White Castle, wine a good mix? How about beer?

(Photo by Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Finally, the culinary world has answered the fast-food customer’s cry for wine and beer.

It’s actually a little ironic that White Castle is now testing the idea of selling alcohol at certain locations.  Considering many late-night visits to the “W.C. Lounge” — as we called it in college — involved an awful lot of drinking beforehand.  Now, you can skip the party and go straight for the sliders and beer.

The Wall Street Journal (and just about every other media outlet) has reported on the mini-burger joint’s decision to expand its menu to include alcohol sales through 11 p.m., calling it an “unconventional pairing.”

So, how does one choose the proper beer or wine to go with your favorite White Castle treat?

Here are a few of our suggested pairings:

1.  The Original Slider – Beer is the obvious choice here.

2.  Chicken Rings — I would suggest White Castle’s offering of Moscato with these deep-fried donuts of chicken meat. It is the Kool-Aid of the wine world, so think of this as a grown up version of chicken strips and a juice box.

3.  Jalepeno Cheeseburger — The restaurant’s simply-named “Sweet Red” would complement the spice and heat in this burger.  I loved the quote in the WSJ story from Jeanette Merritt of the  Indiana Wine Grape Council.  She tasted it and proclaimed: “It’s red. It’s sweet.”

4. Fish Sandwich — It’s perfect for Lent and it’s perfect with the White Castle approved Chardonnay.  Merritt said it was more sweet than buttery.

5.  Onion Chips — How to pair deep-fried onions might seem tricky, but wine conoseurs suggest a red wine with onion flavored dishes.  So, give the Merlot a shot and let me know how it tastes!  Or avoid this category all together….

White Castle's wine isn't quite this nice, but are you really looking for a show stopper with your fries? (Photo by Oli Scarff/Getty Images)

White Castle isn’t the first fast food chain to toy with the idea of alcohol sales, however it’s the one that makes the most sense to me … as long as they don’t sell it at the drive-thru … which isn’t part of the plan.  We’ll leave that to the city of New Orleans.  I’m not kidding, I once bought daiquiris and margaritas at a drive-thru there.

By the way … both wine and White Castle sliders come in crates.  Perhaps this isn’t such an unconventional paring after all!

Bon Appetit!

— Beth