Hand Helds Quality Sliders

These guys were at ABW the other day and you know I can’t pass up trying a new burger. Their specialty appeared to be the Coffee rubbed, Bacon Jam, Over-​Medium Egg burger, so I ordered two of those. Unfortunately I was not impressed at all. The only flavor I could taste was pure sweetness. That bacon Jam was just stupidly overpowering. I got zero in the coffee department, and the bacon didn’t do much to counter the sweetness. The last problem I have was that the meat itself seems a little weird. Not sure what it was, but it had a consistency like one of those frozen burgers you get at Costco.
I see all these great reviews for this place and I wonder what went wrong with my visit. Maybe I just caught them on an off day? Maybe the Bacon Jam didn’t turn out quite like it normally does? Maybe the grill wasn’t hot enough so the coffee rub didn’t cook right? I dunno… I feel like I should have loved this place, but it was just mediocre at best. Unfortunately for me the meal was so unsatisfying that I probably won’t give it another chance.
I won’t steer anyone else away from trying this place though. I think all the positive reviews mean that they do something right for most people… it just didn’t work for me at all.

My wife and I were lucky enough to get to try Hand Helds at the Austin Beerworks Sputnik release party! We had the Bay of Pigs and the Hen Reaper. They were both show-​stoppingly delicious. Holy wow! Bay of pigs had just the right amount of acidity with the pineapple and the honey mustard dressing. The Hen Reaper was AMAZING! Don’t let the waiver scare you off. It is not painfully spicy and pairs perfectly with the quality cheddar used. Also, the chicken was cooked to perfection. The Hen Reaper paired perfectly with the new Heavy Machinery English style IPA from Austin Beerworks.

They came to Apple today and I got their Hen Reaper and OMG was this good. It was spicy but it had some sweetness to it. It wasn’t just overwhelming hot which is fantastic to have. Highly recommend it to anyone.

Had my first taste of this place during trucklandia food truck fest and I have to say these sliders are freakin’ awesome! From the moment you walk up to the front of the truck you know something wonderful is happening. I tried the MAHALO It had sweet potato encrusted Mahi-​Mahi, homemade pineapple cole-​slaw, cilantro cream sauce topped with the Chef’s candied pecans. If your not drooling and haven’t already headed over before finishing my review you should definitely try this place. My brother and fiancé got two different sliders I didn’t get to taste cause they devoured them before sharing looked great as well. Last of all they have a Lego replica of their food truck on the front ordering window that will put to shame any Lego food truck out there ;)

I should have Unilocaled this sooner, as we discovered them last year at Trucklandia, the awesome festival where you buy wristbands and get samples from participating trucks all over town. Hand Helds is killing it once again, with their generous and tasty offerings. They’re at the Midway food truck court off of Hwy 360.

Visited Hand Held today during Trucklandia Fest at Midway Food Park. First, kudos to them for offering such a large slider as a sample. Some of the other trucks gave such a small amount. Second, the Mahalo and Early Burg were to die for. Such quality ingredients and an explosion of flavor. Third, fast and friendly service. The staff and woman taking our order was great!!! Overall, A++ and our favorite truck during the fest this year. You surely got our vote!

I do not hardly ever buy lunch unless I’m eating with a client. I bring my own lunch to my downtown office. For a variety of reasons, I needed food during the workday so I decided to try the foodtruck on San Jac. I had not hear of this but it looked and sounded good. They won a food truck food award. I ordered a fish slider (sorry don’t remember the name) and their award winning slider-​the Early Burg – beef, egg, pork belly and lots of other deliciousness. Both were excellent. The award winning slider was absolutely amazing but super decedent for a workday lunch. The person taking the orders was very polite and helpful with the ordering. The prep was quick. I don’t know where they usually go but if you see them I say change your plans and eat now. It was seriously that good and I don’t really like burgers. Love the mini tasting size. Yet another example of the amazing food experiences we have with our food truck community. How did we survive without them? I do not remember that life.

I’m a vegetarian, and the menu options here looked so good it made me want to rethink that decision. However, I stuck to my guns with the Green Piece when they came to my workplace.
It was a religious experience. The fried green tomato gave just the right amount of meaty texture, and the fried egg and aioli ensured that this veggie burger was just as messy as a slider should be. I ate it with a knife and fork, and they include a wet wipe with each order. With good reason.
The only request that I could make is for them to expand their side menu. Or, you know, have a side menu. The slider was perfection, but I wanted a little something along with it. Maybe that fried mac and cheese???

I love this place. $ 5.50 sliders, although most grown men will need 2. I had the Green Piece: Fried Green Tomato slider with fried egg, and it was delicious! It was a bit juicy and you should definitely be prepared with napkin, but it’s well worth it. The Hand Helds trailer travels around Austin, hitting office parks during the week for lunch. The Hand Helds’ team works fast and is very welcoming. My mates got the super hot Carolina Reaper Pepper sauce slider (name escapes me) on chicken. They had to sign a waiver in case they died. They survived! They said it wasn’t all that hot, and one of them is a Yankee. They also got the Backyard, which they liked. It’s a brisket slider topped with fried mac n cheese. It looked ridiculous, in a good way. Next time I will try this guy.

I grabbed an Early Burger for lunch… First time at this food truck. It was a beef pattie, with a dusting of ground coffee, a fried egg and some jelly bacon. Apparently this slider won them an award.
It was $ 5.50, and was about the size of a slider you would get at any sports bar, so in my opinion a tad over priced. That said, the slider itself was VERY, VERY Tasty… The bun was nice and soft, and the beef was perfectly cooked and really well seasoned (with the coffee? I dunno) — the flavors worked really well with each other. That jelly bacon? man, so soooo good. It’s like crack.
Would go again for sure. If they were maybe $ 1 cheaper each, I would have slammed like 3 of them for lunch instead of just 1, but the $ 5.50 price point for a single slider had my slightly in sticker shock, hence the 4 star (instead of 5 star) overall rating.

This trailer is fantastic! During Trailer Food Tuesday, I tried the bellissimo and was pleasantly surprised. The balsamic is the perfect addition to this yummy sandwich. My only complaint? I wished they offered sides such as potato chips and pickles. Other than that, I can’t wait to try the other sliders!

NOTE: I’ve only tried the Green Piece, though I’ve been here 3x. The Green Piece is VERY messy, even moreso than the wet naps they give you. Be prepared, especially if you’ve got kids.
Pros:
* Good quality, consistent
* Very nice staff
Cons:
* A little on the expensive side

6.50 for a well-​sized (i.e. HUGE) slider with brisket, a block of fried mac and cheese, and a generous dollop of potato salad. My new favorite food truck! It was delicious.

I have had the pleasure of eating off of this truck at two separate events! One was when a client had them come to cater their party and then was the second time when we invited them back to cater our super bowl party at work!
Not only are they super nice people but, they also accommodated coming out at short notice and didn’t charge massive rental fees just to come out! Kudos for that! They also give you a number and then bring it to you when it’s ready. This is different than any other catering truck I have had at work. Normally you have to stand around waiting after you order but, they let you go sit down or socialize while you wait!
I have had the Early Burger (my personal favorite) which is a juicy burger dusted with fresh ground coffee, overeasy egg and a layer of homemade bacon jelly! Of course it comes with lettuce, tomatoes, onion and PICKLES!!! The burger was juicy even though they didn’t ask what temperature I wanted it and the dusting of ground coffee added a top notch dimension to the flavor. Everything flowed well together and the bacon jelly was good! I would like to take a second to talk about why the PICKLES are in capital letters! They home make their pickles and as a pickle snob I have to tell you I went back to ask for more and I wouldn’t have said no to a whole boat of them! Also big props for putting them under the burger patty so everything wasn’t falling all over the place!
If I give you any advice it’s get the chips!!! So fresh and perfect! I also took a bite of the Backyard because my friend was eating it! I am actually surprised that I was able to wrestle a bite out of his hands because one, he loved it so much and two he was eating it so fast because it was that good! Who would have thought, fried mac and cheese on a burger?
I feel like the pricing is ridiculously low for the quality but, I am not going to complain! It just means I can eat here twice for the amount of eating a burger once somewhere else!
Well done and thank you for catering events for us!

Not a fan of sliders.
That said, I enjoyed my Bay of Pigs.
Interesting flavor profiles. Looking forward to trying them again.

My first choice was the Backyard slider but was told that the fried mac & cheese needed about 20 minutes to set. While that was a bit of a bummer, I see this as a good sign that they didn’t try to cut corners and rush out something sub-​par. Another good sign was the line that was quickly forming for this truck in contrast to the sparse attention that the others were getting.
So I ordered an Early Burg and an Elvis. The first was a mini-​burger featuring an over easy fried egg (a personal weakness of mine), bacon jelly, and a hint of ground coffee. The latter was a mini-​chicken sandwich with sliced bananas and smooth, creamy, almost runny peanut butter. Both were very good, very memorable, and very messy. Make sure you grab an extra napkin or two.
The name is fitting for what you get here, as those sliders rate pretty favorably on my personal slider list. Which means I’ll have to come back for another shot at that Backyard slider. From the description (brisket, potato salad, fried mac & cheese, pickles) it sounds like it has real potential to top the list.

Hand Helds is definitely a GOURMET food truck. The Backyard Slider was PHENOMENAL. Seriously it was the best thing I have ever eaten in my entire life. The staff is super friendly, engaging, & really cares what you think of their sliders! And it’s super awesome that they bring your order to you so you don’t have to lose your shaded table in the park :). I will DEFINITELY hit them up again next time I’m in ATX.

whoa!
okay, so i’m not a fan of runny eggs to begin with nor am i into eggs on my burger but the early burg completely changed my mindset. the bacon jam is an amazing condiment to go with a well crafted sandwich. no words are spoken amongst your party while these burgers are in hand.
will be back to try other items but until then, this place rocks my socks.

Stopped by during Truck by Truckwest and had the Early Burg which is a «juicy burger dusted with fresh ground coffee, an over easy egg under a layer of bacon jelly».
Sounds delicious, and it delivered on all fronts. The bun was nice and soft with subtle sweetness, the ground beef was nicely cooked, juicy and homemade tasting with an ever so slight charred flavor on the exterior from the coffee grounds that gives it a dark bitter richness that balanced the sweet bacon jelly perfectly and keeps it from being too sweet of a burger. The fried egg sealed the deal giving you a rich, creamy yolk to keep the burger moist and to dip it in for extra flavor. Fantastic mini burger, and I’d come back for this or to try something else on the menu.

This is a new truck to The Midway Food Park, and they are fantastic!
I’ve had several of the sliders but my favorite is probably The Backyard. It’s smoked brisket, with potato salad, house made pickles, fried mac & cheese, and a killer sauce. The fan fries are amazing!
The family that owns and operates the truck are seriously awesome too!
Great addition to Midway!