Getting to Experience the Perks of the 50/50 Club - CLOSED

Slater's 50/50 Burgers by Design

6362 E. Santa Ana Canyon Road

Anaheim, CA 92807

It's been a while since I've been to Slater's 50/50. Okay, not that long, but it's been long since I last wrote about a visit to Slater's. Unfortunately, the Slater's by my house shuttered about a year ago, and I have a long list of restaurants I want to eat at, so I took a sabbatical from the over-the-top half-ground bacon, half-ground beef burgers here. That break ended when my friend Mark and I were invited to a VIP Dinner at Slater's 50/50 Anaheim Hills location last week. What is the best part about the VIP dinners at Slater's? You can get in on the action as well.

I just learned about it this evening, but Slater's has started a 50/50 Club with some cool perks. For the $30-a-month membership, you get a beer daily from their extensive draft beer list. You not only get a brewski a day, but you also receive early tasting opportunities of their infamous Burger of the Month a week before it is released to the public. You also get invites to exclusive monthly VIP Dinners, which are happening this evening. These are meals personally put together by Slater's 50/50 Founder, Scott Slater, and Chef Tony, who attended this evening and came out briefly to share his vision with us and prove that this is not just your typical burger joint.

According to our table mates, who were proud 50/50 Club members, this was the second dinner they had attended. The first was an Oktoberfest-themed dinner and beer pairing, which they all raved about. This evening, it was a Thanksgiving-themed soiree, and after taking a quick glance at the menu, my good friend Mark and I were really looking forward to what was to come out for us.

Things started nicely for us as these Bacon-Wrapped Thai Sriracha Wings hit the table. These delicious wings got everyone's attention right off the bat. Enormous, meaty wings were wrapped with at least two pieces of bacon and deep-fried. What made these for me was the combination of the sweet Thai sauce and the spiciness from the Sriracha. I love spicy and sweet together, and these were a definite winner. Please put these on the menu, guys.

Two side items were presented as a prelude to our main course. Some, like me, argue that the side items at a Thanksgiving dinner are more important than the main course, and these two nailed it. Here you have the Roasted Root Vegetable Medley and the Shaved Brussels Sprouts Slaw. The veggie medley was solid, but the slaw got us all excited. Chef Tony shared that this is the only way he can get his wife to eat Brussels sprouts, and he did make these misunderstood mini cabbages remarkable. The contrast between the sprouts and the smoky, crumbled bacon brought this side item to new heights. Really good, and our entree was up next.

Behold the Turducken Slider. I have not had a traditional turducken, and this delicious slider is the closest I have ever had. The three major components were here in some form; turkey patty, shredded duck, and fried chicken. Then, it was finished with some stuffing and two cornbread squares, attempting to keep everything together. Chef Tony expected us to use a knife and fork for this one due to the crumbling of the cornbread, but I did manage to eat a good majority of this with my hands. I liked how all the items interacted, and adding the gravy made this come alive. Another item that I wished Slater's would feature on their menu or at least make their Burger of the Month.

Dessert is always a treat at Slater's, and this Pumpkin Tart was no exception. I did not get the full description of what was in this, but the pumpkin seemed muted a bit to me, which is fine because I always feel that pumpkin-flavored anything is overrated. This tart was balanced out with chocolate and a very creamy whipped cream. It was a nice and light end to our VIP Dinner at Slater's.

Mark and I left Slater's 50/50 impressed with the VIP Dinner that evening, and we decided that if we lived closer to a Slater's location, we would definitely have joined the 50/50 Club that night. Our food items this evening were paired with wines, but I'm not too much of a wine guy, as I was way more focused on the food. We had a great meal, met some incredible people at the dinner, and got to experience a little taste of Thanksgiving a few weeks early. Now, that's really something that we could be thankful for.

Special thanks to Chef Tony and Scott Slater for coming up with this 50/50 Club and including us in this special dinner. We had a wonderful time and look forward to seeing what will be next for this over-the-top restaurant. We would also like to thank Anna from J Public Relations for arranging this visit. We had a great visit, thanks to you.

If you would like to experience the 50/50 Club for yourself or for anything else Slater's related, head to their website here: https://slaters5050.com/

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

Slater's 50/50

17071 Beach Blvd. 

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

Besides my love of bacon, one of the things that keeps 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 reduce their driving time to experience all the bacon bliss at Slaters. The team at Slater's is tight-lipped regarding 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.

Slater's is very open about its new food items, which debuted on the first day of July. We were lucky to try these out before they hit the menus. We went to the Huntington Beach Slater's for a preview party with other bloggers and some of Slater's most ardent supporters. We got a chance to talk with 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 meeting him, I assumed his personality would be over the top, just like the burgers he creates with Executive Chef Brad Lyons. He is entirely the opposite of what I had imagined, though. He is more subdued than I imagined and lets his burgers do the talking for him. Slater's hit the marketplace at the right time. They opened in 2009 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 nearly 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 many of the customers who find themselves at Slater's bypass the salad portion of the menu, but this section proves that you can come to Slater's and eat healthy. A 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 are on the bandwagon. 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 big fan of either kale or quinoa. I know they are healthy for me, but I almost automatically run for the hills when I hear something is healthy. Katie really liked this salad, though. It had a robust 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 looks 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 night items, 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, they add cheddar cheese to the outside of the sandwich instead of just buttering the bread and grilling it. The result is crispy cheese on the outside and a very rich but oh-so-satisfying sandwich. Served alongside a tomato basil house-made soup, this will be handy on those southern California winter nights when it dips into the low 60s.

It's not new to their menu, but I think they wanted to show off a bit. It is 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 harsh food critic, so this is a significant accomplishment and something that Slater's 50/50 should be proud of. This burger starts with a Sterling Silver ground beef patty and is layered with American cheese, thick bacon, lettuce, tomato, grilled onions, and Thousand Island dressing. This is then sandwiched between a white brioche bun that does an admirable job of keeping the burger together. The result is a delicious bacon cheeseburger. Another new item, the Almond Joy Milkshake, came out with the burger. 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 nationwide 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. Many people took only a few bites of this, but true bacon lovers will love this burger, at least in moderation. 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 starts 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 always good if you are already full. 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 outdid themselves with introducing the 50/50 Bacon Blondie. For those unfamiliar with blondies, like me, they are brownies, but instead of chocolate, they are made with brown sugar and vanilla instead. This version came with a creamy peanut butter frosting and candied bacon and was served a la mode. This was so good but oh so rich. It is best to split this between two or more people. A very lovely 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 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. I'll probably skip the Merica Burger this time, though, because I am just recovering from eating it last year.

We thank the Slater's 50/50 Huntington Beach staff for making our night so great. They kept the food coming and enjoyed clearing plates and filling drinks while answering 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 provided excellent food and was so nice to us when we saw 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/

Slater's Bacon-tacular New Menu Items! - CLOSED

Slater's 50/50

17071 Beach Blvd. 

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

The transition from summer to fall is a busy time for restaurants. This is the time when restaurants are changing their menus. We have noticed this a lot lately with the number of announcements and tastings we have been invited to. For the last month, we have been asked to at least one restaurant weekly to try new menu items and some old favorites. Needless to say, I was excited when an invitation to Slater's 50/50 showed up in my inbox. Katie had to work, so I brought my good friend Rob to Slater's Huntington Beach location on a recent Wednesday afternoon.

Slater's has been making some noise lately. They are opening their Pasadena location next month and have announced plans to open a South OC location in Lake Forest, in the old Hooters location right next to the 5 Freeway. That will be their fifth Southern California location, and rumors are swirling that they will then try their hand at an out-of-state location. That's in the future, though, and their new menu items are here today for us to try, so let's see what they have in store for us.

Slater's started us off with enough appetizers to call it a night, but there was more to come. Leading off the appetizer parade was the Beer Cheese Fries. These fries are layered with Slater's signature chili, a beer cheese sauce, pepper jack cheese, and jalapenos. It's an updated take on Irish nachos. The chili was a little milder than I like, but the jalapenos remedied that situation quite nicely. This did not lack in that department with the two kinds of cheese here. Even with all the stuff on top of the fries, they remained crunchy throughout this appetizer, a significant feat.

I grouped all these following appetizers together because these can all be combined to create your perfect combo plate of appetizers, from a Pick 2 to a Pick 6 (sorry, the Sweet Potato Fries and Beer Battered Onion Rings are not shown here). What is shown here are the Slater's Fries, which come with Slater's bacon ketchup. Yes, you read that right, bacon-infused ketchup. I could taste the smokiness in the ketchup. Next up was my favorite appetizer of the night, the Beer Battered Jalapenos served with a cilantro-lime sour cream. These were addictive. I knew I would eat a lot here but could not escape these. Most of these were not crazy hot, but I used the cooling sauce to slow down the burn with the ones that were.  Fried Dill Pickle Chips are not among my favorite things, so I tried only two. Rob and I thought these tasted better with the Tapatio ranch than with the mustard sauce these were served with. It is a familiar menu item, but the Fried Bacon Mac and Cheese Balls are another favorite. These are perfectly fried on the outside, and the inside keeps the perfect mac and cheese texture. For an extra flavor, not that these needed it with the cheese and bacon, these come with the Tapatio ranch that went so well with the fried pickles.

Salads at Slaters? Yes, some people who come here might not be into burgers (crazy people!). We got to try two samples of their new salads. The Top Ramen Salad really reminded me of my childhood. My Mom used to make a salad that was very similar to this one. Iceberg lettuce, napa cabbage, and shaved carrots join crunchy ramen pieces and chicken breast into a salad that features a ramen-seasoned vinaigrette. This salad was a straightforward salad, which was very light-tasting. It's surprising from a place known for big flavors and shocking us. A salad that was more in the Slater's wheelhouse was the Bacon Cheeseburger Salad. This is a house salad with bacon bits, red onions, tomatoes, Thousand Island dressing, dill pickle chips, and a ground beef patty covered with cheese on top of the salad. Another pretty simple salad, but I liked this one. The warm patty contrasted with the colder greens well, and the bacon bits were real bacon, so that can always be good. This would be my choice if I had to have a salad here.

Do you love Panda Express orange chicken? Have you ever wanted to make a sandwich out of it? If the answer to those questions is yes, you need to get to Slaters as soon as possible. It's not the best picture of this sandwich, but the Orange Chicken Sandwich tasted like a higher quality Panda Express orange chicken piece. The sauce was very sweet, but to counteract that, they added a Sriracha mayo to give the sandwich a little bite. Add some coleslaw for texture, and you will have a unique chicken sandwich I am surprised no one else has ever thought to make.

To be utterly truthful to everyone at Slater's the other night, I did not try this World's Greatest Turkey Burger. I know it is topped with fresh Gouda cheese, red onions, pesto sauce, and a portobello mushroom, which all sound delicious, but I wanted to save room for the stuff I know is terrible for me. I did hear that other people liked it, but I did not try it myself.

Now, this is more like it! Luckily for my cholesterol count, we were only given quarters of the burgers, although I did sneak an extra quarter of this one. The Frito's Crunch Burger had to come from a kitchen experiment where a hamburger was combined with a Frito Pie. This fantastic burger starts with a ground beef patty and is then topped with chili, cheddar cheese, a layer of Frito's, and Thousand Island dressing. Both Rob and I really enjoyed this creation. It wasn't crazy over the top, just a solid, good-tasting burger.

Do you like bacon? Do you really like bacon? If yes, this is the burger for you. The B' B' B' Bacon Burger is every bacon lover's dream come true. Bacon is included in almost every layer of this. Starting with the signature 50 percent ground beef, 50 percent ground bacon patty, a bacon thousand island dressing, bacon American cheese, strips of thick-cut bacon, and a sunny-side-up egg, all situated on a bacon pretzel bun. Wow, our first bite of this set off a euphoric bacon experience like none other. This burger was excellent but might be too much for some people, but not me.

My buddy Rob had never been to Slater's before, and while we were there, he was looking over the menu. The burger that caught his eye the most was Slater's Classic, the Peanut Butter and Jealousy. This burger meets PB and J sandwich starts with a ground beef patty and then topped with bacon, peanut butter, and strawberry jelly strips. I know it sounds odd, but this burger really works. I have had issues correcting the suitable peanut butter-to-jelly ratio, but this burger is always a hit. Of course, the whole wheat bun makes it healthy, right?

After the burgers, we also got to sample some of their new Mac N' Cheese creations. The one on top is the Baked Potato Mac N' Cheese. This one was made of mashed potatoes, sharp cheddar cheese, bacon, green onion, sour cream, and a Parmesan-panko crust. Basically, it's anything you would want on your loaded baked potato. This was good, but I could not hold a candle to the Buffalo Chicken Mac N' Cheese. This is different from your typical macaroni and cheese out-of-the-blue box. The macaroni is paired with a three-cheese Alfredo sauce, buffalo chicken pieces, chopped celery, blue cheese crumbles, and a Cheez-Its crust. I would have liked some Franks Hot Sauce or another buffalo sauce to go along with this, but it did have a good texture, and the Cheez-It crust was genius.

Food is not the only thing new at Slater's. They also now have Beer Cocktails. I tried two of these concoctions while we were here. The first one I had was called the Elementary School Teacher. I now know what my teachers were drinking after school. Amaretto, apple and lemon juice, simple syrup, and a pale ale made up this one. A little on the sweet side for me. I liked IPA Cocktail #2 a lot better. The IPA was mixed with amaretto and appeal and topped with fresh lemon. A lot less sweet than the other one I tried. It is not new, but we had to try the Bacon Mary. The bacon-centric cocktail uses Three Olives Bacon Infused Vodka, bloody mary mix, and just for good measure, the rim of the glass is coated with bacon salt and garnished with a piece of bacon. Now, you can drink your bacon for breakfast!

Dessert time at Slater's, and you would not think they could use bacon in dessert, but you would be wrong. We tried the Maple Bacon Milkshake. This had a decent maple flavor, but the real bacon bits added a slight smokiness to this well-made milkshake. Another favorite for us was the Chocolate Pop Rocks Shake. It has probably been about thirty years since I have had Pop Rocks, but I have never had them in ice cream. They still popped, just like I remembered. A lovely nostalgic trip back in time, drinking this milkshake.

I liked some of the new menu items on Slater's. The Frito Burger, Orange Chicken Sandwich, and Fried Jalapeno Rings were all hits, in my opinion. For my friend Rob, who had never been to Slater's, this was a great introduction to this one-of-a-kind restaurant. He really loved the over-the-top aspect of it. Claiming that he never eats like this, he came home happy and full and vowed to do an extra session at the gym the next day.

We really wanted to thank everyone at Slater's 50/50 for the chance to try all of this great food. We met Scott Slater, founder of Slater's, who was even gracious after I brought up the Chargers awful season. His mother was also there and shared some great childhood stories of Scott. Thanks also go out to Jody, the Manager of this Slater's location. Thanks for taking care of us so well, Jody! Also, thanks to all the servers and staff who brought the food for us and made us feel comfortable during our stay tonight. Lastly, a big thank you to Beth Chee of Downing Street Public Relations for the invite to this great event. It has always been great working with you, Beth!

For more information on Slater's 50/50, click here: http://slaters5050.com/

Bacon Coma at Slater's 50/50 - CLOSED

Slater's 50/50

17071 Beach Blvd. 

Huntington Beach, CA 92647

My love for Slater's 50/50 is probably well-known to almost anyone who reads this blog, checks out our Facebook page, or reads our Twitter posts. I always inform people about the latest happenings from the home of the 50 percent ground beef and 50 percent ground bacon restaurant. Writing this blog, we only sometimes try too many restaurants twice, or even more than that, but Slater's is in a relatively consistent rotation of places we frequent.

Why do we go to Slater's so often? I will not tell you that Slater's is the best burger I have ever had. I will not tell you that Slater's is the best burger we have in OC today. We keep coming here because they constantly add new things to their menu. They almost always hook me with their burger of the month. This was the case for our July visit. Also, we had yet to review their Huntington Beach location, so that was enough reason to head over to HB.

Here is a brief history for the three of you who need to learn about Slater's 50/50. This restaurant is the concept of owner Scott Slater. An avid San Diego Chargers fan, he was tailgating with his buddies when the idea of bacon and ground beef patty came into the conversation. He toyed with the idea for a while, and then in 2009, he teamed up with Executive Chef Brad Lyons to open up their first location in Anaheim Hills. This restaurant rocked the OC food scene and brought many people to this out-of-the-way shopping center. Two years later, they opened another location in HB, with a San Diego spot quickly following. Today, they are expanding yet again, with the announcement of a new location in Pasadena.

Slater's offers customers the choice of creating their own burger off of a checklist of almost anything they could imagine on a burger. They offer 5 kinds of breads, 20  sauces, 30 toppings, and 12 types of cheese. The combinations are nearly endless. Not in the mood for their signature 50/50 patty? They also offer six other kinds of meat to stuff between the buns. For those who have difficulty making decisions, Slater's already has 10 designed burgers and other sandwiches and salads. I had no indecision on this visit. I knew what I was coming here for. So, let's get to the food.

I am always a fan of dips, and the Slater's Vampire Dip ($8.95) never disappoints. This garlic, cheese, and artichoke dip is served in a sourdough bread bowl and fried pita chips. You will want to share this very rich appetizer with friends. The dip is best with the bread bowl I think. Always a great choice to start with.

As much as I like the Vampire Dip and the burgers at Slater's, I have never been too excited by the appetizers. One good thing about them is that Slater's offers you a sampling of any number you want. We went with the Pick Three ($6.95), which gave us our choice of three. We selected the Panko Fried Mac N' Cheese, Sweet Potato Fries, and Beer Battered Onion Straws. The fried mac n' cheese served with a Tapatio ranch was the best. How could fried macaroni and cheese ever be a bad idea? Sweet potato fries are not really my thing, but the pumpkin sauce served with them made them bearable. The onion strings were very light, but I could not taste the onion here. The breading also broke away from the onion too easily. With the appetizers done, it was time for the burgers.

Okay, not a burger, but Katie proves that you do not have to eat 4000-calorie burgers when you come to Slater's. She went with a Chicken Sandwich ($8.95). She added avocado, garlic aioli, onion, spring lettuce, tomato, and asparagus to this sandwich. As for the bread option, Katie had them put it on a ciabatta roll. This sandwich's highlight was the chicken, which she called well-cooked, and the asparagus, which she claimed was very fresh and added an excellent flavor to this sandwich. Katie was not too excited by her choice of the ciabatta roll here because it was too much with all these toppings. She will also forgo the garlic aioli in favor of the pesto aioli next time because the garlic aioli overpowered the sandwich.

Most of the time, people tell me I overdo it and shrug them off. On this trip, even I knew I should not have done this! What you see here is the burger of the month for July, The 'Merica Burger ($14.95). This burger was a 100% bacon patty with a sunny-side-up egg, two strips of bacon, bacon island dressing, and bacon cheddar cheese. Talk about bacon overload! To make matters even worse, I let the waiter talk me into getting the pound size of this burger because he had not seen anyone order it and finish it. Man, I am a sucker! After the first bite, I was in bacon heaven. Bacon flooded all of my taste buds. As I ate this burger, though, the bacon really became too much. There was nothing to cut the bacon taste other than the egg, and that was too tough of a job for this poor egg. After eating this, I could feel the bacon course through my veins for the next few days. Yes, I finished this burger, to the great amazement of my table mates, the waiter, and curious onlookers, but I will never do it again.

After a bit of snafu with her burger, Kat got her Build Your Own Burger ($11.95) almost when I finished mine. She got the two-thirds-pound all-bacon patty but managed to only eat less than half of it. Kat filled out the next item I will show you. She got this burger with Swiss cheese, baconnaise, pastrami, more bacon, tomato, onion, and vampire dip. I have never seen Kat finish anything, so Slater's conquered her.

Kat ordered the Maple Bacon Shake ($5.45) if we did not have enough bacon. This shake really tasted more like a vanilla shake with bacon bits added. We only got the bacon flavor when we sucked up a piece of bacon, which by the end of our bacon odyssey, was a nice change of pace.

This trip to Slater's was not the best I have had. You can say that I overindulged to the highest degree. I will not make that mistake again. The HB location is larger than the Anaheim Hills location. We still had about a fifteen-minute wait at 4 o'clock on a Sunday afternoon. The service was as good as we have always gotten at Slater's. All the workers seem to be having a good time here. I understand that Slater's is not for everyone, but I like it. It could be classified as the ultimate in "guys' food." It is not something I would eat every day, but even after my experience here, they already got my attention with their next burger of the month. I am not going for the whole pound, though.

Out of five Porky Pigs (because I felt like I ate five pigs on this trip to Slater's), five being best to zero being worst, Slater's 50/50 gets 3 Porky Pigs.

For all things, Slater's 50/50, check out their web site here: http://www.slaters5050.com/