A slinger is an
American Midwestdiner specialty typically consisting of two eggs,
hash browns, and a
ground beef (or other type of meat)
patty, all covered in
chili con carne (with or without beans) and generously topped with cheese (
cheddar or
American) and onions.[1] The eggs can be any style. Hot sauce is usually served on the side. The slinger is considered to be a
St. Louis late-night culinary original. It is described as "a hometown culinary invention: a mishmash of meat, hash-fried potatoes, eggs, and chili, sided with your choice of ham, sausage, bacon, hamburger patties, or an entire T-bone steak.[2]
Variations
There are numerous variations of the basic slinger:
"Top one": has a
tamale served on top of the slinger.
"The Tobey"/"the Hoosier": slinger that has white
gravy instead of chili. (Named after a customer at Tiffany's Original Diner.)
"Ying and yang": slinger covered in half chili and half gravy. A customer favorite at Tiffany's Original Diner, and named by manager Tom Gray. (The yin and yang is both light and dark in color.)
"The Jared": slinger with equal amounts of chili and white gravy.
"The JP slinger": slinger with hamburger patty, extra onions and extra chili.
"Devil's delight": slinger without the hamburgers patties at Courtesy Diner.
"Chicago style": served with white bread toast on the side, burgers are specified as "cheeseburger patties", eggs are specified as over easy, and must contain grilled onions. [3][4]