The Crave is a powerful thing.
It got the best of Harold and Kumar, and after seeing White Castle’s new Pretzel Chicken Rings, it got the best of me.
I love White Castle, but I hate White Castle. If I find out I’m in a town with one, I have to stop there like it’s a tourist attraction. I usually gorge on two double cheeseburgers and a sack of chicken rings. I camp out in my car like an ashamed overeater, and then I somehow find myself hitting the window again for a couple more burgers. This has happened numerous times. Not this time though! This time was strictly for the Pretzel Chicken Rings.
I’ve always enjoyed White Castle’s Chicken Rings. They use all white meat chicken and they’re always tender. They used to remind me of Burger King’s old Chicken Tenders, if you remember those. I’m also a man-child who likes the circular shape, and with the Olympics in full swing I’ve made a pact to only eat foods in ring form. Donuts, bagels, pizzas with the middle cut out, etc.
“Pretzel crusted” is a food fad I hope never goes away. I predict more fast food joints are going to branch out beyond the pretzel bun and start coating nuggets and the like in pretzel dust. We’ve already seen Burger King get frisky with Cheetos.
Do you think the Burger King or the Dairy Queen have ever dined at the White Castle?
Sorry, my brain is wandering. You’re here for a review.
The Pretzel Chicken Rings were deliciously crispy, which I found surprising considering how greasy they were. The napkin I put my rings down on was basically translucent by the time I was done eating. Still, the crunch managed to power through until the last bite without getting soft or soggy.
This wasn’t just pretzel dust either. Each chicken ring was breaded with crunchy little chunks of pretzel.
Unfortunately there was no salt. Sure, I could have added my own but I would have liked sporadic pieces of pretzel salt. That would’ve brought the sodium levels to dangerous heights, but they would’ve tasted better. Without the salt pieces, I wouldn’t necessarily say they scream “pretzel,” but they deliver on their promise.
They also offer a cheese dipping sauce for 60 cents extra, which I pounced on. This was a winning combo. Their cheese sauce had a nice little zest to it, and I think it’s probably the best dipping sauce choice.
Now before you swing by your local Castle and order the 20 sack, I need to warn you about something I found way off with these rings. This is a food blog so I don’t usually harp on this, but I feel I have to warn you.
I’m sure you’re not worrying about nutrition while eating at White Castle, but the Pretzel Chicken Rings’ nutrition facts are insane. I knocked my score down when I saw the caloric content. There are 620 calories in six rings. That’s not even the worst part. There are 50 grams of fat! You’d never guess that. How is that even possible? Now the thought of that grease is making me queasy.
For reference there are 30 grams of fat in a 10 piece order of Chicken McNuggets. Six Wendy’s Nuggets only have 18 grams of fat. A Big Mac has 29! Six fairly small White Castle Pretzel Rings have 50! What kind of pretzels are they using and how many times are they frying them?
And to think, I almost added my usual double cheeseburgers to the order.
(Nutrition Facts – 6 pieces – 620 calories, 450 calories from fat, 50 grams of fat, 11 grams of saturated fat, 0 grams of trans fat, 60 milligrams of cholesterol, 650 milligrams of sodium, 20 grams of carbohydrates, 0 grams of dietary fiber, 0 grams of sugar, and 17 grams of protein..)
Purchased Price: $2.59 (+$.60 for cheese sauce)
Size: 6 rings
Purchased at: White Castle
Rating: 6 out of 10
Pros: Really nice crisp. Deliciously tender white meat chicken. Cheese dipping sauce. There’s a lot of fast food royalty. The Olympics. One of the dudes who wrote Harold and Kumar follows me on Twitter.
Cons: Super fattening. Kinda greasy. Translucent napkins. Sad parked car eaters. No pretzel salt so I couldn’t say, “These pretzels are making me thirsty!”