Cafe Coffee Day Sliders | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
Burger buns have been bugging me for a while now. I would order a burger and find the bread so heavy that I often had to discard the top crust. Then again, as much as I love burgers, I find them too messy. Mayo and cheese ooze out from all sides, the patty in the middle seems to crisscross the bun, and ketchup rolls down the plate. These were some of the reasons why, despite feeling somewhat burger-hungry the other day, I opted for sliders. And I’m glad to note that sliders come with all kinds of patties these days.
The names are also catchy. An eatery called Zero Degrees, which has several branches in the city, has named its sliders after popular series and movies. Peri-Peri flavors most of its sliders, although the patties differ. Indiana Jones (₹275) has a stuffing of herbed cottage cheese, cheese slices, caramelised onions, mushrooms and a slice of iceberg, while Sacred Games (₹323) has peri-peri marinated chicken breast with chipotle, liquid cheese Is. , onion and iceberg,
Being a fan of young Sheldon, I asked for The Big Bang Theory Slider (₹299). I’ve never seen more popular Friend, and also ordered a Friends Slider (₹ 335) out of curiosity. Each box came with three sliders. The former had Peri-Peri Marinated Potato Patties, Cheese Slices, Onion and Iceberg, while the second had Crispy Fried Peri-Peri Chicken, Chipotle, Liquid Cheese, Iceberg and Onion.
Zero degree slider | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
The sliders were really good. The chicken patty was crispy, with cheese added for flavor, while the lettuce and onion gave it some extra crunch. The potato patty was good too – crispy on the outside, moist on the inside.
Since I was rebelling against burger buns, I ordered some croissant sliders from Cafe Coffee Day. The Cheesy Tomato Croissant Slider was excellent, with juicy chunks of cheese in a crisp lettuce leaf and tomato. I enjoyed the warm, mini chicken sausages in Grilled Chicken Croissant Sliders. The sliders from both the outfits cost ₹1,400 including delivery charges and made for a delicious and filling dinner for all three.
I now have to try some other varieties offered by the eateries in the city. I was tempted to order galouti sliders from Karinama at Seven Seas (in Preet Vihar and elsewhere), but decided I’d rather have my galouti without bread, or at best with thin rumali roti. Fab Cafe’s sliders are interesting. It offers a Baked Samosa Pao Slider, a Beetroot Slider and a Chicken Slider with spicy chicken chunks, an egg white, white butter, lettuce and cucumber, rice crispies and mint chutney. Culinet in Noida has a smoked barbecue slider – prepared with low-fat, minced chicken breast. Dogs on Wheels in Khan Market offers couscous, Chettinad chicken, and teriyaki pork sausage sliders.
I think it’s time to say goodbye to burgers. I fear they are slipping away.