I had my first White Castle meal last Saturday, at the joint on 8th Ave in New York, between Port Authority and Penn Station. My train of thought upon entering the restaurant: “Wow, these burgers are cheap! Waaaay cheap! Hey, why are we ordering ten…”

So it turns out White Castle burgers are pretty small, with beef patties about the size and thickness of slices of spam, so it’s customary to order several for one meal. Amy and I got a meal of ten cheeseburgers for both of us, though it turns out that two or three burgers each is probably enough when eaten with fries and sodas. Delicious, though, and one could feel the historic and gastronomic weight of this fine establishment in every bite.

(It must be pointed out, however, that there was some confusion as to what exactly “White Castle” was when I first came to the USA, since in the Philippines there is a brand of whiskey going by the same name, notorious for its TV advertisements featuring a maiden clad in a skimpy red swimsuit, riding a white horse down a beach to deliver strong alcoholic libations to sweaty, shirtless, muscular Filipino alpha males. Someone find me a web video of those ads, please. For the lulz.)