This Popular Fast Food Restaurant Has The Worst Hamburgers

Did you know that White Castle is the oldest fast food hamburger chain in the U.S.? Ever since opening its doors in 1921, the Kansas-based eatery has served up its famously tiny sliders to America. Its century of burger service is undoubtedly impressive, but you know what they say about being first — it's the worst. Fittingly, in our ranking of 18 popular fast food hamburgers, Harold and Kumar's munchie-fueled road trip destination took the lowest spot.

Size was a major factor in the chain's dismal rating. Sure, sliders can be whimsical and fun, but in the grand scheme of things, those bite-sized burgers just don't seem to satisfy the way standard-sized hamburgers do, regardless of how many you scarf down in a single sitting. The sliders' components don't exactly make up for their lack of size, either. Despite being made with 100% beef, the patty on the Original Slider gets lost amongst the onions, pickles, and slightly soggy bun.

We mean no disrespect to the 100-year-old chain or its fans. After all, there's a reason the total number of hamburgers White Castle has sold since its grand opening totals over 29 billion (that's billion, with a "B"). Even so, when compared to the burgers sold at other popular fast food restaurants like In-N-Out or Five Guys (named "best" and "second-best" in our ranking, respectively), we found that White Castle sliders simply can't compete ... except in one particular category.

White Castle sliders may have slid to the very bottom of our ranking, but that doesn't mean the O.G. of fast food hamburgers has no redeeming qualities. In fact, price is the midwestern chain's saving grace.

Depending on which of its 350 U.S. locations you visit, a single Original Slider can cost you as little as $0.72, while a cheese slider rings in at $0.90, and a jalapeño cheese slider will only set you back $0.94, making it one of the tastiest fast food items you can get for $1 or less. That's pretty exciting in an era when even McDonald's $1, $2, $3 Dollar Menu is lacking items that are actually $1. And while White Castle's cheap meal may be lacking in flavor, quality, and size compared to its competition, with a little extra effort, White Castle's sliders can be seriously delicious.

In a 2020 press release, the chain shared 10 slider-based recipes that folks can make using White Castle burgers, either from the drive-thru or the frozen food section of your local grocery store. Entrants on the list included Castle Con Queso Dip, loaded mac and cheese sliders, and the crowd-friendly White Castlerole.