Burger 7 & 8: Slider Joe's Classic Joe and Joe Melt

Slider Joe's is a relatively new burger spot found in Rockville Centre, New York.  Slider Joe's opened its doors to the public in 2013 and has been in business serving these small burgers ever since.


At this pit stop on my journey, I had the biggest debate so far.  Do I count these two different burgers as one or do I count them as two?  I determined since I stated in my quest I was setting out to conquer at least 100 burgers in at least 100 different locations, it does not matter how many burgers I have at each place, as long as I get to 100 different burger joints on my journey.  I will treat these two sliders as two separate ratings on the BBSR, but review them in a single post.


The Classic Joe is an average sized slider topped with cheese, lettuce, tomato, and Joe sauce (pictured left).  The Joe Melt is a slider sandwiched between a grilled cheese melt.  I decided on these two sliders because the menu stated the first was a classic, and in the description of the Joe Melt, it was a "must have", so you better believe I am a huge sucker for menus that are persuasive.

The Beef:
For both the Classic Joe and Joe Melt, the same beef patties were used.  The patties had a good taste, with some seasoning that made the burger its own.  Although a little dry, the beef was pretty good. Both will receive a 2 out of 4.

The Bun:
This category is proof that you are capable of your own destiny.  If you have a bun, make it into the perfect bun.  Do not just put a burger on it and call it a day.  The Classic Joe had a regular bun, not toasted, not touched.  The cook opened the bun and that was all the preparation required for this bun. However, the same exact bun was used for the Joe Melt.  This time, the cook takes the bun, turns it inside-out so the flat edges are on the outside and the rounded edges on the inside, and grills the bun like you would a grilled cheese.  Let me say this again, each of these burgers use the same exact bun, but because of certain extra steps, the Classic Joe receives a 1 out of 4, and the Joe Melt receives a 3 out of 4.  My recommendation would be to ask for all your sliders on a toasted bun like the Joe Melt.

Beef to Bun Ratio:
The Classic Joe and Joe Melt each had a single slider patty (on the same bun), but because the Joe Melt was grilled, or placed in a press of some sort, the bun was compacted making it thinner than the Classic Joe.  Biting into the Classic Joe, the main taste was bun, Joe sauce, cheese, burger, lettuce, in that order.  Biting into the Joe Melt, the tastes were bun, beef, and cheese, all at the same time.  I did no searching to find the beef on the Joe Melt.  Classic Joe gets a 2 of 4, while Joe Melt gets a 3 of 4.

Presentation: 
Can we take a minute and appreciate the employee who took the time to cut a leaf of lettuce into a perfect square? Can we now take a minute and wonder why the employee cut a leaf of lettuce into a perfect square? I understand that cheese is square but...bun = circle, burger = circle, tomato = circle, lettuce = square? I'd really like to know the thought process behind this one.  While the Classic Joe was nicely stacked and served in the same container as the Joe Melt, the Classic Joe was a little more aesthetically pleasing, and obviously more meticulously placed together.

The Cheese: 
Bouncing off of the whole, "it's your bun, it's how you use it" idea, the cheese on the Classic Joe was barely melted.  This means the square edges of the cheese and the slice as a whole was difficult to melt into the burger and bun, combining the sensations one wishes to experience when biting into a burger.  The Joe Melt (which uses the same cheese) had perfectly melted cheese throughout the entire sandwich creating a single atmosphere of burger-bun-cheese, which I was also hoping for in the Classic Joe.  Classic Joe's cheese...1 out of 3.  Joe Melt's cheese...2 out of 3.

The Sear: 
Both patties were nicely cooked with a noticeable difference between the outside of the patty and the inside, making them very enjoyable to eat.  2 out of 3 for both.

Overall Taste: 
I think the moral we all learn here is that, if you are willing to use your ingredients to their maximum potential, you can create a somewhat decent burger just by adding a little effort.  Whether it be cheese, buns, burger patties, or even square pieces of lettuce (still entertaining to me), there is good way to serve these...and a better way. The two sliders that I had here virtually used almost all of the same main ingredients, but I am going to have to give the Classic Joe a 2 out of 5, while the Joe Melt receives a 3 out of 5.

Classic Joe BBSR: 13 / 27

Joe Melt BBSR: 16 / 27