For little more than three weeks I've been giving alot of thought to fast fast chains and I was laying in bed trying to remember when the last time I walked into a White Castle. It probably had to have been around 2002 or 2003 when I was attending Fordham University, and there is one located on Fordham Road. That doesn't mean I haven't had any White Castle burgers since that time, I have eaten some as a result of them being made available at a party or some type of social gathering. As for setting foot inside a White Castle, ordering up some of their vintage micro hamburgers, and dining in, that had to have been about ten years ago. Although there is another White Castle located right where I live, for some reason the Fordham Road White Castle seems the most authentic of White Castle experiences, so I was going to make my return there.
With red lights and more useless roadside construction projects that will take the next five years to complete, I arrived at Fordham Road with my car and luckily this location offers a parking lot in which there were plenty of spots. The outside looked completely different from what I remembered, which sported a brick European castle-look in place of the old white siding (that was growing ever more filthy). The inside was renovated and re-arranged as well. The counter and kitchen used to be in the middle, hidden behind thick protective glass. The rest of the inside had those grimy benches with a harsh and cold feeling to go along with the meal. This new 2012 version had a completely different look and feel to it. First of all, the counter and kitchen area was moved to the left of the building, opening more space to comfortably seat more patrons. The soda machine was on the outside and is self-serve, similar to what Burger King does. In keeping up with the times there is free Wi-Fi available, and overall that harsh grimy atmosphere has been replaced with a clean homely environment. In terms of fat and calories, the White Castle hamburger might actually be the best option in terms of portion of nutritional score. Each burger only goes for 140 calories, with a side of small fries that are higher at 350. In order to keep my aorta from shutting down, I kept my order to three hamburger sliders, a side of small fries (which I was only going to eat half of), and a diet coke. White Castle sprinkles their burgers with small onions tips, and of course there is that annoying pickle which gets removed automatically. I was finished in less than five minutes and found myself wanting to get more, but I maintained the line I drew before I walked in that I would only get three. I took a final look at the inside and still needed to adjust to all the changes that were made. I wished it was that nice ten years ago when I was across the street almost every day.
My appetite had been awakened, and with more White Castle burgers out of the question, I knew there would be other options on Arthur Avenue, just a few blocks away. The area, known for its Italian heritage and wide variety of Italian cuisine and pastry, always comes through when someone wants something good to eat. My first stop was at Cosenza's Fish Market, not to buy any fish, but in the front during good weathered days, they offer a raw bar out front in which you can eat oysters and clams on the spot. I slurped down two blue point oysters at $1.50 each and continued on my way. The next stop was the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, a large indoor market with over a dozen different vendors selling pasta, meat, pizza, cheeses, cigars, clothes, and more. I saw myself perhaps spending too much money if I stayed in there, so I made a quick circle inside and was out there door before I allowed anything to entice me. Anytime I go to Arthur Avenue I can't leave without a stop at De Lillo, in my opinion the best of the bakeries in the area, although all of them are rather solid, but I find the dessert options and setting inside De Lillo to be the top of the line. I felt cheesecake might be a little to much since I just came from White Castle, so I went with a lighter slice of strawberry shortcake with a cup of coffee. Del Lillo has both indoor and outside seating, but even in the nice weather, I still prefer to be inside and in view of shelves and shelves of cakes and cookies. There was one last stop I needed to make before getting into my car and heading home. I haven't made ravioli in nearly two months, so a visit to Borgatti's to pick up some fresh ones couldn't have come at a better time. A staple of the neighborhood, Borgatti's has been making fresh pasta and an assortment of other foods since 1935. Their ravioli are their signature item and that's all I had on my mind when I walked in. They offer a box of twenty-seven large cheese ravioli for thirteen dollars, perhaps a few more bucks than average, but the taste and quality of Borgatti's is always worth it.
With White Castle and Arthur Avenue fresh in my stomach, the first thing I did when I got home was grab my bicycle and burn off those calories.....
With red lights and more useless roadside construction projects that will take the next five years to complete, I arrived at Fordham Road with my car and luckily this location offers a parking lot in which there were plenty of spots. The outside looked completely different from what I remembered, which sported a brick European castle-look in place of the old white siding (that was growing ever more filthy). The inside was renovated and re-arranged as well. The counter and kitchen used to be in the middle, hidden behind thick protective glass. The rest of the inside had those grimy benches with a harsh and cold feeling to go along with the meal. This new 2012 version had a completely different look and feel to it. First of all, the counter and kitchen area was moved to the left of the building, opening more space to comfortably seat more patrons. The soda machine was on the outside and is self-serve, similar to what Burger King does. In keeping up with the times there is free Wi-Fi available, and overall that harsh grimy atmosphere has been replaced with a clean homely environment. In terms of fat and calories, the White Castle hamburger might actually be the best option in terms of portion of nutritional score. Each burger only goes for 140 calories, with a side of small fries that are higher at 350. In order to keep my aorta from shutting down, I kept my order to three hamburger sliders, a side of small fries (which I was only going to eat half of), and a diet coke. White Castle sprinkles their burgers with small onions tips, and of course there is that annoying pickle which gets removed automatically. I was finished in less than five minutes and found myself wanting to get more, but I maintained the line I drew before I walked in that I would only get three. I took a final look at the inside and still needed to adjust to all the changes that were made. I wished it was that nice ten years ago when I was across the street almost every day.
My appetite had been awakened, and with more White Castle burgers out of the question, I knew there would be other options on Arthur Avenue, just a few blocks away. The area, known for its Italian heritage and wide variety of Italian cuisine and pastry, always comes through when someone wants something good to eat. My first stop was at Cosenza's Fish Market, not to buy any fish, but in the front during good weathered days, they offer a raw bar out front in which you can eat oysters and clams on the spot. I slurped down two blue point oysters at $1.50 each and continued on my way. The next stop was the Arthur Avenue Retail Market, a large indoor market with over a dozen different vendors selling pasta, meat, pizza, cheeses, cigars, clothes, and more. I saw myself perhaps spending too much money if I stayed in there, so I made a quick circle inside and was out there door before I allowed anything to entice me. Anytime I go to Arthur Avenue I can't leave without a stop at De Lillo, in my opinion the best of the bakeries in the area, although all of them are rather solid, but I find the dessert options and setting inside De Lillo to be the top of the line. I felt cheesecake might be a little to much since I just came from White Castle, so I went with a lighter slice of strawberry shortcake with a cup of coffee. Del Lillo has both indoor and outside seating, but even in the nice weather, I still prefer to be inside and in view of shelves and shelves of cakes and cookies. There was one last stop I needed to make before getting into my car and heading home. I haven't made ravioli in nearly two months, so a visit to Borgatti's to pick up some fresh ones couldn't have come at a better time. A staple of the neighborhood, Borgatti's has been making fresh pasta and an assortment of other foods since 1935. Their ravioli are their signature item and that's all I had on my mind when I walked in. They offer a box of twenty-seven large cheese ravioli for thirteen dollars, perhaps a few more bucks than average, but the taste and quality of Borgatti's is always worth it.
With White Castle and Arthur Avenue fresh in my stomach, the first thing I did when I got home was grab my bicycle and burn off those calories.....
No comments:
Post a Comment