Slider Bar Café in Palo Alto recently opened on the popular main drag,
University Street. There were countless restaurants bustling on a
Friday night, including this place. A striking, high ceilinged room
welcomes folks to the café. We sat at the bar as all the tables were
full. Slider Bar Café has a sophisticated take on the slider concept,
also serving several micro brew type beers and mid-level wines. If you
sit at the bar, the friendly bar tender will take your order and get
your wine, while you watch the soccer game or ESPN on the flat screens
behind the counter. If you sit at a table, you have to order at the
counter, take a number and have the food brought out later.
Pat
and I ordered up three sliders: the Classic American $2.89, a plain
Classic American and a Mediterranean $3.69. The price drops for each
additional slider you get. For instance, for the American, one slider
costs $2.89. Two are $5.29. Three will set you back $7.49 and a dozen
are $28. We also ordered baked fries $1.99. They don’t have a fryer.
The
order got messed up in the back and took about 15 minutes to come out,
but we didn’t really mind. The beer and wine were good, the young lady
at the counter charming and the other customers friendly. When the
sliders did arrive, the burgers were nicely arranged on the white
plate. A little more than 3” in diameter, the little burgers are
artfully and carefully constructed. On my American Classic, the yellow
bun was squishy and fresh. The Niman Ranch all natural beef patty, was
thick and nicely cooked to medium. On top was the melted American
cheese. Stuffed underneath the patty were shredded lettuce, tomato,
onion and a crisp pickle chip. A little mayo lubed the thing up. The
burger was quite enjoyable.
The Mediterranean was a combo of
flavors I had not had before on a burger: garlic and ginger spiced lamb
was accompanied by Bleu cheese, artichokes, tomatoes, red onions and
garlic sauce. But the nicest touch were the sliced black olives, which
I don’t usually like.
The baked fries were surprisingly good,
served up in a little silver pail. They were thin and light and not the
limp soggy things I expected.
Two sliders, baked fries and a beer, I could get used to hanging out at the Slider Bar Café and enjoy it.
Slider Bar Café
324 University Ave.
Palo Alto, CA 94031
650-322-7300
- Also published on Hoosier Burger Boy