Food & Wine Bestows Detroit With 'Best Sliders' Honor

By Christy Strawser
CBS Detroit Managing Editor
Food & Wine Magazine, a Bible of the foodie world, descended this week on a humble roadside burger joint in southwest Detroit to bestow a big honor.

The magazine chose Telway, 6820 Michigan Ave., as the producer of some of the best sliders in the country.

"What, us? Oh Lord, really? I'm just shocked," said a stunned Jackie Groves, a 30-year employee.

Recovering quickly, Groves said the editors probably chose Telway because "They're grilled in onions and everything's real, nothing imitation."

And how much does this bounty cost? These sliders have an old world price of .80 cents each or four for $2.39.

Coffee at the counter that's been there since the place opened in 1944 costs .48 cents per cup. If you want it in a cup to go, it'll set you  back .80 cents.

Those low prices on tasty fare means it's sometimes tough to get your elbows at the counter. Telway is busy "all day," Groves said.

"We have the best coffee in town," she said. "We get a variety of people, we have regulars who are here, others travel here because they've heard about us. Some come from an hour-and-a-half away."

One hard-core sliders fan visits Telway every three days for 20 in a bag to go.

Also earning honors from Food & Wine was Saltwater in Detroit's MGM Grand Casino, where celebrity chef Michael Mina is lauded for serving "a twist on the Vietnamese street sandwich." Saltwater's "slider" is actually breaded sea bass with pickled vegetables and cilantro on a teeny tiny bun.

Weighing in on why they chose to evaluate sliders, Food & Wine's Julie Alvin wrote on the magazine's website, "While purists can still find this classic version, America's obsession with haute comfort food has inspired chefs to adopt the term for any shrunken sandwich."