Slopper
A slopper is a cheeseburger (or hamburger) served smothered in red chili or green chili or chili sauce. Sloppers generally include grilled buns and are often topped with freshly chopped onions and sometimes french fries. They are typically eaten with a fork and a knife or spoon.
The slopper is served in restaurants and taverns in the Pueblo and Colorado Springs area of Colorado.
History
One writer determined that the slopper originated in Pueblo, Colorado in the early to mid-1970s.[1] The first restaurant to serve the slopper is undetermined. Some claim that it was first served in Gray's Coors Tavern,[1][2] while others insist that it originated at Star Bar.[1] According to a version of Gray's Coors Tavern's website, the slopper originated there in the 1950s.[3] The same site also claims that the name slopper was derived from a comment by a customer stating that the dish looked like slop.[3] The website attributes the creation of the slopper to brothers Johnnie and Joe Greco, who had previously owned the tavern.
Sloppers were featured in a Travel Channel television show Food Wars episode "Pueblo -- The Slopper" (2010). The show interviewed persons involved in restaurants which serve sloppers, as well as Juan Espinosa, a former editor of the Pueblo Chieftain. Espinosa discussed the slopper's origin, attributing it to the Greco brothers who owned Gray's Tavern. Espinosa said that a customer of Gray's Tavern named Herb was dissatisfied with the amount of chili on his chiliburger, and to quell Herb, his burger was covered in chili (probably intended as an exaggerated and exasperated maneuver), and it became a delighted new serving suggestion.[2]
See also
References
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Navarro, Linda. "Try legendary slopper dish". The (Colorado Springs) Gazette. 19 August 2005. FindArticles.com. accessed 12 September 2007.
- ↑ 2.0 2.1 "Pueblo -- The Slopper", Food Wars, Travel Channel, 2010.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 Google cache of http://www.grasycoorstavern.com 12 September 2007.
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