White Castle

My peeps reallllllly wanted white castle. But this time I went inside ahhhhh! I smiled at the cashier like I was don juan to make sure the food wasn’t sneezed on. It seemed to work and I got service with a smile, but the dining room was dirtier than outside. I do not know how they managed that but it was. The Shrimp bites were not bad that is why they got two stars.

Do you want to have a massive diarrhea as soon as you get to work? Yeah? How about debilitating stomach cramp all day? Nothing like a morning cleanse of white castle jalapeño cheese slider right?
I’m just kidding, although today was probably the first time I’ve ever eaten white castle while being sober (serisouly, who eats this when sober?). I was pleasantly surprise how decent it was for the price. 7 Dollars for 4 sliders, fries and drink? Not bad right? Especially at 4:30 AM when I’m driving down north ave to head into work. Fries were hot, sliders were warm and I’m completely sober, I’m just glad it’s Friday weather is awesome.

For those munchies, quick access to those scrumptious chicken mini hamburgers. They hit the spot to subside any hunger that is present. They do open late!

This Melrose Park White Castle might not be the worst in existence, but it’s definitely towards (or at) the bottom of the grease-​soaked pile.
First off, the men’s bathroom was dirty at best, disgusting at worst. The soda fountain was leaking excessively and most of the ‘press here’ buttons were badly smashed in (how angry are the people that come here? seriously.)
I was a little dismayed that there wasn’t a single shamrock or mention of St Paddy’s day when I was there… on March 17^th. I know for a fact that other WC’s «celebrate» the Irish holiday, so my guess is this particular location doesn’t play by the same rules. Whatever.
Also, instead of calling out my order number – which is typical fast food protocol – they shouted out ‘WHO HAD CHICKEN RINGS? and uhhh… A BACON CHEESE SLIDER?’ Well, that could be any one of us. Consider, I don’t know, calling out the order number, so you can properly track the goddamn order and not risk giving away the right food to the wrong person.
To add insult to injury, I had to remind them that my chicken ring meal came with fries. Other locations have a condiment station for the customer’s convenience – this one doesn’t. When I visited, they were out of their ‘seafood’ (can you say s-​k-​e-​t-​c-​h-​y?), which I couldn’t care less about, but other customers seemed disappointed. With a plethora of other, better White Castles throughout Chicagoland, I doubt I’ll ever come back to this specific one again.
Hard pass.

Ok! For the new son-​in-​law… The service was lacking! When the new son first came for a visit he had a split crave pack — half burgers and the other chicken sandwiches. Since he enjoyed the experience so much the first time, I thoguht I’d be the nice mother-​in-​law and surprise him again, but to my surprise «We don’t serve the crave packs that way». With attitude. Well excuse me! I didn’t say this, but was polite and simply ordered ten burgers and ten chicken sandwiches. I drove around to pay and the demeanor of the server changed. I guess seeing who you’re serving is believing, so she asked if I wanted mayo. I said sure, and was handed a handful of mayo packets. The same exchange took place for ketchup. It was a bit surreal.
The new son was happy, however on their next visit… Methinks not this White Castle. Truly, eating one of those buggers is a step back in time, (although, it’s been decades since I’ve eaten one-​that mystery meat shall not pass these lips of mind); and is fun if you’ve never been exposed, but like I said this particular establishment doesn’t seem to care for creating good memories.

Love the sliders, place is clean, service is good, haven’t had one of these in a minute, still great after all these years, bonus was sweet tea, not sure if every white castle is good but this I one gets my vote.

Let me preface this review with — yes, I understand this is white castle. What I am actually reviewing is this location compared to everyone else.
We went here for Valentines day which has turned out to be a tradition with my wife. Last year we went to the White Castle in Cicero and were sadly disappointed. This year we were really happy to have a much better option in Melrose Park. The manager was on hand greeting and thanking everyone and the service stepped up and taken seriously. We had a really good time.

You see my profile pic, right? lol
This is my WC of choice. The staff varies from friendly enough to borderline surly but the food is always consistent. And when you hear the piano «clink clink clink clink clink!» in your head it is time for those jalapeño cheeseburgers and some chicken rings!