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Place: Grocer's freezer
Item: Frozen White Castle and Krystal burgers
Price for box of six: $4.19, $3.89 respectively

Freezers can make the impossible possible. Though we Lunch Guys live in a city without White Castle franchises (like a world without laughter), we can still lunch on as many mini-burgers as our digestive tracts can comfortably accommodate. We just bring a box of frozen White Castles to our office's lunch room.

But for the biggest little burger taste, are these White Castles the way to go? Are frozen Krystals, also available in grocery stores across the country as the Pepsi to White Castle's Coke, the superior choice?

Tom: My testing was not to determine if these burgers were good because I know they are. I wanted to see how well they compare to the real thing after spending countless weeks in the deep freeze of aisle 12. The good news is the White Castles performed perfectly. One bite and I felt like I had just come through the drive-thru at 3 a.m. These re-heated masterpieces (nicely steamed from being microwaved in a sealed plastic package) glided down my throat like as smooth and effortlessly as a crew team rowing down the Charles. Burger, grilled onions and bun--no longer a frozen, lifeless entity, were steamed together, working in harmony with no clear point where one ingredient ended and

seasoned meatiness. But no grease was allowed to soak into the bun before the freezing process, and a complete lack of condiments make this taste like Grandma's burger-flavored dinner roll left over from Thanksgiving. Sorry, but I'd rather get a Hot Pocket than this again.

Tom: Chris, let's call a spade a spade. We say the Krystals are dry, what they actually are is less greasy. The nutritional data backs this assertion. The White Castles, with their onion bits and healthy amount of “moisture” are so good they may just open the doors to a whole new wave of franchise invasion—the home freezer invasion.

Chris: I teamed up my White Castles with microwaveable Ore Ida Snackin' Fries to turn the company cafeteria into my own little franchise. That's better than moving to a White Castle city. Plus, this lunch took 60 seconds, and I could work through lunch. I hope Walt Disney has been preserved as well.

Rating: Krystals, 3 sporks (out of 5). White Castles, 4 sporks.

Food Facts: 2 White Castles: 270 calories (130 from fat), 14g fat, 23g carbohydrates, 12g protein, 270mg sodium. 2 Krystals: 180 calories (70 from fat), 8g fat, 38g carbohydrates, 13g protein, 470mg sodium.

E-mail The Lunch Guys:
tomandchris@thelunchguys.com

the next began. The onlything missing wasthe pickle, which I happily provided.

The Krystal never came out of hybernation. A larger puffy bun and meatier burger tasted like a frozen bun with a frozen tiny hamburger. They reflect the restaurant's vision no better than a frozen Ted Williams represents the Red Sox.

Chris: Scientists of the world, I beg you to find a way to freeze a pickle. I never remember to bring my own like Tom does, and without that tangy juiciness, these burgers are a little naked. At least White Castle has the technology to preserve onions and grease, which gives the reheated burgers 75 percent of the flavor of their steamy brothers. With the suspiciously moist bottom bun plastered to the five-holed meat wafer, I got most of what I craved.

You have to really love Krystals to choke down one of these dry, chewy also-rans. Granted, the patty is about double the size of White Castle's -- which is like saying my ant is bigger than your ant -- and on its own has a more