The Slider Barron

Slider Barron food truck
By Nevin Martell
Wednesday, August 15, 2012

You can smell the ketchup from down the block, but you shouldn’t expect anything less from a food truck called Slider Barron. Painted navy and sky blue and sporting yellow stripes and fake bullet holes, it is designed to evoke fighter planes of World War II. A winged burger insignia and the painting of a pin-up girl -- whom cook and owner Tony Barron, 46, of Westminster, Md., affectionately calls Faith -- rounds out the aero-themed imagery.

Since rolling out in Montgomery County in May, the wheeled commissary has been offering an internationally influenced array of petite patties. For Barron, a veteran of the kitchens at Rainforest Cafe in Tysons Corner and the Dave & Buster’s chain, the format knows few boundaries. “Anything you can put on bread you can put on a slider roll,” he says.

There’s a revolving menu of savory options; there are usually three available. The day I tracked the truck down next to the Silver Spring Metro station, the best-selling Korean pork sliders ($8 for three) stood out. Their marinade is perked up with a splash of wasabi, and a messy heap of fresh carrot toothpicks and daikon strips on top lend crunch. The trio of small sandwiches makes for a surprisingly filling meal.

Juicy chicken breast sliders seared golden on the outside are graced with a sliver of freshly grilled pineapple, lettuce, tomato and a garlic-lime mayonnaise. This helps perk up the inherent dullness of the unexceptional white rolls from Baltimore’s H&S Bakery, a problem that might be solved if the buns were griddled with a little butter.

Unfortunately, that trick might not save the cheeseburgers ($8 for three), which were overcooked and underwhelming. The house-made chipotle mayonnaise and the square of cheddar were sadly sublimated by the beef’s chewy texture.

If you’re in the mood for more, there are a couple of sweet sammies. The Nutella and marshmallow fluff dessert sliders ($4 for three) are simple and sloppy. The truck also stocks water, Gatorade, sodas and Utz potato chips ($1 to $2).

All the sliders are cooked (or assembled in the case of the desserts) to order, so bring along your smartphone for a couple of rounds of Scrabble or chess while you wait.