Serious Eats - seriouseats.com

Well done, and good luck!

Sorry, but this is a place where I'm going to draw the line. If it doesn't have an actual burger patty, it's not a burger, any more than a sloppy joe or a loose meat sandwich is. It might be good, but it's not a burger.

Lance: I'd heard the same thing several times from people recommending Spinato's, but when pressed, most of them admitted to never having been to Bianco.

I give a slight edge to In-N-Out, simply because of consistency. I've eaten literally hundreds of both In-N-Out burgers and 5G burgers, and In-N-Out kills 5G in consistency. I *always* get a carefully built, good, quality burger from In-N-Out. I often get a 5G burger with the wrong toppings that looks like it's been sat upon.

I like a good 5G, but I'm finding myself increasingly disappointed in them as they expand.

While this sounds novel, this is a pretty good description of how the local KFC/Taco Bell appears to run their drive-in. I always get a bag of stuff that has absolutely no resemblance to my order. When I went with a friend so we had two vehicles, I got random crap again. My friend behind me got my order...

This reminds me of what was a regular event at the SO's office.

1. Someone brings in donuts.
2. Another person says, "I love donuts, but I'm on WW, and only have 4 points I can use on a snack. Donuts are 6 points"
3. Person solves problem by taking 2/3s of a donut, leaving a fractional donut behind.

In general, this is one of those places where I like standard yellow mustard.

But on a really good, thick, well-cooked pub burger? I usually go for just a dab of dijon, as unpopular as that might be.

Yeah, this definitely reminds me of my own broken jaw experiences, the highlight of which was the "Bratwurst, pepper, and onion smoothie"

This is definitely one of those things that depends on the place. If it's a thick, hearty patty? Medium rare all the way.

But for some other styles, like the "press-it-into-the-grill to get a good sear" thin patty? It's more about getting the proper sear than the overall done-ness, and I find that the sear is best when the overall patty is medium. Just don't let it dry out too much.

Here's where I again have to remind folks that there is life outside of NY and NJ. Sure, the closing of White Diamond is sad, and the existance if White Mana and White Manna is a great thing... but sliders exist well outside the eastern seaboard. Indeed, the Detroit area is still well-populated with them, including such excellent examples of the genre as Bates in Livonia. There's also Telway (Madison Heights), Brayz (Hazel Park), Campau Tower (Hamtramck), Greene's (Farmington), ... The list seriously goes on, and on, and on.

Yes, if you are interested in sliders and want to document and embrace this particular burger style, get thee to Detroit! Indeed, there are more than enough good slider joints to do a "Slider Crawl" (although you'll probably want a local as a guide).

Slider *aren't* dead, and they aren't yet on the scrap heap of history! I'm not even sure they are really dying. Getting diluted as a concept, sure, but plenty of pure slider joints are still cranking them out, cheaply, like the good old days, even if one well-loved NJ joint has packed it in.

Kermit is cool. I actually met him at the famous Willie Mae's Scotch House (he's also a fan). Went to his show that night, but no BBQ that particular night.

Oh yeah. I even remember the burger and the place (Hard Rock Cafe in Atlanta). Raw in the middle, and around 12 hours later I had the second worst gastrointestinal distress I've ever had. Got diagnosed as salmonella.

Still get ill thinking about Hard Rock Cafe burgers.

Like anything else, there are two factors at play here:

1. No place has perfect consistency, and

2. Pizza is a religion, and different people practice it differently.

I love Pepe's, and have always gotten a good pizza there. But I've also been to no end of places that people tell me have "the best pizza ever" that were hot circles of garbage. Meanwhile, some places I absolutely love, other people hate (I've got several friends in Phoenix that think that Bianco is terrible pizza). Everyone has different tastes, especially if they are from a different part of the country.

Jillian doesn't like Pepe's? Fine, that's one less person in line. :)