Remember when “sliders” was a slightly derogatory term for greasy $0.39 White Castle burgers? Now it’s a food truck delicacy that cost like $17 for three.
Posted by EastmanE20SS@reddit | GenX | View on Reddit | 95 comments
How times have evolved.
CoffeeJedi@reddit
Saw a YouTube video where they explained that they were called sliders because the bun is steamed upside down on top of the patty, then slid off the spatula with one hand and assembled right side up. They're smaller cuz you can't do that with a regular size burger unless you have really big hands.
EastmanE20SS@reddit (OP)
That sounds like a bunch of horsefeathers. My old man didn’t know how they made em, but they were sliders before YouTube was a thing.
CoffeeJedi@reddit
It's one of the videos on First We Feast, part of the "Burger Scholar" series. I can't find the exact one where he explains the name cuz there's a ton of episodes, but he's an older Gen-X dude who seems to know his stuff.
CoffeeJedi@reddit
No, it wasn't just for YouTube, it was a food historian on a cooking channel talking about the history of hamburgers as American food.
BeerWench13TheOrig@reddit
I have never had White Castle. There, I said it. When I heard the term “sliders” for the first time, it was from my cousin who was referring to the little burgers on the kids menu at a restaurant.
GR1ML0C51@reddit
Why do White Castle patties have 5 holes? It takes 5 shots to kill a rat.
SeattleUberDad@reddit
We don't have White Castle here. Are we missing out?
PoweredByPierogi@reddit
Yes. White Castle is definitely not good food, but it is spectacular bad food.
SeattleUberDad@reddit
So like Taco Bell?
Non-Intelligent_Tea@reddit
No. They're just little hamburgers with little holes in them and carmelized onions.
EastmanE20SS@reddit (OP)
Ehhh not really. It’s best as a late Taco Bell type cuisine. Greasy little two-bite burgers smothered in onions.
OccamsYoyo@reddit
Canadian (we don’t have White Castle) here. My one and only experience a) going to White Castle and b) having someone at the counter not say word one to me was in St. Louis. The burgers weren’t as bad as I was expecting but weren’t great either.
11bingbong@reddit
I remember seeing slider used in a restaurant for the first time to refer to their little burgers and thinking, "do they not know what slider means? I'm not getting these."
ScreenTricky4257@reddit
White Castle claimed that term was because they slid down your throat so easily. Yeah, wrong part of the GI tract.
Donmexico666@reddit
Fist they took away 5 cent wing night with the little wings that were not all skin and gristle. But they still had drink specials so I said nothing. Then they took 10 cent wing night away but I said nothing because they offered 2 for one mixed drink or bucket of beer. Then Coumo came and took it all away and named the Tap after his dad and darkness came over the land. Now its 2 dollars a wing for undercooked nasty fat flaps. The suffering we have endured.
NinjaBilly55@reddit
Chicken wings fall into the same category.. Funny ole world..
EastmanE20SS@reddit (OP)
No kidding. They used to be free or a dime each so you’d buy beer. Now they’re legit $1.25 each.
NinjaBilly55@reddit
My local pub had dime wing and one dollar domestic bottle nights.. Good Times..
Saint909@reddit
Fun fact: White Castle was the oldest fast food chain. The more you know…🌈 ⭐️
DangerKitty555@reddit
Annnnnnd dirty as hell; I’ll be at McDonalds
Saint909@reddit
You know full well the McFlurry machine is broken.
DangerKitty555@reddit
Good thing I’m ordering a large fountain drink! Half Orange Hi-C mixed with Pink Lemonade. A normal amount of ice and slurped up thru a straw. So refreshing!
DangerKitty555@reddit
You can make them at home yourself for wayyy cheaper if you know how to navigate a grocery store.
EastmanE20SS@reddit (OP)
What a profound insight. You’re saying cooking at home is less expensive than dining out?
My ground is shaking.
DangerKitty555@reddit
I’m saying it is if you know how to shop
And I’m quaking in my boots…
jetpack324@reddit
Harold and Kumar remember
BlueMoon5k@reddit
Slider farts. That’s a memory that will never fade.
Monkeynutz_Johnson@reddit
The onions made each one a little suspicious, fart or short, fuck around and find out.
EastmanE20SS@reddit (OP)
Nor will the stains!
capt-yossarius@reddit
Ive been saying for a decade I believe White Castle bribed food bloggers to describe all small sandwiches as sliders as a means of altering the public's perception of the word (and by association, their burgers.)
modi123_1@reddit
I also remember a time when Quinn Mallory would have raised a hand as well.
MyriVerse2@reddit
I remember when Amanda Mallory was Betty Jo from Petticoat Junction.
JoeyDawsonJenPacey@reddit
Got a cat.
Named him Remi.
aogamerdude@reddit
I always thought the tv show was a plagiarism of DC's Crisis on Infinite Earth's.
Non-Intelligent_Tea@reddit
The idea of alternate or parallel universes where things turn out differently goes back to at least 1934 with the short story "Sidewise in time". It's been heavily covered in sci-fi series long before 1985 DC Comics.
aogamerdude@reddit
Yea but what I mentioned was within GenX experiences.
BFIrrera@reddit
More like Marvel’s “What If?” You’re still wrong, but What If predated Crisis.
stain_of_treachery@reddit
The Man in the White Castle
PeopleLikeUDisgustMe@reddit
How is it derogatory? Who did it offend now? Who did it offend back then?
MyriVerse2@reddit
It was originally referring to the greasiness. Sorta like calling chipped beef "shit on a shingle."
zoot_boy@reddit
So greasy it would “slide” right through you.
PeopleLikeUDisgustMe@reddit
I know the effects of a Gas Castle burger quite well, but that in itself is not derogatory. Trying to figure out how they view the word slider as offensive.
EastmanE20SS@reddit (OP)
Offensive <> Slightly derogatory term
Non-Intelligent_Tea@reddit
White Castle has called them sliders since 1921. Likely just derogatory in the OPs world.
blackpony04@reddit
The origin of the term Slider is a bit murky, and there really isn't definitive proof of the exact moment the term was created and if it was actually used by White Castle.
But as a former Chicagoan, I can assure you the term sliders was definitely derogatory due to effects they had on your intestines. I remember getting a kick out of it when White Castle began using the term in advertising in the 90s, as previously they only referred to them as burgers. Look up the old ads, you'll never see the term used until the last 30 years or so.
ThunderHawk17@reddit
I love white castle, dont care what anyone says and i never get stomach problems when eating it, alot of people just have WEAK stomachs. everytime i go to visit my sister in NJ, i always go to white castle and pig out like crazy, florida doesnt have white castle :(
PoweredByPierogi@reddit
Worse, Florida has Krystal, which looks like a clone of White Castle so much that if you grew up on White Castle, you're expecting something really close from Krystal. But no, the disappointment when you try Krystal is immense.
JCo1968@reddit
I remember when "sliders" were just Navy slang for hamburgers.
Isiotic_Mind@reddit
Sliders was derogatory? Oops lol
We called them Belly Bombers
TransitJohn@reddit
$17?! Cheap!
Craig1974@reddit
Mad Magazine reference?
TransitJohn@reddit
$17 for any food truck item seems cheap.
EastmanE20SS@reddit (OP)
Three items that collectively equal one small little 🍔
TransitJohn@reddit
And more likely to be $30 at a food truck.
7LeagueBoots@reddit
Sliders has been a term for meatball sized hamburgers served in pubs since at least 2000.
EastmanE20SS@reddit (OP)
All the way back to 2000?? What are you, Gen Z?
Rurumo666@reddit
White Castle sliders were the East Coast poor man's laxative, much like the Taco Bell dollar menu on the West Coast.
chico40oz@reddit
Remember when “food trucks” used to be called the roach coach. How times have evolved indeed!
EnergyCreature@reddit
Not sure how much longer it will last but NYC still has places that have $1.50 slaves, $1 burgers, $1 sandwiches and white castle still has 3 burgers + fries with a drink for $5.
I can't eat that stuff anymore but they do exist. Right now I still get $2 tacos after a late night of clubbing.
guvbums@reddit
Can't eat that stuff anymore but you are still out late night clubbing? Those days are long gone for me lol
FARTST0RM@reddit
Yeah I'm all kinds of confused over that comment 🤣
CommonCut4@reddit
Tell me more about the slaves?
EnergyCreature@reddit
Ha! Fixed!
GarpRules@reddit
I miss White Castle. Big ol’ bag of sliders and a watered-down Cherry Coke at 2am after striking out at the bar? That’s peak despair.
peat_phreak@reddit
White Castle is some soggy, nasty shit. It tasted great when I was 17. My adult palate says nope.
Fartina69@reddit
I feel like that's true for everything now. All good is "elevated", but really only in price.
KlezN@reddit
I use to eat 25 Krystal’s with a large Coke every Saturday night when I was 18. I remember it was less than $10.
SpaceMonkey3301967@reddit
They slide in and they slide out; that's why White Castles were called sliders. They give you a nasty slippery poo.
Yes, I've noticed that the term is used at many restaurants now for "little burgers" and have wondered if they know it's a reference to poo poo.
I'm glad you brought this up because I had noticed the same. Plus, I think about poop a lot.
RSVPno@reddit
Don't be hatin' on belly bombers. But damn if White Castle farts aren't lethal.
blackpony04@reddit
Anyone that doesn't associate the term slider to diarrhea has never truly enjoyed the White Castle experience. I was in suburban Chicago for high school in the 80s, and my friends and I would limit the WC visits so we wouldn't gas each other out.
I remember giggling when White Castle started using the term in their advertising in the late 90s or so as it seemed they finally embraced the popular vernacular.
It's the onions, by the way. It may not affect every person, but caramelized onions combined with grease are the culprits. The frozen ones don't seem to have the same effect, and I appreciate now having that option as I live several states away from the nearest White Castle.
ThunderHawk17@reddit
i never have issues when eating them, you have a weak stomach
CompetitivePirate251@reddit
First time in Chicago from Canada for college … me and my buddy go to White Castle thinking ‘wow! What a deal!’
We each ordered a burger and fries … we were too embarrassed to go back and order 20 more.
Told the peeps in our class and they were dying laughing, telling us they go after the bar to see how many they can eat.
blackpony04@reddit
Think positive, you learned two things that day. Sliders are so small that you'd need to eat 4-6 to equal one real burger. And more importantly, your intestines can survive one White Castle slider without being affected.
weird-oh@reddit
I get them in the frozen food department of my grocery store. Not quite as good as fresh, but still very tasty. They also have a double-patty version with cheese. Should probably call it the Royale.
Funny-Berry-807@reddit
Reasonable-Proof2299@reddit
Belly bombs.. but yeah.
flimflamsam612@reddit
Man, 10 sliders with raincoats, was the bar time order. Always so good
bm1949@reddit
We did white castle runs at 4am, back in the day. Campus security paying the dime. End of shift.
There was a trans fry cook manager and nobody cared. People that cared didn't eat night food. It was shit food, but a lot of fun when y'all order 100 burgers.
Northman_76@reddit
What..what do you mean? White Castles aren't a delicacy????God damnit!!!!
Hagfist@reddit
I refer to something very different as "sliders" and yes I say it in the voice of the TV show
Man-e-questions@reddit
Yeah sliders were what they served as free food at places where they had events that lasted several hours but they didn’t want to cater. Or dive bars/strip clubs that served food to keep patrons there
gotsthegoaties@reddit
Oh, I was thinking about the TV show…
Living_Smoke_2729@reddit
East Tennessee, Krystal here. Still love em ❤️
Ceorl_Lounge@reddit
Food truck ones are delicious. White Castle feels like I've violated myself.
vjason@reddit
To add to that, chicken wings and lobster used to be food for the poors.
Bobodahobo010101@reddit
6paxk of sliders was a weekend treat for me as a poor college kid
monkeysandmicrowaves@reddit
Murder burgers.
CobraPony67@reddit
Remember watching that TV show.
mitsuisenyo@reddit
Ah, the good old days when a slider was a greasy delight, not a gourmet food truck masterpiece.
WillieDFarley@reddit
Ah, the nostalgia of White Castle sliders once a 39-cent late-night snack, now a gourmet experience that requires a second mortgage.
wassuppaulie@reddit
Meanwhile... 6 White Castle sliders are about $8 in your local supermarket. Cooked after thawing they're the real deal.
ZebraBorgata@reddit
Yeah, exactly, lol
Parking-Power-1311@reddit
Wow.
I didn't know they cost that much.
woodworkingguy1@reddit
I grew up in South Georgia and we had Krystal, like White Castles, that I can not get enough when I got back to the South to visit family, and they are still fairly cheap, about a $1.25 each.
airckarc@reddit
I was in the Army and when you were out on the range, a Roach Coach food truck would drive up and if you had $5.00, you were set for a big lunch. I wonder if now they’re trying to flog $9.00 tacos to Joe.