Our Tour of New Jersey White Castles
Our story begins with an invitation to a friend’s birthday party. The party was in Astoria, NY, which is about 1 ½ hours north of where we live (just outside of Philadelphia in New Jersey). Jeff and Mike were already planning to go, but I had work that needed to be done that night. However, the thought of getting some White Castle after the party was enough to sway me to go (there are no White Castles within an hour of us). So, after the party, we hit the White Castle in Astoria, and then decided that one White Castle visit was not enough, and drove down the Jersey coast and visited the Tom’s River location. There, the plan was born – visit and eat at every White Castle in the state of New Jersey in the same day. A quick check of whitecastle.com told us that there are 26 different White Castle restaurant locations in New Jersey. After a few weeks of planning, armed with a road atlas, 26 pages of directions and a massive craving, we set off on March 1, 2008.

Each of us began the journey with a personal goal. Jeff wanted to eat at least one White Castle Slyder at each of the 26 NJ locations, and eat at least 30 combined for the day. Mike wanted to do the same, but with Chicken Ring w/cheese sandwiches. For myself, I wanted to eat two of every menu sandwich and side order. In order to accomplish my goal, we had to set out early, as breakfast is only served during limited hours. We left the Philly suburbs around 6 AM, and our plan was to hit the shore locations first, starting with Tom’s River (1) and working up the coast into the NYC suburbs. We each had a role – Mike was the driver, Jeff was the navigator, and I was the stat keeper. Mike and I both sampled White Castle breakfast sandwiches for the first time at Tom’s River (1), and were really impressed by the quality and taste (White Castle may no longer be just a late night venture for us anymore). We continued on from Tom’s River (1) to Howell (2) and then to Eatontown (3). Mike decided he wanted to try a White Castle Milkshake, even though it was 8:45 AM. Mike couldn’t believe how thick and tasty the White Castle Milkshake was – it was almost like drinking soft-serve ice cream. I was intrigued, but it was too early in the day for me, and I had to sustain the crave (I had already eaten 14 sandwiches and 3 sides at that point). From Eatontown (3) we headed up to South Amboy (4), and on the way Jeff doubted his crave could last the entire day. Jeff’s unaccustomed to eating much in the morning, but his crave pushed him through, as we visited South Amboy (4) and then up to Metuchen (5). Metuchen (5) became a turning point in my trip.

The crave for two of everything was starting to wean, and way too early in the day. I thought I was pushing the crave too hard, too fast, so in what is now called the “Metuchen Moment”, I backed down to one of each menu sandwich and side order, and had a renewed spirit. The crave had fully returned, and we were ready to continue. Over the next hour we visited the two White Castles around Rutgers campus – New Brunswick (6) and South Plainfield (7), and then we visited one of the two nicest White Castles we saw that day – Green Brook (8). Wonderfully laid out, clean as a whistle and with a very friendly staff, Green Brook (8) really stood out as the model for what White Castle should be. We got lost going from Green Brook (8) to Plainfield (9), and the 13 minute drive turned into 40. However, the crave was sustaining us, and we enjoyed the food at the Plainfield (9), Union (10), Elizabeth (11), Linden (12), Newark 07112 (13) and Irvington (14) locations. As we reached East Orange (15), the trip changed for Mike.

We pulled into the East Orange (15) location, and Mike told us that after 15 Chicken Rings w/Cheese, a Sausage, Egg and Cheese, Mozzarella Sticks, a Milkshake, 14 White Castle locations and 10 hours on the road, his crave had been satisfied – he would not be eating at every location with us. Almost as if in acknowledgement of Mike’s decision, it started to snow. Jeff’s and my craves were still strong, so we continued on from East Orange (15) to Orange (16) to Newark 07104 (17). Our next stop was Jersey City (18), where a pleasant surprise awaited us.

Earlier in the trip, Jeff had mentioned that he had hoped we saw some different menu items at the different White Castles, in hopes to find things that we normally wouldn’t be able to get. His wish became reality at Jersey City (18), where White Castle was testing out a new Pulled Pork sandwich. I had to try one, and it was fantastic. The pork was tender, and the sauce was sweet, but not too sweet. A new crave had entered my system, and the crave started to swell in Mike again as he saw the sandwich. Mike decided that if we saw the sandwich again, he was getting one. He wouldn’t have to wait long, as after visiting Union City (19) and North Bergen (20), we found the sandwich again at Little Ferry (21). The crave was back for Mike, as he and I both enjoyed a Pulled Pork sandwich. The Pulled Pork definitely needs to become a White Castle regular, as both of us really enjoyed it. Little Ferry (21), along with Green Brook (8), was also one of the two nicest White Castles we’ve ever been in. Spirits were high leaving Little Ferry (21), and our craves were as strong as ever. After Hasbrouck Heights (22) and Clifton (23), we reached what would become the greatest test of our crave.

As we pulled in to the Paterson (24) location, we had no idea that we wouldn’t see another White Castle for over 1 ½ hours. The location was undergoing some remodeling, but it wasn’t White Castle that was the problem. Leaving Paterson (24), we couldn’t find the street we needed to get onto I-80, and wound up going back and forth around Paterson for 20 minutes. When we finally did get onto I-80, a massive car accident had the road moving at a crawl. A 30 minute drive turned into 90 minutes, and although the end of journey was near, spirits were low. The crave kept us going, and arriving at Ledgewood (25) was very happy moment. We travelled on to the final White Castle in New Jersey, Hackettstown (26), and finished off with smiles and good food all around. Jeff had satisfied his crave with the last of the 30 White Castle Slyders he ate for the day. I finished with Cheese Fries (my last menu side) and a Milkshake, completing at least one of every menu sandwich and side order. Mike also finished with Cheese Fries and a Milkshake (his second of the day). We left Hackettstown with our craves being satisfied, and arrived home 12:38 AM on March 2, 2008.

In all, we travelled 416.8 miles to all 26 New Jersey White Castle locations. The trip took 18 hours, 41 minutes, including 6 hours, 12 minutes at the White Castles themselves. 82 White Castle sandwiches (including breakfast), 12 White Castle sides (including breakfast), a danish and 15 beverages were consumed on our journey (almost 21,000 calories). Throughout the entire trip, the rest of the world disappeared and the only thing that we thought and talked about was White Castle – thoughts and opinions on the White Castle we had just visited, discussions of our crave status, and how to get to the next White Castle. We couldn’t have made it without our massive crave for White Castle.