The word hangry has become a commonly used term for those who get angry when hungry, myself included. Luckily, I was not quite at that stage of hunger when Josh and I popped into Hangry Grille and Spirits for a bite. Even without the gnawing hanger, the sliders, their main attraction, blew us away.

Located in Pickerington, the locally family-owned business popped up in 2018. Their presence in the strip mall is made known by giant letters that hang on the brick entrance right as you drive into the parking lot. With half the seating out on the patio, the restaurant was full due to the cold weather. We quickly chose a seat at the bar and settled in.

When in Rome, with Rome being the bar, we chose a couple of cocktails to begin our meal. The full bar took up almost half of the restaurant and boasted craft cocktails, beer on tap, and a wine selection. Josh chose their seasonal Harvest Punch, an apricot brandy mixed with brut and all the fall flavors. It was a perfect blend of flavors that disguised the fact that you were consuming alcohol. I, too, chose a fall flavor with pumpkin pie spice that was not as sweet but just as cozy.

The drinks were yummy, but what sold us was the sliders. We skipped the appetizers and went straight in, each choosing three different sliders and a side. The sliders not only had unique names but also unique flavors. We each chose one of the two chicken sliders and a beef slider. I mixed things up with their fried fish slider, and then we shared bites of each. Our favorites had to be Josh’s choices. The Bluto beef slider had a whiskey glaze, Guinness caramelized onions, and two types of cheeses. I was afraid I would be able to taste any notes of the whiskey or Guinness, but all that I tasted was pure deliciousness. This one tied for first place with the Buffalo Bill chicken slider. The buffalo sauce paired with the bleu cheese and garlic aioli was perfect. I hate bleu cheese, yet somehow, Hangry Grille made me love it with these sliders.

In addition to all the sliders having spectacular flavor, the sides hit the mark, too. Parmesan garlic fries or tots just can’t be wrong, but they took it to the next level by making them perfectly crunchy. If we had to choose, the fries were better by just a hair.

We tend to enjoy most places we go out to eat, but we always know it’s superior when we want to bring our friends and family with us the next time. Hangry Grille was one of those places. We will be back to try even more in the near future!