Town Topic Hamburgers Broadway • 1937

Thin beef patties sizzle on a flattop griddle, topped with caramelized onions and tucked into steamed buns at this Kansas City institution that Claude Sparks and Heywood Billings opened in 1937. The open kitchen and counter seating evoke the original White Castle-inspired model, where cooks work inches from customers in a space barely wider than a hallway. Order a sack of sliders at 2 a.m. or 2 p.m.—the griddle never cools.