Slater’s 50/50

I don’t understand what happened. I’ve been going to slaters for a while, used to drive from Oceanside to liberty station point Lima to go before the one in San Marcos opened near me. The burgers have shrunk, most noticeably the buns, I hadn’t been in a few months and geez, it’s disappointing. The vampire dip used to be the best thing ever, then they changed the ingredients vendor and the product went to crap, it used to be creamy and sooo good, now it turns to a ball of mozzarella cheese within 5 minutes. I have no problem with the staff and service, they’ve always been great, it’s the product. They’re obviously cutting costs and downsizing on their once mouth watering giant burgers. Beer list was great, but $ 7-​$ 7.50 a beer is a tad overboard. I guess to to make my point, it’s definitely not what it once was that made me drive 30 miles to get that ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger

This place rocks!
The service is always spot-​on and timely.
We went yesterday to watch the Super Bowl. Our server was very kind and accommodating to our son and our needs. And in fact, when we used to go to the one in Huntington Beach, it was the same.
The restaurant is always clean, bright, and the staff is on point.
We’re glad this place is in our neighborhood

I came to Slaters about 10 minutes before my friend showed up so I went inside to get a table. The hostess was extremely nice and sat me. Not even 2 minutes later, the server showed up and I said I was waiting on my friend before placing my order. My friend shows up and sits and it literally took like 20 minutes to place our order. After placing our order, it took like 10 minutes to get our beverages. That seems way to long just to get our drinks to us. As time went by, no one really checked on us and the table across from us already got their food and they already finished eating and our food was not out yet. Our food took more than 20 minutes to get after placing the order with the server. The wait for our food and beverage took too long than in other restaurants. This experience makes me wonder if this was an off day for them or if it’s like this normally.

This is a great restaurant with an interesting twist on burgers. They call themselves ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ because their signature burger patties are formed with 50% ground beef and 50% bacon! Honestly it wasn’t that noticeable and I really would have just preferred some crispy bacon slices atop my juicy hot beef patty.
The burger I ordered from their menu is simply called the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. Made with pepper jack cheese, sunny side up egg, avocado mash (that’s called guacamole where I come from), chipotle adobo mayo and a brioche bun. This monstrosity was a hot mess, but really good. I had to take two showers when we got home!
We also ordered their fried mac & cheese balls (which weren’t that great) and beer battered onion rings (very good).

Simoly fabulous, burgers and onion rings ROCK!
Visiting from Los Angeles & heard so much about their burgers. I am so glad I finally can say all the comments are true ~

This place is good. It’s not the ‘OMG life changing experience’ that the menu descriptions sound and the hype make it out to be, but it’s unique and decadent and high quality and fun and delicious. You do pay for the quality and the decadence… it’s not cheap. But they do have a nice lunch special for $ 10 of a smaller burger and a side of fries. (My hungry mind always panics when I ready that «smaller» part — but trust me — unless you’re feeling all man vs. food today, it’s plenty.)
I’ve been a handful of times and tried a different burger each visit. They have such a wide range from the basics/​standards to ‘OMG why would they do that?’. I tend to fluctuate between the two extremes. They’re SO different from each other, each burger almost deserves its own review.
My favorite so far — hands down — was the Pastrami Mama — that was *almost* life change experience status — but unfortunately it was a burger of the month so I can’t come back for it unless they decide to make it permanent someday.
The peanut butter and jellousy (a la mode!) burger made me too damn curious to not try it eventually. It’s not gross like it sounds, but it’s not amazing either. It’s more of a ‘yeah that kind of works — but I don’t think I’ll get it again’. Worth eating once just to say you’ve had it at least.
Same with the 50-​alarm burger which touts that it’s so spicy you have to sign a waiver and wear gloves. I did not receive a waiver with my order but I did receive the gloves even though they weren’t needed. The burger itself was delicious — and is loaded with scary sounding things like ‘ghost pepper cheese’ and ‘habanero poppers’ — but they’re all cooked and blended into things so they’re not that lethal. What really gets you is the raw jalapeño which are cut THICK so when you get the bites with the top half of the pepper you are eating clusters of seeds. Eaten as-​is with jalapeño seed clusters intact, it’s HOT — it will melt your face a little, but not all the way off — if you know how spicy a raw with-​seeds jalapeño is, step that up several notches for the other peppers that compound on top of it. Unless you’re doing it as a dare, i recommend leaving the raw peppers off (or pulling off the thick ones) and just enjoying the decently spicy burger.
Their original ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger is fantastic — but you have to REALLY LIKE bacon because all that bacon in the patty is pretty overwhelming if you don’t. The Sriracha burger is a very solid choice. A nice kick added to a bacon cheese burger — the heat balances the smoke from the ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ patty very nicely. And the «old timey» (classic cheeseburger) is quite delicious if you’re just craving a great burger with none of the frou.
There are soooo many more for me to try (and that doesn’t even include breaking into the whole «build your own» market! :o) … so I’ll keep adding & posting photos as I go back to work my way through.
As far as non-​burgers go, the fries are nice and crispy how I like them but nothing unique. The vampire dip is tasty — my garlic cheese dip is better — but it’s a great starter to share if you have at least 4 people. The mac and cheese was nothing exciting (bummer). But the beer list… the beer list is where it’s at! Two whole 8×11 pages full of craft beers including lots of local breweries. There are even a few ‘no way they’ll have this but I’ll at least take a loo-​OH SWEET! they do have it!” selections.
So long story short (too late!) — It’s good, I’m a fan… but doesn’t *quite* live up to the fantasies I get in my head when reading the menu.

Love it! They have more beers than one can think of. service is great, and the location is very well kept… their wings were so/​so. but their burgers. the burgers were out of this world. big, juicy, cooked to perfection and the toppings were amazing! Would definitely come back, and recommend you to try it!

My first experience here is decent so as the second one. The vampire dip is to die for. It comes with pita bread and vegetables (carrots, cucumbers, celery) which balance the richness of the dip. I also enjoyed my Sriracha burger. Though I can’t really tell any difference between their ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ patty and the regular ones. I guess they are known for their bacon ketchup too. It was good but I always end up adding more ketchup into it. It’s a struggle making it a dip when it’s mostly bacon crumbles.
Tip:
You can actually get «chocolate wasted» here. You can upgrade their shakes to alcoholic milkshakes. For those days you wanted to drink and have a sweet tooth too.

This is the best burger place I’ve ever been to. I love how you can build your own burger it always fills me up and I leave satisfied, however it is not cheap so be prepared to pay about 50 bucks for two and some beers. And their beer selection is on point!!!

This place is Excellent!
They have plenty of parking, and the wait is never terribly long at this location. And if there is a wait they have plenty of outdoor seating and even some table shuffle board to keep you entertained. They have plenty of tables and even bar seating. The staff is super friendly and very informative, one of the few places that says good bye to you as you head out!
I have been here multiple times and have tried a number of things. I usually get the Burger of the month which is their rotating specialty. Other than that I do love the Pizza Burger (supreme) and the Peanut Butter and Jealousy. You can even get a customized burger and give it a name, and they have tons of options. I normally get a burger and split some fries and fried pickles with friends.
The sides are average (vampire dip is pretty darn delicious), but the burgers, are amazing. First off the burgers are huge, as the weight they describe is for after they cook it! And they cook to order, so you can get it as juicy as you want. You can even get a half burger half bacon patty if you choose. They even give you a little gummy burger at the end of your meal. They burger prices range $ 10-​$ 15 which is decent for the size and service.
I pretty much visit at least once a month!

This is the second Slater’s ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ location I have been to. My party of 4 arrived in the afternoon this past Saturday and surprisingly it was relatively slow. Since it was a nice day and Prince Charming decided to tag along, we opted to sit outside. To my surprise Slater’s ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ has a dog menu, how awesome is that?!
Well the service was good, we were seated right away and ordered swiftly. We each ordered a burger, two from the menu, one that I created and Prince Charming had a dogie patty. I absolutely loved my burger! I put everything that I really like on it and named it Nat’alie: ¹⁄₃ lb (9.95), ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ Brandt Beef & Bacon (M.Well), Honey Wheat Bread, Swiss cheese, Alfalfa Sprouts, green leaf lettuce, fried egg, sauteed mushrooms, honey sriracha bacon with bacon ketchup and spicy brown mustard. Yum! My group also ordered regular fries & pickle chips (delicious) to share.
Remember the burgers here are enormous, so make sure to come on an empty stomach. FYI the Bacon Salt on the table is awesome, don’t forget to try it, it’s free! :D

This place is anazing. Big burgers perfect for a hungry person. Ive been here a few times. But tonight it was a interesting experience. There was pig lovers outside protesting. And man can they yell… Plus there was a lady in a cow suit LOL
But about service our server was Steph tonight and she was good help out with a health question that we have been arguing about haha.
Food was amzing like always.
O_​o

Good burgers, good fries… especially the tapatio ranch. I like the make your own option. Great place to watch sports and relax. The servers are always super nice. They also have a really cute outdoor patio.

I brought a friend from NY here, because handcrafted half bacon patty burger… It’s kind of a must try.
I’m a big fan of the chain, and have been slowly eating my way across each location.
This one is pretty ace.
Customer service was pretty decent.
Glasses were filled, attitudes were friendly, and food was prompt.
There was a little confusion as to where the burger customization forms were (they’re in the back of the drink binder if you’re curious), but that’s it.
Ingredients didn’t go missing from my custom burger, which was greatly appreciated (this can happen).
It was cooked oh so perfectly (juicy), and my friend cleared his plate happily.
Thank you for another memorable meal Slater’s.

It’s been a while Since I’ve been here and I just do not like their new menu. At all. They seem to push their signature burgers more because we had to ask where the create a menu was and it was in the back of the menu. They used to just hand it to you and I don’t know, made it start off weird. I only get their spicy carne asada beef and they decided to dump it from the menu. I still decided to give it a shot but they seemed to have also changed their regular beef too… that or they just had an off day? I ended up trying the italian sausage ⁵⁰⁄₅₀. That was just a huge mistake on my part. I couldn’t even finish it. I love italian sausage but it was just too much. I should have tried the chorizo :/
Service always seems to be hit or miss for me unless I sit at the bar. The bar is fantastic, the drink prices aren’t of course.
Overall, for as expensive as they are I want to get what I had before. Since they removed my favorite burger off the menu I don’t think I’ll ever be coming back.

Oh no. Expensive oily grub. Not typically awesome but you know sometimes done really well. Not here. Lots of grease, big portions, but bland. Crazy how there could be burger, cheese, chili, kettle chips, and a buttery bun but there be so little flavor. And for $ 12 not including fries? Meh me thinks not. $ 16 for a burger and fries lunch is just nuts. Especially when the burger is nowhere near exceptional. Im glad I had a groupon to mute the pain bit.
The beer list is good though. And music too. If you want some beer and maybe a snack then not bad. Otherwise stay far away.

It’s been a long time since we’ve been to this location and luckily, it was not crazy packed or full of college students.
We walked in and the hostess informed us that we can sit at the bar, it was happy hour and that they did a full service menu there. So we took her offer and found a booth and got comfortable.
The hostess was on point working the tables and got our order in pretty fast. I wasn’t aware there was a lunch price menu! WHAT??? One of their already crafted burgers with a side of fried for only $ 10. What a steal. I ordered the turkey burger with gruyère cheese, bacon and a rosemary infused mayo on a brioche bun. We also tapped into the happy hour and got their wings (4 for $ 5) and yummy yummy yummy! I am so picky about my wangs, but damn Slaters! You crunchy!
I really like my wings with a crispy crunchy skin and oh yes, this hit the spot. Forget about their burger, I want more of their wings. I think we got the bourbon bacon sauce which probably added to my lust for more wings. The burger and fries combo was good for the price (you can’t make your own though but you have plenty of burgers to choose from). But damn, if I knew about those wings. Did I mention about the wings?

Food: large burgers here. I created my own burger ($ 13 for ²⁄₃ lb) and added just the basics and no extras. You can add certain extras for $ 1 each. They provide a checklist with everything you could imagine to put on a burger. Everything has a bacon flare to it. I chose the beef/​bacon patty. This was very thick and dense. It was a little too much for me personally. I like the traditional burger more. I had their bacon pretzel bun and this was great. Very moist and great color. Onion rings and fries were decent and come with BBQ sauce and bacon ketchup. Other condiments are at each table. They also have signature classic burgers for about $ 10 and ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burgers for about $ 13 and up. The burgers do not come with fries (about $ 4). You also get to name the burger you create and they present it by name when they bring it out to you.
Service: greeted at the door and got a table within 10 minutes. We went to watch Sunday night football and it wasn’t that packed. Took a little bit to get our food. Drinks were refilled promptly and plates were cleared when finished. No complaints.
Parking: large lot that had plenty of spots close to the front entrance.
Atmosphere: TVs everywhere! No problems with not seeing any particular game bc of all the large TVs they have. They have a bar section as well as an outdoor section. Definitely has a sports bar theme that is a great place to eat.
Give this place a visit! I will not get their ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger next time as it was too much meat for me. I enjoy a traditional beef patty with piles of bacon on top.

Slaters is a pretty awesome restaurant. Its amazing that they keep their kitchen open so late. You know sometimes I want something good to eat late late at night and I can count on this place.
the new menus are pretty ok. I asked the waitress what she recommended. She said the Porka-​cola was pretty legit so I did it. Pulled pork glazed with coca cola. Sounds good, but you wont get one hint of the Coca Cola taste. The burger really was not good. Everything fell apart and wasnt very enjoyable because of that. None of the burgers here come with fries! What! Yeah you have to pay for those separately. We did and they were bland. All I got was potatoes with a few every now and then with a bit of salt.
The original ⁵⁰⁄₅₀ burger was good as always tho. Cant go wrong with that.
The beer selection is ughmazing! I dont know of any other place that can compare. And they also offer fights of tasters. The service, let’s just say it can be ok at times. This place gets super super busy so slow service would be understandable under those circumstances. However I was just there last night and we were one table of two out of 4 tables in the entire restaurant. Service was extremely slow!
I had to flag down the waitress everytime for a refill. That was annoying. She stayed behind the bar talking to a party of tourists and didnt even bother paying attention to the other 2 tables. I had to walk to the bar and ask for the check and I had to go back and give her payment because she wouldn’t pick it up. How annoying, especially when there was only 3 small parties at this time.

The pros outweigh any con here at this restaurant. I have nothing bad to say, nothing to nit pick about– this restaurant did me in good.
SERVICE: ok, big shoutout to our servers Andres and Chantell (I think that’s how you spell their names). They were ON TOP OF IT! Took our orders, refilled our drinks, fast and quick service but also very friendly and concerned with how our dinner was. I love it when people are personable and really seem to enjoy their job. It makes the experience that much better. They had so much help too from other servers, so all in all– everyone did fantastic.
FOOD: I came here for a Unilocal event so I’ve already tried a good amount of items on the menu. Tonight I opted to share the fried pickle chips with my friend– delicious! It’s a side dish but more than enough to share as an appetizer. I ordered the Thai Siracha wings as my entrée. The sweet and spicy flavor was perfect! I loved it so much I saved a few to bring home for my husband to try. :)
Friday night at 6pm was busy but we didn’t have to wait for a table. When we left at 730 there were people outside waiting so I suggest coming early. There’s TVs all over the restaurant to watch all your favorite sports.
As I said on my Unilocal event review of this restaurant I came back and I will continue to come back (for a yummy cheat night of course). :)