Other things to celebrate than a U.S.-sanctioned assassination...

   National Hamburger Month has arrived (well, I am excited... shh!!). At least let me honor my Midwestern roots noting that we have White Castle to thank for this chance to be bovine-ly celebratory in May.
You see, White Castle, recognized as America’s first fast food chain, started National Hamburger Month back in 1992. 

   And, hear this:  White Castle turned 90 on March 10th; and still offers the small thin, square patty hamburger known as The Original Slider. (Topped with onions and pickles and sitting on a steamed bun, White Castles sliders have gained what insiders call "a loyal following known as Cravers." In 2001, White Castle launched the Cravers Hall of Fame, in which a select number of Cravers are inducted each year based upon entries judged by “brand loyalty, creative presentation, originality and magnitude of the crave”.)

   And, so?

   White Castle began in 1921 when Billy Ingram and Walter Anderson (fine boys, both) scraped together $700 to open a small hamburger stand in Wichita, Kansas. The rest is Slider history.  Besides giving birth to the fast food industry and standardization, White Castle is also credited with a number of other (if perhaps dubious; at least a few I say!) firsts.  They were the first chain to package burgers in cardboard cartons for takeout, the first to advertise in newspapers, the first to run a coupon campaign and the first to market square burgers and use perforated burgers for even cooking. 

   The number of restaurants does not compare in size-wise to the thousands of locations of many other chains, but (in part) this is due (so goes the company lore) to the fact that each location is company owned and not franchised.

   White Castle helped make the hamburger America’s favorite food, and changed the dining habits of a nation (is this a good thing?).  And... 90 years later, it still serves up a mean slider (okay, not all bad!).