It’s the weekend! Woohoo! I hope everyone has some fun plans. Now that Summer is officially here, it seems like there are a ton of things to do. If you don’t have plans, and live in the San Diego area, I highly recommend checking out the San Diego International Beer Festival (http://www.sdfair.com/index.php?fuseaction=events.beer_festival). Check out the website for details. This is the first year in a long time that I can’t make it due to another fun event. Like I said, lots going on! One of the best memories from the Festival is my husband being called up on stage to make sausages. A dream come true for him! If you go, let me know how it went and what was your favorite beer or food demonstration.
If you are looking for a place to grab a burger over the weekend, a couple of weeks ago I checked out Slater’s 50/50 in Point Loma (http://sandiego.slaters5050.com/home/). There are a couple other locations up north (Anaheim and Huntington Beach), but this is San Diego’s 1st Slater’s, and it wouldn’t surprise me if more open. Franz and I went on a Sunday around noon. We knew it would be crowded, but we hoped for the best. When we arrived, it was a long wait so we grabbed seats at the outside bar – no wait and you can order meals. We noticed there were a few tables open, but I assumed they were empty for a particular reason. The second thing we noticed was the volume. I might be getting a little older, but I usually don’t complain about the noise at a restaurant. This was really bad. It seemed that no matter where you were seated outside – at the bar or at the tables – you couldn’t avoid the loud music coming from the speakers. In addition to the music, you have the planes flying overhead from Lindberg Field. I popped my head inside to take a look, and it was a much more reasonable volume. In the future, I’ll sit inside. I will say I love loud music. I will rock out (preferably Beastie Boys), but when I’m having a meal with someone, I want to hear them and not have to raise my voice.
The bartender was really nice and knowledgeable about the menu and the beers. I opted for a milkshake, but I will have to go back for a beer. Seriously, check out their current tap list on their website. They might have close to 100 beers on tap – too many for me to count. It’s a beer list that can satisfy any beer drinker – from Pabst Blue Ribbon to Green Flash Hop Head Red and everything in between. What I appreciate is the selection of local beers – Stone, Green Flash, Lightning, Alesmith, Ballast Point, etc., etc. But let me get back to the food! We ordered some sides to accompany our burgers: Fried Artichoke Hearts with a Sage Mayo and Sweet Potato Fries with a Pumpkin Sauce. I really enjoyed the side sauces, especially the pumpkin sauce. I could put that on a burger! The sides are heavy (as expected and as they should be) and the portions are a decent size. We definitely ordered too much.
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My husband ordered The 50/50, the classic burger. It doesn’t explain on the menu what 50/50 means. There was a couple eating at the bar next to us, and they found out after they finished their meal what it meant. They said they wished they had known because they would have ordered it. It should say it somewhere. Anyway, 50/50 refers to the meat containing 50% ground bacon and 50% beef. The burger is topped with a sunny side up egg, avocado, pepper jack cheese, and chipotle mayo, and is served on a brioche bun. I opted for the Peanut Butter and Jellousy Burger on a Honey Wheat Bun. My burger was just straight beef, no mix of ground bacon. I was bummed that it lacked the mix of bacon when I ordered it, but thought I made the better decision after I tasted each burger. My burger had awesome, crunchy, tasty bacon on top of the burger. I like my bacon that way. I can taste it! When it is ground and mixed with beef, I lost that crispy texture I crave and the flavor wasn’t the same. The mix of peanut butter (always a favorite topping on my hamburgers), jelly and bacon was awesome. Put a banana on it and Elvis would come out of hiding for a bite!
Both of our buns were a little on the dry side, but the burgers were very tasty. Another side note, all burgers are prepared medium unless you order otherwise. I prefer burgers with a lot of stuff on them not to be too pink. I usually order burgers medium, but our burgers were a little too under cooked for our liking. I would probably request future burgers to be cooked medium-well.
I saved the best for last. I initially noted the milkshake above. Here we go: I ordered a Maple Bacon Milkshake with Nutella. Oh . . . my . . . God. The sweetness of the maple, the smokiness of the bacon, and the chocolate macadamia Heaven of the Nutella – I was dying. It was so good. Go and order this – you will not be disappointed! There are so many bits of bacon throughout the milkshake. At the end, I scooped out bacon stragglers at the bottom of my glass into my mouth. Thought you could get away??? There are a few milkshake flavors that caught my eye: Toasted Marshmallow, Pumpkin Pie, Guinness Mint Chocolate just to name a few. Reason enough to go back! There are so many burger places to choose from nowadays, but I’m sure I’ll try Slater’s 50/50 again.
Take Care and Happy Eating (and Have a Great Weekend)! (And Happy 50th Wedding Anniversary to my In-Laws!)
Monkey Bread and Sweet Pea 