Rene G wrote:Holly of Uptown wrote:That said, one place you should not miss is Powers Hamburgers, 1402 S. Harrison Street. Been there since forever, and it's open all night (except closes sometime late on Saturday night and is closed Sunday). People often use the term "White Castle" as an aid to describing their product, but that's an injustice.
Powers is a special place, a true classic. I don't much care for White Castle's burgers but I find Powers' version to be exceptionally fine, the best rendition of a slider I've had. Keep in mind Powers is no longer open all night; I think the hours may vary by season and according to the TinCaps' schedule so be sure to check ahead.
Powers is a tiny gem, dwarfed by the Post Office & Court House next door. The day we visited a bicycle race was in progress, cutting off access and greatly annoying the owner.
The menu is compact but extends well beyond hamburgers (though burgers seem to be the preferred order by a wide margin). We got a ringside seat at the counter affording an excellent view of the miniature grill. The burgers begin life as golfball-sized spheres of meat lined up on the griddle. Handfuls of onions are piled on and the burgers get mashed to flatness with a spatula.
After a minute or two they're flipped so the cushion of onion is on the bottom. When caramelization is complete the burger is transferred to a small Aunt Millie bun.
No condiments are added but squirt bottles of mustard and ketchup are available. No pickles and certainly no lettuce or tomato.
I was almost unprepared for how tasty these little guys are, with deep onion flavor. They're surprisingly ungreasy but by no means dry. Really in a different league than any similar burgers I've tried.
Another report, from stevez, can be found in the Chicago to Fort Wayne thread.
Powers Hamburgers
1402 S Harrison St
Fort Wayne IN
260-422-6620
Binko wrote:A slider doesn't have to be White Castle.
David Hammond wrote:Binko wrote:A slider doesn't have to be White Castle.
True, but The Original Slider is registered to WC.
While in most burgers a crisp, well-seared crust is desirable, a slider is different. The griddle is not kept hot enough to impart significant browning. If it were, it'd rapidly burn the onions to a crisp. Thus the flavor advantage ostensibly offered with the traditional method by cooking the beef in direct griddle contact offers no significant benefit. Cooking on a bed of onions, however, imparts significantly more flavor to the meat.
JasonM wrote:After reading this post i had to hop in the car and head to White Castle for lunch......
Binko wrote:But it is supposed to be a soft, thin, very oniony burger, served on a squishy bun. It will not have edge caramelization/browning. You cannot order it "medium rare" or somesuch nonsense. The joy of that style of burger, to me, is the oozing mix of onion and meat juices when you bite into it, accented with a bit of salt and umami from the beef, a touch of acidity from the pickle, and the squishy-soft pillowy-texture of the bun.
David Hammond wrote:White Castle has a significant place in the history of American popular food, and its influence has spread up the food chain to influence many fancier places that now feel obliged to offer “sliders” of Kobe and foie gras.
spinynorman99 wrote:I've never eaten at White Castle (just never had an occasion to). My understanding is that the sliders are mostly steam-cooked, which would lead to the softer texture (more like the Maid Rite loose meat sandwiches but in a patty form). So if you're expecting a firm, griddled/grilled burger it's not going to be the same.
David Hammond wrote:True, but The Original Slider is registered to WC.
Rene G wrote:Selling 'em by the Sack: White Castle and the Creation of American Food traces the term back even farther.David Hogan wrote:After successfully dodging the term slider since the 1930s, White Castle finally embraced it [in the 1990s] and featured it in its advertising but changed the spelling to Slyder for copyright reasons.
After the "burger wars" of the 1970s many giant national corporations were left in ruins but somehow tiny White Castle emerged relatively unscathed. This was a mystery to many business analysts and probably even to the company itself. It became apparent that White Castle catered to a very small but intensely loyal market segment, often compared to a cult. Finally in the 1990s White Castle adopted new advertising tactics that celebrated their differences and appealed directly to their most faithful fans. Following other minorities during this period, they took a formerly derogatory epithet and turned into a term of pride.
exvaxman wrote:A former co-worker had a heart attack and he was told that the only hamburger he was allowed was WC due to the way they are cooked.
I'd ask for a second opinion.
David Hammond wrote:JasonM wrote:After reading this post i had to hop in the car and head to White Castle for lunch......
Then may I refer you to Dr. Roger Lupei: http://il-oak-park.doctors.at/dr/roger- ... ralupeiphd
He's a buddy of mine and may cut you deal.
jlawrence01 wrote:David Hammond wrote:JasonM wrote:After reading this post i had to hop in the car and head to White Castle for lunch......
Then may I refer you to Dr. Roger Lupei: http://il-oak-park.doctors.at/dr/roger- ... ralupeiphd
He's a buddy of mine and may cut you deal.
How is White Castle's any more unhealthy than the average meal at Manny's and other places that you post on? Four White Castle hamburgers have less fat and sodium than a pastrami or corned beef sandwich.
zoid wrote:I have to admit I like them. Double cheeseburgers, extra pickles, onion rings - I love 'em without reservation or embarrassment
David Hammond wrote:zoid wrote:I have to admit I like them. Double cheeseburgers, extra pickles, onion rings - I love 'em without reservation or embarrassment
Zoid, bro, I wouldn't want you to feel embarrassed or in need of explaining yourself, but my feeling is, and this is a much more extreme position that I'd normally take, that if one finds the flavor of WC to be good, then there's something going on there besides taste. Maybe it's nostalgia or some other psychological factor, but I find it very hard to believe that anyone would actually like the taste of these burgers.
I had this professor, Elder Olson, who was a big smoker. He would smoke throughout class. Said he felt sick if he didn't smoke, "like a fish who can live only in polluted water." I'm not directing this to zoid or anyone else, but I think it's possible that over-exposure to bad things (WC, for instance) can actually make one think they like these things when, in fact, if their senses were recalibrated and cleansed, they would realize that what they were consuming was, indeed, bad.
No offense intended, and apologies in advance if I have rubbed any WC lovers the wrong way. But really, this is some bad shit.
David Hammond wrote:zoid wrote:I have to admit I like them. Double cheeseburgers, extra pickles, onion rings - I love 'em without reservation or embarrassment
Zoid, bro, I wouldn't want you to feel embarrassed or in need of explaining yourself, but my feeling is, and this is a much more extreme position that I'd normally take, that if one finds the flavor of WC to be good, then there's something going on there besides taste. Maybe it's nostalgia or some other psychological factor, but I find it very hard to believe that anyone would actually like the taste of these burgers.
I had this professor, Elder Olson, who was a big smoker. He would smoke throughout class. Said he felt sick if he didn't smoke, "like a fish who can live only in polluted water." I'm not directing this to zoid or anyone else, but I think it's possible that over-exposure to bad things (WC, for instance) can actually make one think they like these things when, in fact, if their senses were recalibrated and cleansed, they would realize that what they were consuming was, indeed, bad.
No offense intended, and apologies in advance if I have rubbed any WC lovers the wrong way. But really, this is some bad shit.
zoid wrote:David Hammond wrote:zoid wrote:I have to admit I like them. Double cheeseburgers, extra pickles, onion rings - I love 'em without reservation or embarrassment
Zoid, bro, I wouldn't want you to feel embarrassed or in need of explaining yourself, but my feeling is, and this is a much more extreme position that I'd normally take, that if one finds the flavor of WC to be good, then there's something going on there besides taste. Maybe it's nostalgia or some other psychological factor, but I find it very hard to believe that anyone would actually like the taste of these burgers.
I had this professor, Elder Olson, who was a big smoker. He would smoke throughout class. Said he felt sick if he didn't smoke, "like a fish who can live only in polluted water." I'm not directing this to zoid or anyone else, but I think it's possible that over-exposure to bad things (WC, for instance) can actually make one think they like these things when, in fact, if their senses were recalibrated and cleansed, they would realize that what they were consuming was, indeed, bad.
No offense intended, and apologies in advance if I have rubbed any WC lovers the wrong way. But really, this is some bad shit.
No offense taken Hammond. I'm never ever going to appreciate eyeball tacos, chitlins, cicadas, vegemite, or a dozen other things - we all have our own limits.
TCK wrote:David Hammond wrote:zoid wrote:I have to admit I like them. Double cheeseburgers, extra pickles, onion rings - I love 'em without reservation or embarrassment
Zoid, bro, I wouldn't want you to feel embarrassed or in need of explaining yourself, but my feeling is, and this is a much more extreme position that I'd normally take, that if one finds the flavor of WC to be good, then there's something going on there besides taste. Maybe it's nostalgia or some other psychological factor, but I find it very hard to believe that anyone would actually like the taste of these burgers.
I had this professor, Elder Olson, who was a big smoker. He would smoke throughout class. Said he felt sick if he didn't smoke, "like a fish who can live only in polluted water." I'm not directing this to zoid or anyone else, but I think it's possible that over-exposure to bad things (WC, for instance) can actually make one think they like these things when, in fact, if their senses were recalibrated and cleansed, they would realize that what they were consuming was, indeed, bad.
No offense intended, and apologies in advance if I have rubbed any WC lovers the wrong way. But really, this is some bad shit.
This is like "people are reporting my posts in the no reservations policy thread because I'm insulting and offending them so I'll stop" levels of idiocy. When will someone report your posts so you just stop? We get it, you don't like them, and you think something is wrong with people who do.
David Hammond wrote:I don't think it's fair to compare Old Style (a drinkable if undistinguished beer) with a WC "hamburger," which I will put right up there with the top three bad tastes of the last ten years. You like WC? Fine. We're at an impasse.