点评:The orginal (1921) hamburger chain, far predating McDonald's by decades, and my favorite burgers of all time are White Castle 'sliders': little square hamburgers with a small hole in the middle. We used to call them 'gut-busters' and 'grease bombs.' My dad said that when he was a kid in Chicago in the 1920s, they cost 5 cents a piece.
When I was in high school in the later 1960s, they still were only 12 cents each. I'd get a bag of 12 and be in burger heaven. No more: it's now about $1.40 for just a basic slider. How times have changed.
You either love them or hate them. My wife hates the smell of them, but I still love them.
Sadly, White Castles' locations are pretty much limited to the central Midwest, Northeast, and Florida. (A similar chain called Krystals is in the deep South. They are good, too.) But none are located close to Omaha, NE, where I now live. You can get frozen White Castles at grocery stores, but it's not quite the same.
So I had not been to a White Castle for...25years? When on a visit to Minneapolis, I made a special pilgrimage to satisfy my slider craving. Aside from the sticker shock, they are still pretty as I remember them: still great and I'm still in love with them.
Nothing else is like a White Castle slider! All other burgers chains are generic in comparison. (aside from their twin in the South, Krystal)
翻译:最早的汉堡连锁店(1921年)比麦当劳早了几十年,我最喜欢的汉堡是白城堡的“迷你汉堡”:一种方形的小汉堡,中间有个小洞。我们以前管它们叫“大胃王”和“油脂炸弹”。我爸爸说,20世纪20年代他还是个孩子的时候,住在芝加哥,那时的迷你汉堡每个才5美分。
20世纪60年代末我上高中的时候,每个迷你汉堡还只有12美分。我买一袋12个,简直就是在汉堡天堂。现在不一样了:现在一个普通的迷你汉堡就要1.4美元。时代变了,真是变了。
你要么爱吃,要么恨吃。我老婆讨厌它们的味道,但我仍然爱吃。
可惜的是,白城堡的门店基本局限于美国中西部中部、东北部和佛罗里达州。 (美国南部腹地有一家类似的连锁店,名叫Krystals,味道也不错。)不过,我现在住的内布拉斯加州奥马哈附近没有一家能比得上。你可以在杂货店买到冷冻的“白城堡”,但味道肯定不一样。
这么说,我已经……25年没去过“白城堡”了?去明尼阿波利斯的时候,我特意去了一趟,满足了对“小汉堡”的渴望。除了价格有点吓人之外,它们依然像我记忆中那样漂亮:依然美味,我依然爱着它们。
没有什么比得上“白城堡”小汉堡了!相比之下,其他汉堡连锁店都显得平庸。(除了它们在南部的孪生兄弟Krystal)