Slyders On The Menu?

Whoppers and Big Macs and Slyders, oh my!

South Avenue’s array of fast food emporiums may gain a White Castle, if planners also turn out to be Cravers.

This is not to suggest that land use officials would shirk their duty if there was a “sack of six, with both” as a reward for looking kindly on the company’s application. It’s just that a quick spin through the White Castle home page shows there is little corporate distance between the company and its consumers.

Other fast food web sites project sophisticated marketing and embrace social causes, while White Castle and its craving public are nose to nose in conversation about where, when and how they consume its products. The web site’s story is sort of a romantic comedy, in which fans gush and blush over their encounters with Slyders and even reveal how they deconstruct the famous meat sandwiches to make hash, chili and hot dish dinners.

Cravers is the official term for these true lovers of onions, meat, buns and a single pickle chip. They know that Slyders are made 30 at a time, that each meat patty has five holes to facilitate steam-grilling and that the best accompaniment for life’s picaresque adventures is a sack of Slyders with “both,” meaning the ketchup and mustard that are never allowed to touch the patty unless directed by the Craver’s hand (see Wikipedia entry for White Castle).

Plaintalker knew none of this until a Google search revealed all. The information lends an air of intrigue to visiting the Planning Office, knowing that the dry documents on file leave the true story untold. A White Castle in the Queen City! Imagine the tales a sack of Slyders could launch here …if only the Planning Board will give in to the Crave.

--Bernice Paglia