Wednesday, July 10, 2013

More New Items to Try From Slater's 50/50


Slater's 50/50
17071 Beach Blvd. 
Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Besides my love of bacon, one of the things that keep bringing me back to Slater's is that there is always something going on. It has been a busy time for the guys over at Slaters. On July 1st they opened their sixth Southern California location in Rancho Cucamonga. Now people in the Inland Empire can now cut down on their driving time to experience all the bacon bliss going on at Slaters. The team at Slater's is pretty tight-lipped when it comes to where they are opening next, but I have heard whispers about a possible out of state venture in the works. Stay tuned for more info on that.

What Slater's is very open about is their new food items that also debuted on the first day of July. We were among the lucky few to be able to try these out before they hit the menus. We made our way to the Huntington Beach Slater's for a preview party with some other bloggers and some of Slater's most ardent supporters. We got a chance to talk with a good many of their PR people, but of course, the highlight was talking to the man behind all the Slater's madness, the man himself, Scott Slater.

Scott is a very nice, but unassuming guy. Before I had met him, I assumed that his personality would be over the top, just like the burgers that he creates with Executive Chef, Brad Lyons. He is completely the opposite of what I had imagined though. He is more subdued than I would have imagined and really lets his burgers do the talking for him. Slater's really seemed to hit the marketplace at the right time. They opened in 2009, just when people were going crazy for anything bacon. After numerous awards, TV appearances, and magazine articles, Slater's is not resting on their laurels. Almost as soon as we were seated at this preview event, the food started coming and did not stop until almost everyone in the room had been put in a bacon induced food coma. Let's see what Slater's has up their sleeves for us now.



It might surprise some people that Slater's has salads on their menus. I am sure a great deal of the customers that find themselves at Slater's bypass the salad portion of the menu, but this section of the menu proves that you can come to Slater's and eat healthy. Case in point is this new salad, the Kale Quinoa Salad. This salad combines two of the hottest trends in vegetables right now, kale and quinoa. I have seen so many restaurants feature these two items recently, and now Slater's hops on the bandwagon as well. Joining the kale and the quinoa in the bowl is red onion, roasted sunflower seeds, and a lemon-garlic tahini dressing. I will let you in on a little secret that I am sure most of you will be shocked at. Okay, that was sarcasm by the way. I am not a real big fan of either kale or quinoa. I know they are really healthy for me, but when I hear something is healthy, I almost automatically run for the hills. Katie really liked this salad though. It had a powerful citrus dressing, with a great texture profile from the crunchy kale and sunflower seeds. The red onion added a good flavor boost as well. Katie is looking forward to trying this salad in future visits to Slater's.




Even though it is summer, and time for warmer weather, this was one of my favorite items of the night, the Twice Grilled Cheese Sandwich. Not just content with having a plain old grilled cheese on the menu, the guys at Slater's took it up a notch with this sandwich. Stuffed with two kinds of cheese, then instead of just buttering the bread and grilling it, they add cheddar cheese to the outside of the sandwich and grill it. The result is a crispy cheese on the outside, and a very rich, but oh so satisfying sandwich. Served alongside a tomato basil house-made soup, this will come in handy on those southern California winter nights when it dips into the low 60's.




Not new to their menu, but I think they wanted to show off a bit, is the Slater's classic burger, the Old-Timey. This burger recently got a perfect 10 from OC Register food critic, Brad Johnson. He is a notoriously tough food critic, so this is a major accomplishment and something that Slater's 50/50 should be proud of. This burger starts with a Sterling Silver ground beef patty and is then layered with American cheese, thick bacon, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, and thousand island dressing. All of this is then sandwiched between a white brioche bun that does an admirable job of keeping the burger together. The result is a very good bacon cheeseburger. Coming out with the burger was another new item, the Almond Joy Milkshake. Slater's released a new line of signature Milkshakes that can be made with or without alcohol. This one came with Three Olives Chocolate Vodka, Bols Amaretto, chocolate syrup, toasted coconut, and almond syrup. This one really did taste like the famous candy bar. The alcohol taste was hidden by the ice cream and chocolate here, so be careful when consuming these. These could become dangerous.




Last July, the Burger of the Month at Slater's made headlines across the country for being one of the craziest bacon items ever seen on a menu. I definitely got caught up in the hoopla, when I was dared by a waiter to eat the one-pound version of it. I finished it, and have lived to tell the tale of vanquishing this ultimate bacon lovers burger, the 'Merica Burger. The core of this burger is a 100 percent bacon patty, yes you read that correctly, all bacon patty. It is then topped with a bacon-infused thousand island dressing, bacon cheddar cheese, a sunny side up egg, two strips of bacon, and for good measure, a bacon pretzel bun. The bacon on this burger was definitely overpowering, to say the least. A lot of people took only a few bites of this, but true bacon lovers will love this burger, at least in moderation. If you feel so inclined, you can read about my visit where I ate the pound version of this burger here. Coming out with this burger was the Milk Chocolate Guinness Signature Shake. Of course, this shake started with Guinness Irish Stout and then is taken to shake form by adding vanilla ice cream, chocolate syrup, and Andes Mints. If you like mint, this is the shake for you.




The last course we were given was a double dose of dessert, which is never a bad thing unless you are already full from your meal. The signature shake for this go-around was the S'Mores Shake. This campfire treat transforms to shake form with ice cream, toasted marshmallow syrup, crumbled graham crackers, chocolate syrup, and Three Olives Chocolate Vodka. This was my favorite shake of the night. The graham cracker really brought the s'mores taste out for me. Known for their over the top desserts, Slater's really outdid themselves with the introduction of the 50/50 Bacon Blondie. For those of you not familiar with blondies, like me, they are basically a brownie, but instead of chocolate, they are made with brown sugar and vanilla instead. This version came with a creamy peanut butter frosting, candied bacon and was served a la mode. This was so good, but oh so rich. Probably best to split this between two or more people. A very nice, but filling end to our night at Slater's.

By the time we left Slater's 50/50, we needed to be wheeled out in a wheelbarrow. Man were we stuffed. Most of the new items are a real welcome addition to the ever-changing Slater's menu. I am always excited to see what the culinary team from Slater's has up their sleeve next. I will definitely be back for that grilled cheese and the bacon blondie for sure. I'll probably skip the 'Merica Burger this time though because I am just recovering from eating it last year.

We would like to thank the staff at Slater's 50/50 Huntington Beach for making our night so great. They kept the food a coming, were good about clearing plates and filling drinks while answering all of our questions. I would also like to thank all of the PR staff at Slater's, especially Heather Pimentel, who reached out to us with the invite. Thanks so much for thinking of us Heather. Lastly, we would like to thank Scott Slater, who not only provided the great food but has also been so nice to us when we see him and gush all over his restaurants. We look forward to seeing you again soon Scott.

For more information on the newest items at Slater's 50/50, or any other Slater's related information, click here: https://slaters5050.com/

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