COLUMBUS, Ohio – It’s the little burger that could. And did.
The White Castle slider was named “Time” magazine’s “most influential burger ever” because of the impact the little square patty has had on the American restaurant industry.
In the magazine’s poll of hamburger historians and food experts, the burger that debuted in Wichita, Kan., in 1921 outpolled its McDonald’s counterpart and the Burger King Whopper as well as less well-known products as the Jucy Lucy of Minneapolis and Japan’s MOS Burger
The article notes that the success of the slider “paved the way for the great American burger obsession”: and was the first burger to spawn a fast food-empire.
The original slider was first served at founder Billy Ingram’s flagship restaurant, which grew to more than 400 restaurants in 12 states. The White Castle chain, headquartered in Columbus, says it sells more than 1.4 million sliders per day.