It started with a passion for good food, craft beer, and strips of sizzling bacon. Lots of places put bacon on their burgers, but Slater’s puts bacon in their burgers—their famous 50/50 patties are half ground beef and half bacon. “When [you] walk through the door, the first thing you’re gonna smell is bacon.” That’s a promise from Slater’s 50/50 founder Scott Slater. The inspiration came from the all-bacon patties Scott and his friends used to grill up during Chargers tailgate parties. For the restaurant, he decided to cut the bacon with high-quality beef that's aged to tasty perfection.

As if the bacon-infused patties weren’t distinctive enough (as far as they know, Slater’s 50/50 is the only restaurant in the world that serves them), Scott designed a DIY menu that lets patrons customize their burgers by size and with dozens of choices for cheeses, toppings, sauces, and bread. Patrons overwhelmed by these options can instead order one of the specialty burgers, such as a Peanut Butter and Jellousy with creamy peanut butter, strawberry jam, and of course, thick-cut bacon. Bacon reappears throughout the menu, including as candied crumbles on brownies and in the syrup used in bacon milkshakes. Each of Slater's 50/50's various California locations has a sports bar atmosphere, where bartenders pour a selection of craft, domestic, and imported beers that rotates regularly.