The Early Word on SliderBar in the Castro

The San Francisco branch of Palo Alto's SliderBar opened about two months ago in the old Criolla/Bagdad Cafe space on Market Street. With 16 beers on tap, five flat-screen TVs, almost twenty slider options, and a stream-lined Zack de Vito design, the restaurant appears primed for San Francisco. But how will its beef patties fare with a crowd that's already got nearby burgers from Starbelly, Burgermeister, and Super Duper in the rotation? And the beer float sounds different alright, but how does it taste? Answers to this and more—in The Early Word.

The Slider News: Eater reader Stu Smith comments: "The beef patty was the size and weight of a half dollar and burnt to incineration...Cheap mayo, extra charges for almost everything, and it becomes more expensive than tried and true Super Duper across the street. I wish them well, but maybe Silicon Valley is the right place." Yelper Timoteo K has a different take: I had no problem with the food at all. In fact I really liked all the burgers. The different types are creative and a great way to try different flavors." [EaterWire, Yelp]

The French Fry News: Yelp's Scott B. says "The fries deserved multiple sad faces. :( :( :(," and FourSquare's wheat knee adds: "The sliders are great but the fries are terrible! Don't waste your calories just get an extra slider instead!" [FourSquare, Yelp]

The Spicy News: FourSquare's ??????? ?. adds, "Wings are so f-ng spicy!!! :-O" Yelper Addadada A. found another spicy bite: "the Veggie burger had a 'secret' sauce that was ON FKG FIRE...omg..one bite, and i told the waiter it was WAY too hot for me...and the guy had the balls to ARGUE with me that it was not!" [FourSquare, Yelp]

The Beverage News: FourSquare's Drew M. advises: "Do yourself a favor and grab a carafe of the red sangria." And 7x7 lists SliderBar in it's Places To Drink roundup: "...noteworthy is the sixteen-beer draft selection, curated by cicerone Eric Cripe of the Jug Shop, with $2-3 tastes that allow drinkers to sample everything from Kostrizer Schwarzbier to Ballast Point Sculpin IPA. There are also beer floats with Old Rasputin imperial stout and Deschutes Black Butte Porter ($5)." On the flipside, Yelp's Lily W. says " the root beer float is not too great. :/" [Yelp, 7x7, FourSquare]

The Price News: Kyle Raccio tweets "#SliderBar is yummy and affordable. A rarity around here!" But Yelp's Grant B. says, "Save yourself the assault, walk across the street to either Squatt & Gobble or Super Duper for something satisfying and tasty for nearly half the price. You've been warned....Grrrrrrr. [sic]" [Twitter]

The Bathroom News: Hot tip from Sean S. of FourSquare: "The bathroom gets locked without people inside. Use a coin to unlock or ask an employee. Oh, and knock first." [FourSquare]

The Ambiance News: Eater reader gunner22 comments: " the whole televison thing is a little too suburban for me...[but?] nice job on the remodel." PlacesI'veEaten calls it "It's a neat casual space," and reader Stu Smith adds: "It's a great concept, and a great designer treatment, servers are good and the place feels comfortable and inviting," And specific directions from Catherine on FourSquare: "Grab the corner booth in the window!" [EaterWire, FourSquare]

The Overall News: While FourSquare's Azin A. says "There are too many things wrong with this place to fit in a tip. At least the coffee and dip sauces are great," PlacesI'veEaten concludes: "Overall for a neighborhood burger joint, I kind of liked the place. With so many slider choices you can pick and choose your way to a tasty pre-bar or after-bar snack, and a couple of them are even on the healthy side, so you can get those and not feel guilty." [PlacesI'veEaten, FourSquare]

Have an opinion to add to The Early Word on SliderBar in the Castro? Go right ahead in the comments, or into the tip jar.

· All SliderBar Coverage [~ ESF ~]