Cheese Krystal
The classic Krystal with a slice of cheese melted over the patty. The cheese softens the mustard’s bite and turns the little burger creamier and more filling. Most regulars mix a few of these into every bag.
The story
Two men opened this in Chattanooga in October 1932, in the worst year of the Depression, betting that people with no money would still buy something small and cheap. The name came from a crystal ball ornament on a lawn — clean as a crystal, spelled with a K to stand apart. The comparison with White Castle is unavoidable and mostly fair, but the mustard is not: a squirt of yellow mustard and a pickle is what Southerners defend, and it gives a steamed burger the sharpness it otherwise has no way of getting.
What’s inside
Make it at home
There is no copycat of the Cheese Krystal yet. Until there is, these recipes on the site come closest to it, judged by what goes into the bun.
- Shares beef and cheese
TOP 2McDonald's Quarter Pounder with Cheese (Copycat) - Shares beef and cheese
McLewis Burger - Shares beef and cheese
McDonald's Cheeseburger (Copycat) - Shares beef and cheese
The McBurgertown Burger
Similar burgers at other chains
Built around the same things as the Cheese Krystal.- McDonald's · beef and cheese
SignatureQuarter Pounder with Cheese - Spangles · beef and cheese
SignatureThe Beast Steakburger - Pasibus · beef and cheese
SignatureKlasyk - Wendy's · beef and cheese
Jr. Cheeseburger
More from Krystal
About Krystal
Rody Davenport Jr. and Glenn Sherrill opened the first Krystal in Chattanooga, Tennessee, in October 1932, in the middle of the Great Depression. The name came from Davenport’s wife, who saw a crystal ball lawn ornament and suggested the restaurant should be “clean as a crystal”, spelled with a K to stand out. It is the oldest burger chain in the South.
A few hundred restaurants across the American Southeast.
Not affiliated with Krystal. Trademarks belong to their owners.