The Insight on the InSlider!

Catching them on their Second day out, I got the chance to talk to Mike of the new InSlider truck!

I have eagerly awaited the arrival of this truck for weeks! As I exited the car, the smell of beef and bacon was hanging heavy in the air.

The smell made me conjure up visions of old cartoons the way a character would smell something good in the breeze and suddenly they would float up into the air and follow the smell to the source in a blissful trance. . . .

Yea, it was kinda like that . . . . .

I practically did the same thing until I came upon the truck and took a look at the menu.

Very well planned menu, decently priced. 6 different choices of sliders, 4 kinds of fries, and even mini corndogs.

You could buy the sliders individually or in "packs" of 3's.

For their second day out they had at least a dozen people out and about either ordering or waiting for their food. I could see how busy they were inside, speedily going about their business. I watched them for a good while, waiting for a better opportunity to approach them. It was like watching a choreographed ballet as they danced around each other. Busy, busy, busy.

All of a sudden I hear them calling out, "Sorry for the wait! I know its hot out here, if you're waiting for food or to order, please grab a drink, on the house!"

I haven't even met them yet and already I like them!

I waited till the crowd died down and I finally got the right timing to go up and introduce myself. I got to meet Mike, Carey and Aaron that day. Mike sat down with me on the grass and told me all about how InSliders came to be!

He was living out of state and came to visit his cousin, Stacey here in San Diego. He loved the city and wanted to stay so they got to talking about the future and the options to make a living. Culinary was the way to go!
Originally they wanted to open a Slider restaurant but loved the fact that trucks had mobility, and a cheaper price tag, and thusly, InSliders was born!

I asked him why Sliders? What was the inspiration behind that particular choice. 
His answer: "Sharability"

"Why be limited to one big burger or sandwich?" he said. "Why not have lots of little sandwiches which you can mix and match and share with your friends. Its community food."

They get their brioche style buns from a bakery off India Street called Gibaldi's. The rest of their ingredients are top notch stuff, believe you me.  Lets first off start with their beef. . . . which is Kobe. Renowned for its flavor, tenderness, and well-marbled texture. . . . HELLO!  Did someone say delicious?

To the right here you will see 3 of their selections; The InSlider, The Greek, and the Bada Bing. Two beef, and one chicken.

The InSlider is, of course, their signature  mini-burger consisting of a Kobe beef patty, cheddar, pickle, tomato, and caramelized balsamic onions. TA-STY! The beef is delicious to say the least but I gotta say that what I loved most about this slider was the way the sweet and woody balsamic onions played so well with that cheddar!

Next up was The Greek. Same Kobe beef patty, but this time it was paired with cucumber, Roma tomato, red onion, lettuce, feta cheese, and tzatziki sauce. Talk about a bang of Greek flavor!  Now normally I'd skip the tzatziki, I don't even like it on my gyros, but it was actually deliciously subtle and took the backseat to the feta/kobe beef combo.

Now my favorite out of the three, the Bada Bing! I was raised in an Italian family and I am quite fond of the flavors of the boot-shaped country. So its always great to see it done right!   Chicken breaded in PANKO!!! . . . what the! . . . . yea, you heard me. Panko breadcrumbs. It gave the chicken a surprisingly crispy texture and kept it nice and juicy on the inside. Then top it off with Mozzarella, Parmesan, fresh basil, and tomato sauce. That basil came through so nicely and gave the whole slider a well rounded herby flavor.

Now, ladies and gents, I've had a loooooooooooooooooooooooooot of Parmesan Truffle fries in my food truck eating days. I've had them every which way, and it seems like every truck out there has their own recipe. Come ON, food trucks! Give me something different!!!! Wait a tick! . . . . . What's this?

Mike presented me with his head nod to Quebec's favorite fry food, Poutine. Never heard of Poutine before? Well, traditionally Poutine is french fries smothered with cheese curds and brown gravy.
The difference here being instead of cheese curds we have fresh grated and oh-so-fluffy Parmesan of top of crispy fries and served with a brown mushroom gravy.  It was SO good!   You know me and my relationship with mushrooms. . . .  with dishes like this its getting harder and harder to say that I hate mushrooms.

Thank you very much for the deliciousness from your mobile kitchen! I shall be back and with reinforcements!