Whisler's

Whisler's is a recent addition to downtown Springfield. Long a mainstay in Carthage, their newest location is located less than a block from the current bus terminal, and just a short walk from the square, the Rare Breed (for teens), and Hollywood Theaters, just to name a few excellent places in the downtown area.

The fare at Whisler's is simple. They offer sliders. In other words, they're a rip-off of White Castle, something we in Springfield have long desired. (My grandmother swears there used to be a White Castle on Jefferson. Corporate has no record of one ever being there, and my grandmother is most likely wrong, but I don't argue with her.)

They do offer, however, some interesting twists, such as the sow and cow (burger with bacon) and the pig and bull (bacon with a slice of ham). It's all fantastic. I had a couple of sow and cows, and my husband had a bag of 5 cheeseburgers.

Their cheapest, basic slider is $1.25, and they're slightly larger than the White Castle burger, but that's it. (Come on, seriously. How can anything be better than a fresh White Castle?)

Their shakes are also simple. They come in the basic flavors of chocolate, vanilla, and strawberry, and are the same thing you can easily make at home for less.

The one good thing is that the place is so small that you can easily see them making your burgers, and thus catch mistakes, as I did, having asked for no mustard or onions. (If they grilled their onions, like White Castle, that'd be fine. But fresh? Icky.) (Hmm.... and can we tell I'm craving White Castle?)

All in all, not bad, but I'm only going when I'm desperate for White Castle and can't afford to either go to St. Louis or to Applebee's, which also has sliders, and can't stand the thought of getting the frozen ones.

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