What do Vera Wang and White Castle have in common?
No, it's not a wedding gown made out of those little delicious sliders which have a cult following and are even featured in a movie. If you said a bride wore one of Vera's gowns to a wedding at White Castle, your guess gets closer, but still no cigar. (Somehow I doubt a bride who gets married in a fast food joint would be wearing Vera Wang for fear of smearing that grease all over the tulle.
It turns out the renowned designer herself was at a White Castle in NYC's Herald Square Tuesday night. She, along with Martha Stewart, were there to promote a new slider-'n-onion scented candle made by Nest Fragrances. The candle will be sold at White Castles everywhere for $13 (equivalent to 14 sliders), and proceeds benefit Autism Speaks which promotes awareness for, obviously, autism.
Supposedly the candle smells more like sweet onions than greasy burger, but what a novel gag gift idea nonetheless. It's funny that I read about this story today because I was just craving White Castle cheeseburgers lately and had just added them to my grocery list before stumbling across this story. Living in Texas for most of my life, I was not fortunate enough to taste a "fresh" White Castle slider, but the blue and white packages could frequently be found in my freezer throughout my childhood. I love how they're a savory, satisfying snack and so easy to prepare--just wrap in a napkin and microwave for 60 seconds. I personally prefer frozen White Castles to fresh Krystal ones. (I'm much more a fan of grilled onions than mustard in my sliders which, if I remember correctly, is what Krystal's adds to their sliders.)
Perhaps even more fascinating than the concept of a slider is the history of White Castle. It began in 1921--19 years before the first McDonald's even opened-- in Wichita when a dude named Walter Anderson partnered up with a cook named Edgar Waldo "Billy" Ingram to push hamburger eating on America. The country was weary of ground beef at the time due to Upton Sinclair's novel, The Jungle, which exposed the unglamorous meatpacking industry. Anderson and Ingram tried to change America's views by invoking a sense of cleanliness with their burger joints, using white porcelain enamel on stainless steel along with spotless employees' uniforms to conjure a sanitary image. Anderson is credited for inventing the hamburger bun and the kitchen assembly line, a method similar to Henry Ford's car manufacturing process, which guaranteed customers everywhere the same product every time. Almost a century later, and White Castle still exists. Amazing. I can't wait to get my hands on some sliders ASAP.