In a 2017 interview with Town & Country, Anthony Bourdain singled out Kobe beef sliders as one of the most annoying food trends, deeming them "a clear and present danger."

Kobe is a type of wagyu beef, widely considered the highest-quality meat in the world. Its ultra-fatty nature gives it a supremely tender texture and unctuous mouthfeel.

Per Bourdain, both of those things are lost when you grind the meat into a patty. So, while Kobe beef sliders project a certain image, they fail to deliver anything of substance.

The Kobe beef in most sliders isn’t even authentic. Japanese Wagyu beef is already scarce in the U.S., and Kobe, sourced from a limited region in Japan, is even harder to come by.

Therefore, not only does ordering Kobe sliders mean you're potentially squandering a good steak, but it also means you're paying extra for something you aren't even getting.