Slider's

Slider’s
449 Castro Street 415-431-3288
1233 9th Avenue 415-753-1453
1202 Sutter Street 415-885-3288

Although not linked together legally, according to the staff at each location, the individual joints look like replicas of one another in price, ingredients, signage and their huge condiment or salad bars. Not that it matters I guess, but each seems to be overseen by a Chinese Mama San and the cooks at each appear to be Mexican or Latin. There is a language and labor disconnect and sometimes it’s hard for burger talk to be heard and interpreted to what one wants their burger to be like. One thing they have in common is a good burger cooked to order on a round rotating grill that is prepared in front of each customer as well as every pedestrian and car passing the windows that showcase the grill at each joint. The burgers come in several sizes and each is a good value. They serve the burgers on a lightly buttered and toasted quality bun that is the ideal density for holding all the stuff available at the sprawling salad bar that’s part of the deal. Dining in the places is usually fun with early rock and roll blaring continuously. The burger comes on a huge plastic plate that holds a large order of their good fries and can also accommodate a damned good salad from their groaning board salad bar that holds the goodies.

The fries are high quality frozen and this place has the cooking technique mastered for serving up generous portions of crisp golden brown fries to accompany the damned good burgers. You order and pay at the counter and then they call your number when its ready which is pretty quick unless you want your burger well done which more and more people are doing these days. The salad and condiment bar has dozens of choices to garnish your burger, but they skimp on quality consistently at this part of their operation and the mayonnaise they serve is the poorest quality money can buy. They have a good burger, but maybe you should closely inspect the fixings, because they’re usually picked over like produce in the open markets of Chinatown. The Slider’s experience is pretty good and every once in a while, I actually crave one.