It started out as a joke. Valentine's Day dinner at White Castle? With table-side service. It was so wonderfully kitschy, kind of sweet, really that – we had to do it. "Really?" AJ asked me. "Definitely!" I enthusiastically retorted. With that, our reservations were made.
And so we found ourselves driving cautiously in a snowstorm to Kenosha on February 14. We almost were going to cancel – conditions were not good, and the majority of the white stuff was in fact coming from the south, right where we were headed. When we told friends of our plans, they laughed and gave us words of encouragement. One talked of owning a White Castle mug, and always shopping at the nearby Woodman's grocery after. We had the option of whiling the rest of the afternoon away enjoying the tunes of Dr. Chow's Love Medicine and the Tritonics, as we had kicked off our day doing. We could always pick up some of the product (never as good) from the frozen section of the grocery store. But we were on a mission, not unlike Kumar and what's his name in that silly movie. Besides, AJ is a "professional driver."
We must have passed close to 10 spin-outs and accidents on both sides of the freeway on the way there. Several times we nervously looked at each other and said, "I can't believe we're doing this." When Mars Cheese Castle finally loomed up in sight, we knew we were in the home stretch. Although it was slippery with steady snow, it wasn't what I would call blizzard conditions. I had literally slid into my hometown of Madison in much worse.
When we arrived, it wasn't too crowded. We were a little late for our reservations, and speculated if others had chickened out. Upon entering, we noticed a few small groups of families and clusters of friends, as well as a whole section of prettily done-up "reserved" booths and tables, signs and all. There were cheery vases of fake flowers on display, red tablecloths, and even red cellophane thoughtfully fixed over the normally glaring fluorescent lights.
The whole White Castle staff was extremely courteous and friendly. Someone came to take our order and present us with their special V-Day menu immediately. There was a "Love At First Bite," combo for sharing, "Breakfast All Day," and some yummy-sounding strawberry waffles for dessert.
In the end, we opted for some old standbys: cheeseburger and fish sliders, onion rings, fries, and sodas. We didn't realize it at the time, but were informed excitedly by the store manager who came to check in on us that linebacker J.J. Watt was dining there with his posse. People were getting autographs, apparently. After a little while, a few other couples showed up, one wearing a burgundy blazer. We had snazzed up a bit ourselves for the event, and looking out the window at the steadily falling flakes did in fact create a strangely romantic mood.
A little about White Castle – one of the things that I appreciate about it is that it's a real old-fashioned burger joint, around since the 1920s. Not much has been tinkered with on the menu until very recently (veggie burgers), and sizes and prices have remained small and cute. In 1949, the founders, Walt Anderson and Billy Ingram had wanted to speed up the grilling process without having to take the time to flip the burgers. The solution: little holes in the patties and those adorable square shaped sandwiches we know and love today. I am also sentimental about White Castle because of the stops there when I lived in Chicago. After performing late night theatre, they were the perfect nosh right on the way home to Rogers Park. I tend to stay away from most fast food these days, but this is one of the few chains I will indulge in occasionally, as an extremely guilty pleasure.
That said, it was a very sweet experience. We were even gifted with mints and heart-shaped suckers after settling our bill – which was about four times less than your average fine-dining experience. To me, it was all worth it. Don't forget to make your reservations for next year!
