Sliders — those mini-burgers that offer a tasty alternative to American restaurants’ T.-rex-sized portions — have enjoyed sizzling popularity in the past couple of years.
Diego Zhang’s Burger Cafe, with two Centennial restaurants, focuses on what they bill as “hand crafted, globally inspired” sliders. Bravo.
The sliders are cheap, ranging from $2.50-$4.50. They boast great flavors, thanks to an imaginative melding of ingredients. Patty options are beef, bison, chicken, pork, salmon or shrimp.
It’s a globe-trotting menu: The Shanghai slider features sweet-and-sour chicken topped with Asian veggies. The San Juan is a jerked pork patty with tropical spices; the savory Centennial’s bison patty is infused with green chiles.
Vegetarians can nosh on the black-bean Havana burger. Beef purists can opt for the Urbandale, a beef patty simply dusted with sea salt and cracked pepper.
(One caveat: The bison slider was a bit dry, arriving well-done. That’s a disservice to such super-lean meat.)
Salads ($3.50-$6.75) are well-composed and aren’t afterthoughts. A quinoa salad was tossed with corn, black beans and scallions in a cilantro-lime vinaigrette. The Thai peanut noodle salad burst with flavor.
Breakfast sandwiches also served. The counter staff is friendly and the room is done in contemporary colors.
This is fast casual with smarts.
William Porter: 303-954-1877 or wporter@denverpost.com
Diego Zhang’s Burger Cafe
Burgers, etc. Two Centennial locations:
12073 E. Arapahoe Road, 720-496-1020. Monday-Friday 7 a.m.-3 p.m.; Saturday 8 a.m.-3 p.m.
The Streets at Southglenn, 6851 S. Gaylord St., 303-484-9802. Sunday-Thursday: 7:30 a.m.-8 p.m.; Friday-Saturday, 7:30 a.m.-9 p.m.
