The Pueblo Chile Slopper — a city’s favorite dish and disagreement

Across the country, many American cities and states are known for their signature food dish. There’s the Philly cheese steak, Chicago deep dish pizza, or Texas BBQ. Here in southern Colorado, the Pueblo Chile Slopper reigns supreme.

The ingredients are simple. Hamburger, pork, a bun, cheese, maybe some raw onions, and of course, Pueblo Chiles. With either green or red – your choice. But the question who puts these simple ingredients together the best is a debate 40 years running. So, with all of my experience in Pueblo, a whopping 4 months and 17 days, KRDO attempted to end the debate once and for all.
“It’s obviously fairly big cause almost every restaurant that has a hamburger has a Slopper,” said Mike Spence.

Mike Spence is a life and style writer for Pueblo Chieftain and has been writing about and enjoying Sloppers for years.

“But everybody has their own tastes in hamburgers and Chile,” said Spence. “And when you mix the two the different variations can make for a lot of different opinions.”

I began my taste testing endeavors at two of the most well known Chile hotspots in Pueblo, Sunset Inn, and Gray’s Coors Tavern.

“I like my Chile and so do my customers,” said Gerda Chavez, one of the owners of Sunset Inn. “Our Slopper it’s all about the Chile it just depends on the taste. The consistency in the taste.”

But over at Coors Tavern, they don’t just say they have the best Slopper. They claim to have the original.

” We are the home of the Slopper 100%!” said owner Dean Gray. Gray and his family have worked at Coors Tavern since 1983. “The flavor of the burger and the bun is not too much of one or the other when it is surrounded in the green Chile. The green Chile is pretty much what makes it though.”

But these are the established Sloppers in Pueblo, are there any up and coming Sloppers? I went to Brues Alehouse to find out.

“I just want to do a different twist on the Slopper trying to get a little different taste out of the same ingredients,” said Alex Gardner, the Executive Chef at Brues Alehouse. Gardner has been in the role for more than two years and wants to take the Slopper into the 21st century.

“I changed a little bit of the process of how I’m cooking it,” said Garnder. “Not that I change the ingredients, but the process in what I’m doing, it deepens the taste just a little bit more.”

Even though all three disagree on who is the best. All three can agree on one thing. Every Slopper is different and so are people’s taste buds,
everyone is going to gravitate to different restaurant’s takes on the dish. Before I share my own thoughts on my Slopper’s at all three restaurants I would like to make it clear that I am not a food critic, and have literally no idea what I am talking about when it comes to good food. This is just what I felt after all three amazing meals. Here is what I found when I had my first three Sloppers in Pueblo: Sunset Inn Bar & Grill: This was my very first Slopper, and I nearly finished it. Out of all three restaurants, this meal was definitely the largest. The peppers were hot but the heat didn’t overpower taste buds. So I could still taste everything. Every bite I had that was pepper, cheese, and the bun was fantastic. The fries were my favorite of the three as well. I enjoyed dipping them into the chile. However, was not as good as the other two spots, and I found myself avoiding the burger towards the end of the meal. Brues Alehouse: Best burger of the three hands down. Goes a long way when they are the only restaurant that actually asks ‘how would you like your burger done?’. The burger was great, the bun was fantastic. The bottom bun had a little crunch to it which I enjoyed. But after I quickly finished the half-pound burger all that was left was the chile and fries, and I found myself fighting to finish instead of wanting to finish. The fries were great when standing alone, but after they’ve been soaked int he chile’s they get soggy. Next time I get this meal just give me a full pound burger no changes. Gray’s Coors Tavern: The original Slopper would have to be my favorite of the three. Burgers were solid, and the peppers were hot yet sweet at times. I found myself wanting more at the end of my meal. No, their burgers aren’t quite Brues, but they are solid. When they are combined with the chile’s, bun, and cheese. Each bite wasn’t fair to my taste buds. For those that are upset by my decision, I apologize. I put more of an emphasis on burgers because I understand good burgers. I might not have a full understanding of what makes a good pepper though. However, this is how I felt when I left each restaurant. I would like to thank Sunset Inn, Brues Alehouse, and Gray’s Coors Tavern for their hospitality.