What's with the tiny hamburgers?
Did I miss the memo on 2008 being the year of the slider? I mean seriously everyone in the wolrd has a slider on the menu. Burger King just added "burger shots" to their menu. Ruby Tuesdays, TGI Fridays, and the rest of that lot have added a slider variation to their menu. Even high end steakhouses are doing Kobe beef sliders. Its getting a little ridiculous. Now Im even being told chilis, a tex mex restaurant, has buffalo chicken sliders. What happened to tacos and fajitas? So are you guys into this trend or when is this nonsense going to stop so White Castle can once again be the king of the sliders.
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25 Comments:
I had the misfortune of ordering the sliders at Chili's. I will never eat there again. A tex-mex restaurant? Chilis is neither.
joyyy at 5:06PM on 12/03/08
I had the sliders at Chilis; I liked them.
AlBee at 6:00PM on 12/03/08
Forgot to add: I think its just a issue of resturant competition. IE: Applebees has them...so TGI Fridays has to come up with a version...then Chilis...ect, ect.
AlBee at 6:01PM on 12/03/08
Not to upset you further, but I made leftover sliders in honor of thanksgiving with a thick turkey slice, mashed potatoes and cranberry sauce (yes, Oceanspray jellied) on a mini brioche bun.
fischersentropy at 6:13PM on 12/03/08
Tiny burgers (aka "sliders") are excellent for portion control!
izatryt at 6:46PM on 12/03/08
the problem with sliders for me is that they tend to be overdone, just because of the surface area and thinness of the patty. and yeah i don't get what the big fuss is about mini burgers. but to each their own!
megannesta at 7:05PM on 12/03/08
since when was Krystal's De-Throned?
Pavlov at 7:08PM on 12/03/08
If I had to take a wild and uneducated guess, I'd bet that the bread-to-meat ratio gives you more bread when you're serving sliders than if you were to serve a single regular burger. Meat is more expensive than bread, and bread can be plenty filling...so it's a cheaper product, but since it's new on the menu, they can price it so that it's profitable without having customers say, "Weren't these $8.99 on the old menu?"
Not only that, three burgers on a plate LOOKS like more food than the single burger, and it probably takes up more plate space as well, so the sides can be slightly smaller without the plate looking like there's a lot of empty space.
Maybe I'm just cynical, but yeah, I think they've figured out that this is a way to save a little money on food costs.
dbcurrie at 7:19PM on 12/03/08
Yeah, all those chains are all essentially the same restaurants w/ different furniture because they compete. If blah does well, by golly competitor X will have to make it. All business.
I don't care for (fast food) sliders at all. I'd rather eat my dog's sh!t than eat at Krystal or White Castle. And what I mean by sliders are those dry, tasteless grey slabs peppered with disgusting tiny chopped onions that leave wet, brown smears on the buns, a small pickle slice, and a dollop of ketchup slapped between cheap buns, like those craptastic McDonald's hamburgers but w/o the mustard and half the size. No aroma or flavor of juicy, grilled meat, fresh cool lettuce, meaty tomato slice, firm avocado, earthy (*smirk*) grilled mushrooms, mayonnaise, or mustard...everything that makes burgers edible.
Cassaendra at 7:24PM on 12/03/08
I'm sick to hell of sliders. We serve two types at my resaurant, burger and pulled bbq pork. The burgers are especially annoying for me, the grill cook, because each order is two burgers, which don't nesessarily get to the same temp at the same time.
I'm going to push my chef to take them off the menu, using the fact that all the shitty chains now serve mini-burgs to make him see the light...
sailordave at 7:40PM on 12/03/08
They do seem to be the new thing, don't they? Personally, I don't like them. I would much rather eat a regular burger than its diminutive cousin. But you know, people really seem to like them. Last year, at my office Christmas party, at a super swank, wildly expensive restaurant we took over, you know what got the highest raves? The sliders. Not the ridiculously fresh and perfect sushi, not the perfectly cooked baby lamb chops, not the Epoisses. No. It was the freakin' sliders.
They'll run their course. I firmly believe they're the "new" sun-dried tomato.
I remember when Dean and Deluca started bringing them in. Every restaurant on the Upper West Side (Manhattan) seemed to slip them into pretty much everything. Now, I love sun-dried tomatoes, but there is such a thing as overkill.
chisai at 8:36PM on 12/03/08
Whether one likes sliders is one thing.
But, they've been around what 70 years or more now? Both White Castle and Krystal have been selling them for ages. Sliders are also not (or shouldn't be) just any small burger or sandwich. They're small, with a steamed bun and onions. Otherwise, not a slider.
The Ruby Tuesdays in Charlottesville, VA (the only one at which I've eaten) does a pretty good job in general in my experience, but that's whole separate thing.
ccbweb at 12:18AM on 12/04/08
I think it is a trend for happy hours that people can get a little food in their system to help soak up the booze, at least that is the case where I go. I remember in the 80's the "cat's meow" was potato skins, and everywhere you looked there was a plate of them on peoples tables, they were all over the place. Now I rarely ever see them on menus,
pjracz10 at 3:09AM on 12/04/08
I asked a slider topping question earlier this week. Im catering a party an d offered them as another meat option, the client said ok to beef and pork. So after all the feedback from the SE gang I'm going to do the beef with horseradish mayo and roasted red pepper. And the pork I'm going to use my moms home made chutney on top. Sams club has mini rolls perfect for sliders rather than using dinner rolls that tend to be a lot of berad. And I will be sure not to over cook them!!!
joanpieroni2 at 9:28AM on 12/04/08
People eat at Chili's? Huh...didn't know that. I figured it was a front for a mob operation.
Soigne at 1:12PM on 12/04/08
i had the cheddar bacon "sliders" at fridays a while ago, and was pretty disappointed. no flavor at all, pretty boring. the sweet potato fries that came alongside were pretty awesome though.
redzerostar at 2:41PM on 12/04/08
In general, I don't get it. I'd rather have a full size burger with all the lovely contrasts of juicy pink to charred crusty outside.
BUT...I made some mini grilled burgers (with crumbled blue cheese mixed in) for a football party because we were also having Brats, and it would be more reasonable for people to try both if they weren't both full size. They were a hit for that reason (and the blue cheese didn't hurt!)
Cary at 3:22PM on 12/04/08
@soigne i haven't eaten there in years...mob front for sure.
i had some mini burgers at a place called topgolf (google it, its fun) and they were actually pretty delicious. on a little hawaiian bun, i think, and actually juicy and tasty. they were however, not sliders.
so i would have to say i enjoy them thoroughly but they are appearing everywhere, for sure!
natemcguire at 6:14PM on 12/04/08
They're a lot of fun to cook at home--portion control is easy for people with different appetites, and they make for surprisingly good leftovers. Unlike going to Krystal or White Castle you can use good ingredients and fresh toppings to pack a lot of flavor. I recently made some with a 50/50 mix of buffalo and beef.
The best slider I've ever had, and probably the best burger overall, was at a James Beard Association dinner. One of the appetizers was a slider made from a mix of Kobe beef, short rib meat, and foie gras, topped with a red onion marmalade. It's one of those things that you'll crave for the rest of your life.
Benitowine at 7:57PM on 12/04/08
I too, wondered at the proliferation of sliders on the menus this year. But I have to say that even though I don't eat them, my kids and parents love them. Again with the portion control. It's easy for people to eat as many as they want and take the rest home. And it's not a half-eaten burger that no one else wants. And you can make them yummy, look at cary and joanpieroni2!
I think Chili's started as tex-mex, now they don't even have chili. That said, I ate their ALL the time when my kids were younger. My hubby travelled all the time and I wanted to be around grown-ups. They like everything on the menu and I can always find something decent and a glass of wine.
carolrsfMISSESTEXAS at 9:28PM on 12/04/08
I have no interest in fastfood sliders at all but those made with excellent meat can be quite delicious. I prefer sliders over oversized burgers. I don't want to eat a half pound of meat. Sliders are a perfect way to follow Michael Pollan's advice about eating less meat. One luscious slider, salad, potatoes and vegetables make for a perfect meal. Of late I have become obssessed with these venison sliders:
http://www.izzyeats.com/2008/09/homemade-venison-sliders-secret.html
izzy's mama at 11:30AM on 12/06/08
I love sliders. They're perfect thing for any level of inebriation, and even sober they are delicious and juicy and perfect. Mini burgers are not sliders, even if every restaurant calls them sliders. Sliders are steamed, not grilled or charbroiled, over a bed of chopped onions. The bun is on top, and everything gets soaked in grease. A mini burger is invariably overcooked, covered in condiments and toppings that are far too cumbersome for something that size, and put in an overly chewy and dry bun (brioche is second only to the kaiser roll in inappropriateness for a hamburger). I die a little every time I order a slider and get a mini burger.
frackle at 6:27PM on 12/06/08
I'm a fan of the slider!
gammypie at 1:57PM on 12/08/08
I had the sliders at Ruby Tuesday a few months ago and I wasn't impressed one way or another. They were edible but forgettable. The regular burgers there are much tastier, though I haven't had one in years so maybe they've changed.
As for Chili's, I wish I could comment but the only one in the Portland area has closed.
RegrettableFoodie at 7:45PM on 12/08/08
I grew up with a White Castle at the end of our street. I remember when they used to be less than 20 cents each. Now that I have moved to the other side of the country that doesn't have them (except frozen and they do not compare to fresh), I buy a suitcase everytime I fly back to the Midwest. I never get tired of these flavorful burgers!
See Food Diet at 11:44PM on 12/08/08