A Place for Delicious Sliders

As I am sure all of you know, I have a high affinity for burgers. I just did a whole month on burgers. I have a lot of favorite burger restaurants around Ibaraki. One of those places is called Montana in Tsukubamirai. I wrote about them quite a while back on the old Ibaraki Eats blog page. If you are interested in reading about that amazing burger place, click on this link:
https://regaladom24.wixsite.com/website/post/burger-month-can-you-take-on-the-grand-slam

If you read my blog post, you will know that Montana does not play around when it comes to the size of their burgers. They even have one burger called the Grand Slam that I am not sure a human can eat. That being said, you can imagine my surprise when I heard that the owner of Montana was opening up another burger shop in Tsukuba, and it was only going to serve sliders. I couldn't wait to go and try this place. That is how the Ibaraki Eats Duo found themselves at Santa Monica during Golden Week.

Santa Monica

Santa Monica is located in the Onozaki area of Tsukuba. If you know where the big Wonder Rex is, turn onto the narrow street next to Wonder Rex and keep going straight. Santa Monica will be on the left side. Turn into the brick road and head toward the back. This is where all the parking is. Santa Monica shares a building with a hair salon, so please make sure not to walk into the salon unless you want to do something with your hair before or after your slider.
The Ibaraki Eats Duo and our friend visited Santa Monica on the last rainy day of Golden Week. We walked through the circular arch of the stone steps and headed inside this nice-looking burger place.

Inside

Once we walked inside, the staff took us to our table, which was on the outer edge of the restaurant. The outer edge has a tent-like roof with all the tables and chairs which each seats four people. Inside the center of the restaurant are all the couches and tables, plus a small counter area by the kitchen. This restaurant has a lot of space and can fit a lot of customers. I recommend looking around the restaurant at all the cool and pretty things on the tables and walls. The restaurant also has self-serve water by the table near the counter.
After we were seated, we checked out the menu.

The Menu

Good news, everyone! The menu is in both English and Japanese. The only bad news is that the description of the menu items are in Japanese only. I also have to mention that the menu may change in a few months. The restaurant just recently opened, therefore, Santa Monica is thinking of adding or changing a few things.
On the right side of the menu are all the sliders. Sets A, B, and C bring two different sliders. Sets D and E bring three different sliders. On the left side are all the drinks. Most are self-explanatory, but others you might want to ask the staff about.

Nadeshiko

My wife ordered one of the non-alcoholic drinks called the Nadeshiko. This drink has blue jello cubes at the bottom with white cream. On top of the glass is a white sugary cotton candy. The staff gave my wife a bottle of Mitsuya cider, and she poured that on top of the cotton candy. The soda broke down the cotton candy, and it fell into the glass like a beautiful sugary waterfall. Once all the cotton candy was in the glass, this drink looked like one of those blue potions in video games that gave you extra mana or something. My wife took a sip of her Nadeshiko and said that it was sweet, bubbly, and a little creamy. I took a sip myself and had to agree. It was a fantastic and fancy soda that I would not mind having again.
After we received our drinks, our sliders made their way to our table.

Set A Chums & Monsoon

This was my order, Set A. The Chums slider and the Monsoon slider.
Let me start off with the Chums. This slider brought onions, cheese, a juicy beef patty, coleslaw, and slightly crispy bacon. I was shocked when I saw the bacon. It was almost at the American level of crispiness. I took a bite out of the Chums slider and automatically loved it. The patty was juicy and had a strong, meaty flavor. The bacon only added to that meat party in my mouth. This made me want to fall into a carnivore's state of bliss. The buns held everything together and were nice and fluffy with a hard bottom, which made it easier to hold the slider. I would love to have the Chums again, and my wife agrees.
Next is the Monsoon. The Monsoon brought a beef patty, crispy onions, tartar sauce, and a huge slice of renkon (lotus root). If you are not a fan of renkon, then this slider might not be for you. I, on the other hand, live in the renkon capital of Ibaraki. I love renkon and was very excited to try this slider. I let my wife have the first bite, and she liked it. She said that the renkon went well with the beef patty. I took a bite and completely agreed with her assessment. The tartar sauce was weird at first, but it sort of grew on me the more I had it. The crispy pieces of onions were a nice touch as well. This was a pretty good and interesting slider.

Set B Dolce & Sabrina

This was Mrs. Ibaraki Eats' order. She went for the sweet and salty sliders.
Starting with the first burger, the Dolce. The Dolce brings cream and cheddar cheese, a beef patty, and dark cherries. My wife and I have had this burger before. Montana serves it in regular burger size (actually bigger than regular size) in Tsukubamirai. We both loved the Dolce burger, and I even wrote about it in the old blog page. It was going to be interesting to try it in slider form. My wife took a bite and said it was just as good as the first time we had it. I took a bite and agreed. The cheeses and dark cherry with that meaty patty did a sweet and salty tango dance on my taste buds that made my day. If you decide to come to Santa Monica after reading this, then I highly recommend you try the Dolce slider.
The next slider is the Sabrina. This slider bright four different kinds of cheeses, honey, a beef patty, and cashew nuts. I wasn't sure how to feel about this burger. It felt like I was going to get a quatro formaggio pizza in burger form. My wife let me have the first bite, and I can't believe I am saying this, but this was my favorite slider of the bunch. You know I love cheese, so the four cheeses were always going to be a plus, but what surprised me was how the cashew nuts and honey went so well with the patty and cheeses. So many delicious flavors in my mouth. One of the cheeses was gorgonzola cheese, which was perfect with the honey, and followed by an amazing beef patty. I contemplated ordering another Sabrina but decided against it. This was an outstanding slider that I hope I can have again soon.

I forgot to mention that fries are not included in the slider set. We did, however, order Truffle Salt Potato. These fries were wedges, which came with truffle sauce and powdered cheese. The fries were great, and I recommend them to go with whatever sliders you decide to order.
After we finished our sliders, fries, and drinks. We went to the counter area, paid, and went back out into the rain to enjoy the rest of that wet Golden Week day.

Santa Monica, you make some great sliders, and I hope to have them again soon. There are still sliders I haven't tried, and my wife told me that we WILL be having all the sliders on the menu.
So, if you are in the mood for burgers but maybe not a regular-size burger, why not give Santa Monica's sliders a chance? Who knows? You might see us there. Trying some new sliders and enjoying some tasty fancy drinks.
Enjoy!

For more information on Santa Monica, check out their Instagram:
https://www.instagram.com/santa_monica_tsukuba/