Easy Slider's truck near Thanksgiving Square. (Finny Philip)
Summer was once the season to roam the open road in search of dubious dining and scenic backdrops. Cheap gas made it possible to explore the diners, drive-ins and dives now only accessible to those like Guy Fieri, our nation’s television proxy to a bygone era. Yet it’s not too difficult to get a taste of adventure within city limits. Easy Sliders is serving up the flavor of summer three ounces of beef at a time in their culinary cruiser.
But it’s summer. And it’s hot. What makes co-owners Caroline Perini and Miley Holmes want to serve up food in a veritable Hell’s Kitchen?
“Every day we say the view from the office is—whether we’re in a parking lot, or in front of the AT&T Performing Arts Center or at a private party in someone’s backyard—just the craziest thing for me sometimes,” Perini said. “I looked out the window the other day and our view was Margaret Hunt [Hill] Bridge.”
The Sweet & Lowdown (left) is one of many of Easy Slider's unique creations. (Finny Philip)
The adventure started at House of Blues where the owners and workers all happened to be formerly employed. Instead of music the conversation drifted to food and a concept that would work in Dallas’ less-than-accommodating food truck scene.
“We just knew that sliders would make a really good street food. You can hold them, you don’t need a fork and a knife, napkins are optional, four bites and it’s done.”
‘Four bites and it’s done’ was a phrase I heard more than a few times as I was coaxed to try some of Easy Sliders’ unorthodox creations. Inspired by the New Orleans restaurant, Yo Mama’s Bar & Grill, Easy Sliders created The Nutty Pig—a slider with all of the traditional burger fixings plus peanut butter and bacon. The Sweet & Lowdown is a simpler, yet no less interesting four bites.
The menu. (Finny Philip)
“The Sweet & Lowdown (goat cheese, strawberry jam and bacon)—that idea really came about because I love a good goat cheese strawberry salad. I think that’s delicious. I was sitting at my desk one day and thought, ‘Oh my gosh I want put this on a burger!’ because that salty patty with the bacon and it all just pulls together. The combinations are fun, some people think they’re a little whacky, but it works for what we’re doing.”
The 80/20 Angus beef patties are shaped by hand daily and seasoned simply with sea salt so that the beef shines through. The sizzling patties are topped with cheese and then each slider is pierced through with a skewer and crowned with a pickle, pretzel, strawberry slice or cherry tomato, depending on the contents of the burger.
Easy Sliders’ Facebook and Twitter followers are privy to secret menu items. The Sugar Derby features a flattened sea salt caramel, which is made by Perini’s cousin and sold on the truck, melted onto patty and topped with caramelized onions. The French Revolution, once a secret menu item, has now been added to the regular menu. Prosciutto, Gruyere cheese, grilled red onions and Dijon mustard are packed into a fistful of flavor.
Easy Sliders brings its all-American flair to whatever intersection it rolls up to. The combination of burgers, friendly faces and the possibility of live music remind us of the carefree nature that make Texas summers worth enduring.
