Where's the Beef?

I stopped into recently to grab a taste of a newly added veggie slider.

Owners Jeremy Sladovnik and his grandfather Joe, for whom the diner is named, have a bustling little enterprise on Elm Street in downtown Wyandotte. There may be six tables total inside this cozy spot and the door is constantly swinging open with customers walking in for carryout orders or squeezing into one of the tables to dine in.    

Sladovnik greets nearly everyone coming through the door by name–a true testament to a family-run business in a friendly town like Wyandotte. During my visit, the customers ranged from a local coach, family members, high school friends, business associates and moms grabbing burgers for the kids waiting in the van.

My mission on this visit was to sample and review the newly debuted veggie slider, introduced only one week previous to the day I stopped in. It is so new that it has not made the listings on the wall menu yet, nor the printed version. The ever-smiling Sladovnik promised it will shortly be on the wall menu.

He said he decided to add the meatless slider “for his vegetarian cousin mostly ... but also in response to other customers who do not eat meat."

The veggie slider is based on the diner’s traditional slider, served meatless. They grill onions, mushrooms and green peppers with some cheese, and add pickles as the standard preparation for this menu item. If you prefer to dine vegan, remember to ask them to remove the cheese. It arrives at the table or the pick-up window wrapped in diner paper or served in a signature red basket with fries or onion rings on the side.

I requested mine without cheese and waited with anticipation at my table while enjoying a fountain pop and watching fellow diners revel in their dishes. When it arrived, I unwrapped it carefully and noticed that old-school aroma of greasy slider fixins, the kind of smell that you can only find from an authentic griddle in a diner. 

It is a nostalgic experience and this veggie version carried it honorably. The grilled veggies were perfect and the pickles added a dash of salt and sour to the package that helped give it a fully rounded zip on the palate. 

The experience was fun, even whimsical, but lighter fare if you choose to eat it without cheese as I did. If you are vegan, you can find an option or two on the menu if you are going to stop in with friends craving the more traditional meat-based menu items. There’s also a grilled cheese on the menu for vegetarians and a deep-fried PB&J that is suitable for vegans if you are ready for a heart-stopping flavor.  

I asked Sladovnik if he plans to introduce a veggie dog to the menu to join the meaty version, but so far, he is not adding it in the mix. I think this savvy entrepreneur will find room if enough of his regulars ask for it.

One thing is certain–grandson and grandfather alike know their customers and if they want to see an item tried on the menu, it will most assuredly appear. 

“I try new items all the time and see if they sell,” Slavodnik said. “I’m always experimenting. But, when it comes to veggie items, I have my vegetarian friends try it, so they can let me know if it is good.” 

When I was done enjoying my meatless slider, Sladovnik invited me to join him for a quick delivery order he was taking up the street. We took a short walk up Elm and across Biddle and brought a large bag of sliders and sides to a nearby salon, one of his many usual customers.

On our way back to the diner, he shared the excitement he's still feeling from his business.

“This is the best thing I’ve ever done," he said. "I’m having so much fun that I can’t believe it.” 

Especially proud of this venture with his grandfather, he said he never would have imagined how successful they were going to be. 

“I love being in Wyandotte," he said. "I grew up here and it is such a great town."

If a constant stream of customers is any indication, then it is evident that Wyandotte loves Sladovnik and his diner, too.