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Kevin A. Roberts
The STL Italian Job
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A recommended salad, Garden & Grain: chopped kale, quinoa, pistachios, dried, cranberries, shaved parm, EVOO, sea salt, cracked pepper, lemon.
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A different spin on spinach and artichoke dip, SH swaps out the spinach for Brussels sprouts, and serves it with crostini and house made chips.
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The Chickety China — Ponzu-marinated and grilled five-spice chicken, pickled green tomato, asian slaw, sriracha aioli, and a crispy wonton on a wheat bun
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Industrial touches above mix with traditional design details below.
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The Painkiller: one of five boozy shakes and by far the most popular one in Nashville: Pussers and Malibu rum (2 1/2 ounces total), coconut milk, pineapple, and orange juice. Allegedly created in South Carolina, it was introduced to us as a "Southern, fun-in-the-sun, daydrinking-on-the-patio kind of drink."
Anyone who thought that sliders were a passing trend, slip-sliding away and into oblivion, need only visit The Slider House in Rock Hill to put that theory to rest.
Assuming the space of the former Altai Mongolian Grill and a Baskin Robbins, the 160-seater is located at 9528 Manchester Road, near the busy corner of McKnight and Manchester (just to the east of Katie’s Pizza & Pasta).
The Slider House opened softly on Wednesday, ramping up to its Grand Opening on March 6. The restaurant is open for lunch and dinner, seven days a week.
According to managing partner Craig Ceranna, The Slider House is one of few concepts across the nation focusing on a gourmet mini-burger: “We wanted to establish a foothold by doing something different,” he said. “and my partners and I decided on the slider,” offering more varieties, more flavor, and perfect balance (“after all, how many sliders out there are all bun?” Ceranna asks).
Kevin A. Roberts
The partners are Ceranna, Tyler Hislop (both from St. Louis) and Dave Watchell (who lives in Nashville). The flagship Slider House opened in Nashville in mid-2013; the Rock Hill location is the second of what Ceranna predicts will be more. “Two locations in each of our home towns certainly makes sense,” he says. “But our intention is not to go crazy with this…like our product, in the world of big, we like being the little guys.”
Kevin A. Roberts
Designed by Watchell and Sara Hentz (Temple and Hentz), the 5500 square foot footprint was reconfigured into several comfortable seating areas on several levels. One focal point is the two garage doors that open onto a large, very visible, and previously underused patio (currently outfitted with fire pits for the season).
Christina Ceranna, who handles marketing for both restaurants, says after planting and fencing, the patio will appeal on several levels. “Live music is a major component in the Nashville location,” said the woman responsible for booking it. “Considering all the green space that surrounds this patio, I also want to use it to showcase the local music scene.”
Part of the wall décor includes photographs of music legends from both Nashville and St. Louis—or Music City & River City—as depicted on SH’s hats and uniforms.
Another eye catcher are the two aircraft propeller-size ceiling fans. When asked if fans that size had an alternate use somewhere else, Craig Ceranna quipped, “no, they’re just big-ass ceiling fans.”
Kevin A. Roberts
There are 18 sliders on the menu (8 more than in Nashville), plus 80 canned beers (20 fewer than Nashville). “We started out there as a bar with sliders,” Ceranna said. “It was 70% booze and 30% food. But as more and more people recognized that the sliders were awesome, the percentage changed. Now it’s 70/30 the other way. I expect Rock Hill to be similar.”
Kevin A. Roberts
Early slider favorites are three that are not on the Nashville menu: the STL Italian Job (with crisp salami, banana peppers, roma tomato, roasted garlic aioli, balsamic…and Provel), the Classic Ruben (above, with house made corned beef and standard fixin’s, on a pretzel bun), and the Nashville Hot Chicken (an ode to the mothership).
There’s nothing complicated about the beef here: just an 80/20 blend, seasoned properly, and served to medium doneness. Four-ounce portions provide the right balance of protein to bun.
Kevin A. Roberts
Another favorite is one of three vegetarian options, the Skinny Jean (above, with house made black bean burger, avocado, jalapeno aioli, red onion, roma tomato, and beer cheese sauce, on a wheat bun). This is the only slider that incorporates one of SH’s eight dipping sauces, four of which come with the popular Mixed Fry Plate (sweet waffle fries, parmesan fries, house chips, and tater tots).
Look for two Slider Specials that rotate seasonally: the inaugural menu features one we hoped we’d see, the Lobster Slider (above) and the collaborative B2 Slider (below, a custom grass-fed beef blend from Bolyard’s, plus inspiration and a gluten-free bun by chef Ben Poremba). Be forewarned: This slider is $8.25 and it’s topped with melted Osceola Limburger cheese.
Kevin A. Roberts
In the side dish department, we salute the see-through batter used for the frIed pickles. (How often is the coating so thick you can’t even tell if the pickle has ridges?)
Kevin A. Roberts
The renowned Simone Faure of La Patisserie Chouquette has supplied one of SH’s desserts, a chocolate mousse-filled pastry slider (below).
And we’d be remiss not mentioning the self-proclaimed “Famous” Slider Mary (made with Pickers Vodka and Walker’s BM Mix, both Nashville products) that comes with a garnish that has been known to stand in for a meal.
Kevin A. Roberts
Dave Watchell crafted the bartop and the tabletops from wood that Ceranna says “came right out of the Mississippi River.” In a window nook that fronts Manchester (below) is a communal table, illuminated by a light fixture reclaimed from the FOX Theatre. Watchell also converted an old shop counter into a handsome TV stand and a salvaged bar top into the host stand.
Kevin A. Roberts
Craig Ceranna, whose prior experience was in consumer goods (Zhu Zhu Pets and YurBuds) has an interesting take on the hiring process. Having employed hundreds of people over the years, he favors personality over ability, and to that end, uses a personality test when hiring key people. “I’ve used it for years in all my businesses,” he says, calling it “the best hiring tool I’ve ever discovered.” He further explained that he always ends up with "super-personal, super-friendly, loyal, trustworthy people...and those people are better at spotting those traits in others."
Ceranna impressed us as a “get’s it” guy…and that was before he explained the “Sliders That Serve” program. Once a month, SH offers a free meal to 100 current military, veterans, teachers, police, or fire fighters. And within two minutes of the social media announcement, Ceranna laughs, “a hundred show up.”
Kevin A. Roberts
To-go sliders are available at a dedicated pick-up area (look for the “TAKE OUT” marquee sign outside) in 6, 12, and 24-packs, designed for families, parties, teams, and tailgates. And don't expect these sliders to be packed into the familar cheap cardboard sleeves. Each SH slider gets skewered to a base layer of styrofoam, so when the box gets reopened, the slider looks as appetizing as when it was assembled in the restaurant. Just like this...
Kevin A. Roberts
Chicken Calirado — grilled chicken, fresh avocado, goat cheese, arugula, red onion, and jalapeno aioli on a wheat bun
The Slider House
9528 Manchester
314-942-6445
Hours:
Through March 20:
Mon - Fri: 3 p.m. - 11 p.m.
Sat: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Sun: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
After March 20:
Mon - Sat: 11 a.m. - 11 p.m.
Sun: 11 a.m. - 10 p.m.
Ask George questions on Twitter @stlmag_dining or send him an email at gmahe@stlmag.com. For more from St. Louis Magazine, subscribe or follow us on Facebook and Twitter.
