• Courtesy Of Cheese Pond Photography
• Late-night sliders at the Café HOT.

After establishing the Café HOT. as a Burlington breakfast and brunch hot spot, Allan and Travis Walker-Hodkin decided they were ready to feed the night-owl crowd, too. Following a successful trial run on April 19 and 20, the brothers will offer a slider-size sandwich featuring their distinctive breaded, "chicken-fried" hunk of scrambled egg on a Hawaiian-style roll Thursday through Saturday nights from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.

"We've always wanted to see Main Street at night, to be part of the hustle and bustle," Travis said.

The sandwiches are available only to go from the restaurant's original takeout window, with which the Walker-Hodkins launched at 198 Main Street in fall 2020. They opened for indoor service in early 2022.

In contrast to the Café HOT.'s daytime menu, the late-night offerings are streamlined to just one snack-size sandwich, with sides of sauces — such as hot honey and house hot sauce — and a few basic beverages. While a single sandwich costs $3, orders of three ($8), six ($14), 10 ($20) or 20 ($37) bring increasing discounts, "kind of White Castle-style," Travis explained, referring to the regional hamburger chain. "It's quick. It's easy. It's got an easy price."

He noted that customers placed very few orders for single sandwiches during the initial weekend.

The chicken-fried egg creation catapulted the Café Hot. onto Bon Appétit's list of best restaurant meals of 2023. In the magazine's write-up, the reviewer described the chicken-fried egg sandwich as both surprisingly meat-free and "glorious," with "a craggy, crisp-crusted slab of fluffy scrambled eggs."