I was under the impression that there’s not a snowball chance in the desert that I would ever enjoy Slammin’ Mini Burgers. For one, it has the word “mini” attached to its name. And for a big girl like me, it is not a word I would want to deal with especially when it comes to material things in life that matters. Mini car, mini house, mini clothes - oh, don’t get me started on mini clothes, and yes, mini food. These things, I believe call for “supersize me” marked on its forehead. So naturally, when it comes to burger – one of the things in life that matters, needless to say, I want it manly and macho. Sliders are such tease! Those burger sizes that could put my big fat face to shame? I like those.
But as with all things in life, even a mini burger deserves a chance. Hence, a visit to Slammin’ Mini Burger, Fries, and Dips at their Promenade, Greenhills branch.
It turns out that Slammin’ Mini Burger is the revamp version of Slammers Burger. I used to see their kiosk just right beside Big Chill at Greenhills before they moved to the new Promenade building but I never had a chance nor the desire to try them out for reasons previously stated. The name is a dead giveaway ~ Slammin' specializes on all-American sliders and fries with different dips, and then some.
Located near cinema ( beside Wee Nam Kee) and with products which can be handy to have it to go, it can be easily guessed that their target market is those who want to have a grub while watching flicks. But regardless if you have tickets for a movie date or not, Slammin’ Mini Burgers can also accommodate sit in diners who just wants to spend their time over sliders and other goodies it is best paired with.
My visit at Slammin' Mini Burger was not without a goal. That was to see if I will get to appreciate mini burgers despite my preference being locked in macho burgers I am used to. A little bit of other things on their menu wouldn't hurt either.
Anything with limited edition should not go unnoticed. Slammin' Mini Burgers has this Limited Edition Black Box Series which is essentially choices of sliders in three variety namely; John Candy, Romeo+Juliet, and Big Kahuna. They are serve in what you may have guessed by now - black boxes in contrast to the usual black/orange boxes used in serving sliders at Slammin'. The Double is priced at Php185 while the triple is priced at Php265. Since this series comes in three variant, I decided to go for the triple.
I have to admit that these sliders are not the most enticing sliders I have ever encounter. To put it bluntly, it can be easily pass off as the usual burger you can find in some beat up street corner burger joint save for the hefty beef patty sandwiched in between buns that looks like pure ground beef from the get go. I am a food stylist by trade and years spent with like minded individuals opened my eyes to the fact that people are very visual and we have this tendency to eat with our eyes first. So things like this matter to me.
I could have informed food attendants to allow me to took some shots of it before these sliders were jammed into their boxes, but then again I figured these are their true appearance when served to their diners, these are their state of being wherein they're expected to further entice people to take that first big bite, so there.
Although lacking in enticing appearance, at least for me, Slammin' Mini Burgers made up for it given their flavor profile presented in each variety.
John Candy ~ 100% all beef patty, cheddar cheese, honey cured bacon, sauteed onions, and salted caramel. I was a little lost as to where the salted caramel was but despite that I thought this was a good burger flavor. The sweet and savory pull of flavor is most of the time winner for me.
Romeo + Juliet ~ 100% all beef patty, cheddar cheese, honey cured bacon, strawberry jam, and salted butter. I never thought that strawberry jam will work well with burger but this one proved me wrong. I love that the jam does not just made its presence known in every bite, but it also act as an ingredients to highlight all the other flavors in the mix especially that of the beef.
Big Kahuna ~ 100% all beef patty, honey cured bacon, pineapple chunks, Sriracha mayo, and Teriyaki glaze. I am not a big fan of pineapple in my food so I was not expecting that I will appreciate this burger. But lo and behold, the combination of Sriracha mayo and Teriyaki glazed was such a scene stealer that made the chunks of pineapple served its purpose of balancing the flavors with its innate sweetness.
In terms of flavor profile, I was really impressed with the Black Box Series. With that, I decided to go for a Triple of their basic burger variants as well.
Again, I was handed with three sliders that may not look so enticing, but after tasting the previous sliders,I had high hopes.
Since I want to try different flavors their accommodating food attendants suggested to go for their Slammin' Trio (Php225). usual order of triple and double will give you tripple and double of the same variant, so, the Slammin' Trio was the best bet.
The best bet it was. I was given an All American Slider, Bacon N' Mushroom, and Slammin' Cheese.
Among the three my favorite was he Bacon N' Mushroom simply because it
has the two of my most well-loved burger toppings ever. The other two
were not bad either. So, it's official, Slammin' Mini Burgers made a
believer out of me.
The triple burgers I had came with a small serving of fries with my choice of dip, honey mustard. Yet, that did not stopped me from having Mighty Mushroom and Bacon Loaded Fries (Php125). Again, two of my favorite toppings ~ bacon and mushroom ~ this time with loads of cheese and topped on golden crisp fries.
I swear, I finished the entire serving in one go because it was that good. No scrimping on bacon and mushroom that happened, it was mighty indeed. And I love them for that.
I also had their Fish N' Chips (Php185) with my choice of dip, sour cream. This dish is essentially comprised of beer battered fish fillet and then some crisp golden fries. One serving is good for two people with minimal appetite or one person with appetite as huge as mine. It looked like the usual fish and chips one remarkable thing about this dish is that the fish batter really tasted like beer, in a very good way.
Their Slammin' Wings (Php175) comprised of 6 pcs. fried chicken wings with my choice of dip which was roasted garlic. There are two variants of flavor; New York buffalo and Honey Garlic Glaze. I went for the honey flavor since I do not want my palate o be assaulted with something spicy that time.
The flavor of the chicken was good that it need not to have a dipping sauce. Although I wish it could have been a bit bigger.
Dipping sauce is a big thing for Slammin' Mini Burgers so it is expected that they have variety of options to choose from namely sour cream, japaneo, creamy barbecue, roaster garlic, cheesy, honey mustard, and hot bell pepper. Extra dip cost Php20 a pop.
There are variety of sodas available at Slammin' Mini Burger, but I highly recommend their Slammin' Iced Tea. I am guessing it was home brewed since I have tasted nothing like it before. There are also Red Strawberry and Blue Lemonade just in case you are not a big fan of iced tea.
I have to admit that in terms of quality and taste, I was surprisingly impressed with Slammin' Mini Burgers, Fries, and Dips. I have nothing but good words regarding the side dishes I had, everything was enjoyable especially the loaded fries. Their burger patty is made of 100% pure beef chuck and it shows, so they have all my respect in that league. The buns were good enough in terms of texture and taste, but not so much on appearance. It helps that they are presented in cute boxes which made the simplicity of its burger's look understandable somehow.
To sum up, mini burgers at Slammin' Mini Burgers, Fries, and Dips may not enticed me by its look but in the grand scheme of all things food, flavor and quality always triumph.
Slammin' Mini Burgers + Fried + Dips
G/F Promenade 3
Greenhills, San Juan City
Facebook: /Slamminmb
Instagram: @slamminnimiburgers
