#1069 Slider Fashion

Recently I saw an ad for a cooking device known as a “slider station.” It was captioned with the captivating “As Seen On TV” and had a little picture of the late Billy Mays.
He would be proud. Here he is dead for a while and he’s still selling product. Billy Mays, the Posthumous Pitchman.
But what got me was how behind I am on food fashions. What the heck is a slider? Answer: a small burger or burger-like sandwich. Tiny buns like BK Burger Bundles.
So why is it called a slider? I have no idea. Because they slide down easy with brewskis at happy hour? Because they cook quickly and slide right off the grill? Because they slide right through you?
Reminds me of the California fast food hamburger chain with the unfortunate name, “In and Out Burgers.” Is it popular with bulimics in trendy Southern California? Or does their product do a quick pass through, like picnic egg salad on a hot summer day?
Sliders. It just doesn’t sound that appetizing.
But hey, we are a nation of food fashion. Like the recent craze for flatbread. It looks like we’ll never tire of folding our food. It’s such a cross-cultural thing. You got your taco, the Mexican foldover food. Deep fry the tortilla and you have a chalupa.
Which for my money is about the funniest word in the world to say. Chalupa. Cha-looooop-ah.
And then there’s the Greek foldover with their gyro, whose name looks like a spinning top but is pronounced like European currency. “Dude, we’re in Greece, let’s spend our euros on gyros.
And now a travesty I can’t even begin to contemplate. Subway is introducing a submarine sandwich made with fold-over flatbread. So really¾does it even qualify as a submarine sandwich any more? A submarine sandwich is supposed to have a submarine sandwich roll shaped like a submarine. Even with the roll, it’s hard to keep all the fillings in. So now we want them to slide out the ends like a taco?
Hmm, filling sliding out. I got it. Let’s not call it a sub.
Let’s call it a slider.
America, ya gotta love it.