Everyone (ok, every carnivore) loves a good thick burger piled high with quality bacon. It’s an American tradition older than the Super Bowl. Heck, I’m petitioning that bacon be renamed to “America’s pastime” and that America finally kicks the bucket on baseball once and for all, let’s hope it sticks. To elaborate, for the longest time I’ve always felt that bacon should be its own food group: fruit, vegetables, grains, dairy, protein, and BACON. And as a head’s up, before you read any further I want you to know that I will be using the word “bacon” at least 382 more times during this review so if you hate bacon, now would be a good time to stop reading. Just an FYI.
Challenge: There is not one thing that you can find in this world where if you add bacon to the recipe it will worsen its taste. Slater’s 50/50 Grill (3 SoCal locations: San Diego, Huntington Beach, and Anaheim Hills) takes my challenge and runs me up the flag pole with it, “Salute Your Shorts” style. So if you’re a bacon lover, which you should be unless you’re one of those newly-fangled vegetanarians or something, then you will absolutely LOVE what Slater’s has done with its menu. They don’t just top their burgers with bacon… no, no, no… they infuse bacon into the patty. Interested..? Read on.
Dom and I got invited out to Slater’s personally to try out some of Slater’s signature menu items so they could put their burgers to the test against our elevated burger pallets. A huge THANK YOU to Slater’s 50/50 in San Diego- Liberty Station area for having us out. Fantastic experience. Slater’s 50/50 (if you’ve never heard of it before) is this burger design joint located in the SoCal area where their burgers can be completely customized if desired, but they also have a couple of prefixed menu favorites if you want to try one of those. Walking in and creating your own burger from scratch and possibly see it land on the menu one day is not impossible; after all they do allow you to name your own creation. I’ll get to the point as to why they call themselves 50/50 in just a minute. Hold tight.
So here’s what we found to be true about Slater’s: are you ready for this? Slater’s loves… wait for it… BACON. Every burger on their menu can be (to your liking) smothered in bacon, even from Dom's choice all the way to a burger that worships bacon. Dom went with the anti-traditional (but oh so enjoyable) Peanut butter and jelly burger. Sound weird? I don’t blame you… putting peanut butter and jelly mixed with a juicy burger patty does sound weird. But at the same time I bet you’re wondering what that concoction tastes like. Well let me tell you that George Washington Carver did not steer us wrong with this whole “peanut frenzy” thing. Wow it was good. But I’ll let Dom get into that a little bit later. If I remember correctly, I think at one point he even compared the PB&J sensation that if a regular burger is like a gentle autumn breeze causing that first leaf to fall off the tree vs. the Peanut-Butter-Jelly-Time burger being the rush of a skydive where the initial parachute won’t open so you have to rely on the back up chute… I don’t know. I think Dominic might have a problem. We’re looking into that. Anyway, read below to see his comments on that burger.
I, however, was lucky enough to dabble into the B’B’B’Bacon burger!!!! All I have to say is two words: Oh My (adding a third) Goodness. If you’re a bacon lover, which again I’ll dare to say most people consider themselves to be one, you will absolutely fall in love with this burger. I cannot express how awesome this tasted. Let’s start off simple, listen to the description of this burger then we’ll break it down together: straight from their website (www.slaters5050.com), “Our 50/50 patty with bacon American cheese, sunny side up egg, thick cut bacon and Bacon Island dressing on a bacon pretzel bun.” Let’s start from the get-go, a 50/50 patty. This means that unlike the traditional hamburger, Slater’s uses a hamburger patty that is comprised of 50% beef and 50% bacon. Fifty! That’s like half. Half of this beast will be made up of bacon; I hope you understand the tumultuousness of this statistic. Moving along, we still throw a slice of cheese on this mammoth, followed by one of nature’s best: the egg, sunny side up style. Then we continue on to add what next? Oh that’s right, MORE BACON. Two slices of thick cut bacon to be exact. Now I’m no scientist, but I’m almost positive it takes just about a whole pig to get that much bacon onto a single burger. Not even Charlotte and her literate web will be able to save this one. Last but not least, they go for the knockout punch by drizzling some Bacon Island sauce (Slater’s twist to the Thousand Island dressing). And there you have the B’B’B’Bacon burger. Simple, right? Yeah, simply amazing.
A few words on Dominic’s experience:
Recently me and my ole taste bud J Bone Capone got an incredibly generous offer from Slater's 50/50-Burgers by Design that we would could not pass up, to come out and enjoy a bacon filled meal unlike any other. I received word from Mr. Slater himself and a few other rad employees that I needed to try the peanut butter & jellousy burger. There was also word that it was "hands down the best" burger by a server at the restaurant. I was skeptical of this feast not only because of the name of the burger but because of the ingredients as described on the menu: “Sterling Silver ground beef topped with thick cut bacon, creamy peanut butter and strawberry jelly on a honey wheat bun.”
But who am I, the self-proclaimed burger aficionado, to ever turn down an award winning burger with such ingredients?! GAME ON!
When we arrived, we were greeted and taken to a table in the bar area.. tv's all around with sports as far as the eye could see.. and a bar lined with an insane amount of taps with every type of beer you could ever crave. Sounding nice? The best is yet to come!
Justin and I decided it was completely necessary to stuff our faces with a few appetizers before the main course. We went with the Slater's Vampire Dip (roasted garlic, cheese and artichoke dip, served in a sourdough bread bowl and fried pita chips for dipping), and the Beer Cheese Fries (Slater's fries topped with their signature chili, beer cheese sauce, pepper jack cheese and jalapenos). Both of these apps were very impressive, I was a huge fan of the Vampire Dip. The dip itself was not overwhelming in any way, and the pita chips were cooked to perfection.. crunchy on the outside and just a tad softer on the inside making this dish very enjoyable.
Moving on to the main course, which we were salivating for the most! Slater's 50/50 menu gives you any option for whatever burger you are craving at the time..with a list of the "Burgers Designed"(pre-designed burgers), as well as the option of designing your own. I of course had to go with the popular vote of the Peanut Butter-Jellousy burger, and Justin went with the B' B' B' Bacon Burger, and trust me the name of these burgers are not messing around!
When I took my first bite into my burger there were so many different stages of burgasm it may be tough to top! Congrats Scott Slater, you have an extremely unique effect on men that only the biggest of burger fans could understand! This burger was crazy, when you bite in to it first you get a kick of strawberry jelly with the salty savory taste of the bacon, followed by the 2/3 pound patty(1/3 or 1 lb patties optional) cooked to a perfect medium temp hitting your taste buds. Then just to cap off every single bite was a little piece of dessert, peanut butter. As odd as this burger sounded to me at first, I now completely understand why it is a huge favorite in the 50/50 community! I would highly recommend this burger to anyone who has yet to try it. It is definitely a burger that is a treat though, with the sweetness and so many different flavors I’d say having one every once in a while would be perfect.
I know that Justin and I will be going back to Slater's 50/50 very soon to give some of their other creations a try! This joint really takes the art of a burger to new levels, and with the new menu items it shows they will keep bringing burger lovers running back ready for a new surprise in their mouth.
Justin’s Rating of Slater’s 50/50 B’B’B’Bacon burger
Meat quality: 4, Creativity/Accessories: 4, Bun: 5, Size: 5, Price: 4, Overall: 22 out of 25
So now comes the part where I explain why I am giving Slater’s a compliment sundae with all the toppings. And truth be told, there’s no reason why I wouldn’t be scoring Slater’s near the top of the list. They simply deserve it (assuming all of their burgers fall on the threshold of this Bacon-fest of the burger I tried). The meat quality was awesome. It was cooked and it tasted exactly as I had assumed it tasting knowing that it was loaded with 50% bacon. The ONLY recommendation I have to improve the meat quality would be to possibly cook the bacon a little bit before it gets mixed in with the ground beef. The cooking times are different for beef and bacon, so if Slater’s wants to stick with the 50/50 ratio, then it may need to toss that curveball in there so the patties can be cooked to order. I ordered medium, and it came out closer to medium well/borderline well. My assumption is that it was because of the different cooking times. But it didn’t ruin the taste or the quality. The creativity of the burger was basic; it didn’t shock or awe me, but all of the accessories on the burger, especially the Bacon Island sauce, enhanced the bacon ambience which is what they were going for. Pretzel bun is perfect, big enough to contain the ingredients and didn’t get soggy, plus it has that pretzel taste. The size was enough for me to ALMOST put the fork down, then again I’m an above average eater. Plentiful. And the price was more than fair. I did notice if you build your own burger though, it adds up very quickly so although it may all sound incredibly appetizing (which it is), tread softly.
Dominic’s Rating of Slater’s 50/50 Peanut Butter & Jellousy Burger
Meat quality: 5, Creativity/Accessories: 5, Bun: 4, Size: 5, Price: 4, Overall: 23 out of 25
The meat was excellent. Different selections of beef, bacon, combos, etc. Going to be tough to beat! all of the burgers are creative in so many ways, it's an art to Mr. Slater and all the burger lovers around will appreciate that! At Slater's there's a burger for every craving. The buns were very fresh and tasty, and each bun serving a different purpose for flavoring on each burger. Having three options of patty size is great! You don't have to worry about doubling or even tripling up on some scrawny little patties. And the fact that the weight is measured after being cooked separates 50/50 from competitors.
