Bacon-mania at Slater's 50/50! - CLOSED

Slater's 50/50

6362 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road

Anaheim Hills, CA 92807

It is a rite of passage for food bloggers in our county to review Slater's. The North County spot has been reviewed on almost every blog I read. It was even the site for a gathering of Food Frenzy fans. So when I had the rare opportunity to find myself in north Orange County for lunchtime, it was a no-brainer where I would eat.

Slater's 50/50 is located in a nondescript shopping center off the beaten track in Anaheim Hills. I can not even tell you what else was in this shopping center because I had a burger in my crosshairs and could not wait to get inside and wolf one down.

Slater's is a decent-sized restaurant with about fifty or so tables. They also took over the area next door and made a sports bar out of it. We arrived just before 11:30 on a Thursday, and the place was moderately busy. We sat immediately and were given ample time to peruse the menu. The menu features salads, sandwiches, and signature burgers. The menu also has a "Design it!" section where you check off what you want on your burger. Overwhelming can be one way to describe this checklist. After some deliberations, we came up with this.

Here is my brother-in-law's creation, the self-proclaimed Ja-Rod Burger. His two-third-pound burger featured a 50/50 patty. This patty is fifty percent ground beef and fifty percent ground bacon. Crazy that no one has thought of this before since people are so bacon crazy. He also opted to get red onion, a fried egg, relish, and dill pickles piled on a honey wheat bun. He took a small break from eating this to tell me this was a good burger, but he would choose a more petite version next time. Jarrod has a big appetite but did not finish this burger.

I went big here. Literally, I had the full-pound burger. After cooking, Slater's weighs all of their burgers, so it was a pound. Not only did I have a 50/50 patty, but I also added bacon, relish, mayo, grilled onions, and cheddar cheese. When filling out the checklist, they ask you to name your burger. I called this one Bacon Overload. I love bacon, and this was even too much bacon for me. I was thirsty for the next four hours after eating this. It was delicious, though. The meat had a great flavor, and the toppings were top-notch. My only complaint would be about the bun. It was baked well, but it did not fit the size of the patty. If you have a pound burger, have buns that fit the pound patty. That was the only fault I could find with this burger, though.

So, do you feel like something other than a burger? Okay, you can go the route my Mom went and get the Spicy Buffalo Chicken Sandwich. This monster of a chicken sandwich also came with lettuce, crumbled blue cheese, and tomato. The chicken was tender, and the sauce really added a kick. If they did not serve burgers here, I would get this.

As much as people rave about their burgers, the same can be said about their appetizers. We ordered the Pick Three Combination Plate. We chose the french fries, fried pickle chips, and beer-battered onion strings. We all agreed we would leave the fries out next time. They were nothing special. What was noteworthy was the fried pickles and onion straws. I am not usually a big fan of pickles but fried them this way, they were delicious. The onion straws also had a great flavor and were not too greasy. Next time, we must try the sweet potato fries or the fried artichoke hearts.

Slater's 50/50 creates some problems for me in a good way. There are far too many choices for me to make here. Maybe the route for me will be to just try their signature burgers, so I do not need to think about which one of the 12 cheeses I want on my burger. Since I left here, I have been craving their Peanut Butter and Jealousy Burger, with, you guessed it, peanut butter and jelly, along with bacon. I can not wait to go again.

Out of five rippers (a tool used by a Slater to remove broken slate), five being best and zero being worst, Slater's 50/50 gets a solid 3.5 rippers. You probably thought I was going to go with an A.C. Slater reference here, right?

For more information on Slater's, click here: http://www.slaters5050.com/