all.
So, what was the next step? Top a meat-free slider with dairy-free cheese, of course.
White Castle became the first fast-food hamburger chain in the United States to
offer a dairy-free alternative to cheddar cheese.
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