Turns out, a number of food and drink joints — from chains and indies, from low-budget and high — carry some sort of slider. We're not saying the establishments throughout the following pages are the only places serving sliders around town, but this list, compiled by a hungry bunch of CL staffers, is a good place to start. Options range from classic mini-cheeseburgers to a meatloaf version with whiskey-infused barbecue sauce to pint-size chicken and waffles.
BREW BUS, TAMPA
Brisket Sliders
Ingredients: Braised beef brisket, caramelized onion, smoked blue cheese, brioche bun
Ray Roa says: Maybe it’s the buzzer that goes off when the order is up, or maybe it’s the mountain of hand-cut fries, but eating these three nugs of Seminole Heights heaven is exciting. From the perfectly toasted, buttery brioche bun, to the thick (yet not overwhelming) chunk of beef, to the mini handful of arugula and the gratuitous drizzle of blue cheese — a great, shareable mini-meal worth revisiting several times a month.
THE BURG BAR & GRILL, ST. PETERSBURG
BBQ Sliders
Ingredients: Pulled pork, barbecue sauce
Scott Harrell says: When does a slider stop being a slider? When it no longer fits within the confines of those compact little buns? While I’m not sure it matters, The Burg slathers pulled pork swimming in sweet barbecue sauce across three delicious rolls (the highlight of the dish) to create a tailgate-worthy mess of a decadent meal. You can debate whether or not they’re sliders — no way you’re getting through this with one hand and no napkins — but you can’t not get full.
Beef Sliders
Ingredients: Grass-fed beef, sautéed mushrooms and onions, white Cheddar, Cuban bread
David Warner says: These may be the ur-sliders, the sliders against which all others should be compared. Perfectly cooked medium rare as requested and served on grilled, still-crunchy Cuban bread dressed with just a slash of olive oil, plus a side of spicy chipotle ketchup. I betcha you can't eat just one. (Luckily, Fly Bar gives you three.)
HYATT PLACE, ST. PETERSBURG
BBQ Pulled Pork Sliders
Ingredients: Pulled pork, barbecue sauce, chipotle aioli vegetable slaw, side of pickle chips
DW says: The hotel is brand new, so it took us a while to figure out we could place an order in the lobby and eat in the comfortable bar area. But the barbecue sliders offer a nice mix of punch and crunch (thanks to that spicy slaw), and they're served in style atop a marble-and-wood breadboard.
IRISH 31, TAMPA
Mushroom and Swiss Sliders
Ingredients: Ground beef, sautéed mushrooms, Swiss
RR says: The slice of Swiss, sweaty from sitting on top of that mini patty, was great, but the rest of the slider, sandwiched between deflated buns, was uneventful. Still, a few beers — plus the laid-back, family-friendly vibes of Irish 31’s Hyde Park Village digs — would make us try it again.
KELLY DAYS FIREHOUSE TAVERN, TAMPA
Seven kinds of sliders are slung here — plus the choice of ordering flights of five — so we tackled this place as a pack.
The Brush Fire
Ingredients: Joyce Farms grass-fed beef, smoked Gouda, habanero pepper jelly, candied bacon, sweet Hawaiian rolls
Julio Ramos says: I’m a sucker for Gouda and bacon together, and to me this was the juiciest.
Fried Chicken & Waffles
Ingredients: Fried chicken, two mini cheddar jalapeno waffles, Sriracha maple syrup, sweet Hawaiian rolls
DW says: This proves a slider can be anything. It’s a bit unwieldy, but the waffle retained its crunch, the chicken was ample, and the whole thing was made more lunchy than brunchy by Sriracha in the syrup and jalapeno in the waffles.
The Ybor Fritas
Ingredients: Kelly Days beef blend, chorizo, potato sticks, black truffle ketchup, smoked Havarti cheese, pickle, sweet Hawaiian rolls
DW says: Flavorful and juicy.
NOBLE CRUST, ST. PETERSBURG
Crispy Grouper Sliders
Ingredients: Old Bay mayo, house pickles, shaved iceberg, red cabbage, Martin’s Potato Rolls
DW says: Crunchy, tasty little bites — and I do mean bites. They’re bite-size orders, the size over-compensated for with piles of shredded iceberg and red cabbage. The Old Bay mayo adds a nice taste of the sea, while the Martin’s rolls hold up. But, like I said, small.
THREE BIRDS TAVERN, ST. PETERSBURG
Lamb Sliders
Ingredients: Lamb, feta, tzatziki
SH says: Three Birds carries three types of mini burgers — beef, pork shoulder and lamb. We went for the most out-there option, and were rewarded with juicy lamb patties adorned with soft, flavorful feta on buns substantial enough to handle the load. You can’t mix-and-match your sliders here, but you can order three or five at a time depending on your appetite and desire to share.
URBAN BREW AND BBQ, ST. PETERSBURG
Pulled Chicken, Pulled Pork, Sliced Brisket & Rib Sliders
Ingredients: Choice of meat, choice of barbecue sauce, fresh dinner rolls
SH says: You know their meats; you love their meats. And you can get ’em in the form of stuffed sliders on delicious toasted dinner rolls alongside the restaurant’s trademarked thick, coarse house-made sauces — with cheese, too, if you’re some kind of weirdo. The pulled pork and chicken are as tasty as you’d expect, but I recommend going a bit wilder for the brisket and rib options, with a local craft brew or two to wash them down.
Braised Pot Roast, Fried Green Tomato BLT, Smoked Turkey & Braised Pulled Pork Sliders
SH says: The Urban empire’s Southern-focused “scratch kitchen” has four sliders à la carte, offering the opportunity to try each insanely good choice without getting bogged down in a plate of sameness. The barbecue pork comes with spicy house-made pickles; the pot roast is flavorful and falling apart; the fried green tomato BLT provides the tasty perfection of the menu’s full-size sandwich in miniature; and the smoked turkey (with meat from Urban Deli and Drafts down the street) is simply stunning, one of the best and most one-of-a-kind sliders the area has to offer.
All-American Sliders
Ingredients: Beef, grilled onions, pickle, American cheese, sweet Hawaiian rolls
DW says: Aptly named, this one is a classic version of the standard American cheeseburger, albeit in an un-American non-gigundo size. The meat's cooked nicely, the pickle retains its crunch and the bun adds a nice touch of sweetness.
YARD OF ALE, ST. PETERSBURG
Tully Meatloaf Sliders
Ingredients: Meatloaf, onions, peppers, cornflakes, onion straws, Tullamore Dew barbecue sauce
SH says: A great idea that puts your leftover meatloaf sandwich to shame. The combo of moist meatloaf and crispy battered onion straws offers plenty of texture, and the warm sauce isn’t so sweet that it overpowers the flavors. Mine came out of the kitchen steaming hot, with just a bit of toothy crust to the slices of meatloaf.
This article appears in Oct 12-19, 2017.