"NationsRestaurantNews" news and stories

What's going on behind the venerable ramparts of White Castle?

As Nation's Restaurant News reports, it appears that the chain is looking to be home to more than just its oddly addictive little sliders. It's testing three different restaurant-within-a-restaurant concepts, trying its hand at a strangely diverse mix of fast-food fare: barbecue, pressed club sandwiches, and "Americanized Asian noodles."

Taken together, it kind of looks like company executives simply headed down to the food court at their local mall and had an epiphany: "Hey, we could do all this!"

Inside one of its restaurants in Lafayette, Indiana, White Castle recently opened Blaze, which it bills as "modern barbecue." (We have no clue what they mean by "modern" here; presumably they won't be serving mastodons on a spit.) According to the online menu, Blaze offers a range of barbecue staples, from pulled chicken to brisket, and traditional sides (baked beans, mashed potatoes, etc.).