Slidin' Dirty

They met in 2002 while working as wait staff in a local restaurant and now they're travelling around town in the above truck serving up some mouthwatering creations of their own. Tim and Brooke Taney are the Owners of the catering truck called "Slidin' Dirty". They serve up delicious sliders and sides across New York's Capital Region. They married in 2005 and now have two children and live in East Greenbush. I interviewed Tim about his new venture launched in the summer of 2012.

1. Tim you have worked in the food service industry in the college sector for quite some time- most recently the Food Service Director for Chartwells at Hudson Valley Community College for 3 years. Brook spent a great deal of time in a structured food service environment. Just about every chef I know- wants to start their own business. You did it! Congrats! Tell me about how you came up with the concept of sliders and what it felt like to take that leap and actually do it.

Prosciutto Caprese Slider

I've always liked the idea of offering a wide variety of menu items at a reasonable portion size to allow the diner an opportunity to try a few different flavors to create their own meal. Combine that philosophy with the "on the go" mentality of food truck diners and you end up with a perfect concept... Gourmet sliders. 

Certainly we didn't invent the concept of sliders but we like to think we re-defined what a slider can be. Traditionally a slider is a mini hamburger with any number of different toppings on it. Throw in the occasional chicken, pulled pork or crab cake and you essentially have every slider menu ever created. What we did was we refused to put a limit on what can be served on a slider bun. Don't get me wrong we do love the classics and we do serve them but we've taken sliders to a place they've never been before. 

The leap from corporate contract food service to owning and operating a food truck was no doubt a risky one but it's something I would do again in a heartbeat. Anyone who has worked in corporate dining long enough can tell you that you spend more time dealing with bureaucracy and cutting through corporate red tape then you do in the kitchen and in front of the customers and this was my opportunity to get back to doing what I love. Serving good food and interacting with and getting to know the people I'm serving.

2. Tell us about the food. My mouth waters looking at some of these pictures!

Avocado Fries

So we talked about the classics but some of the other sliders we serve include a Pittsburgh style beef slider which is modeled after Primanti Bros. sandwich shop in Pittsburgh. We also have an international variety to our sliders including Italian sliders with prosciutto, fresh mozz and truck made pesto, The Dirty Greek which includes cucumber, feta, olives and truck made tzatziki, Asian sliders with bok choy, truck made sesame ginger vinaigrette and truck made Asian Mustard and Irish sliders such as The Dirty Leprechaun which takes the traditional St. Patrick's Day dinner and transforms it into a slider with corned beef, sauteed cabbage and carrot, fried potato pancake and truck made horseradish cream. 

The Dirty Leprechaun is just one of our "meals on a slider" items. Others include The Dirty Pilgrim (Thanksgiving dinner), Fish N' Chip, The Dirty Monty (Bangers and Mash), Chicken Marsala and The Dirty Frenchie (French Onion Soup) this one is also called The Dirty Mel named after one of our most loyal customers at Empire State Plaza. 

We also offer a wide variety of vegetarian options and you'll always see at least one vegetarian slider and appetizer on the menu for every service. In case you didn't notice we make everything on the truck. We have over 75 different menu items that we serve at different times and all sauces, dressings etc are made fresh on the truck. In addition to the sliders we also serve gourmet appetizers including a wide variety of non-traditional egg rolls, fried risotto bites and the local favorite avocado fries.

3. Slidin' Dirty! Where did you come up with that name and do you get reaction from people about it?

Ahi Asian Slider

 I can sum that up really quick. Some people love it, others hate it but no one forgets it.

4. You have cooked for foreign diplomats, U.S. Senators and acting and former U.S. Presidents in your career. You are using that experience to help you run your business and grow it. Winter's coming- what will you do?

With the winter months upon us we are preparing to roll out our winter delivery service. Essentially we will be operating as a take out service delivering food to Albany, Troy, Saratoga and surrounding areas. 

Our fans will follow us on facebook, twitter and at Slidindirty.com to find out when we're delivering to their area and what's on the menu. Then they'll call or email their order to us and we'll deliver it directly to their place of work. We are also fully operational as a catering service throughout the year including holiday parties, Superbowl parties, weddings and all other catering needs.

I went out and found Tim and Brooke. They were at RPI serving people walking in the area. It was a cold and loud day (lots of traffic and business for Tim) but I wanted you to hear from him! Find out which slider I tried, what I thought of it and Tim's tips for creating your own perfect slider- by watching the video below.