FlipSide
http://www.flipsideburger.com/
Overall GrubGrade A
Atmosphere: Grade A: You might be able to guess what type of restaurant FlipSide is by the name, but certainly not from the outside of the building. Inside, however, we found the place to be quite clean and very bar-like in its vibe. FlipSide just gave off that nice, easy feel that you get from your favorite local watering hole. It was a little noisy and reasonably crowded considering we were there at around 1:00pm on a Friday. Thankfully, there’s some decent space between tables, so the noise wasn’t too bad, but I can’t imagine how loud it gets at around 5pm on Fridays.
High marks: Clean, simple décor, relaxed vibe
Low marks: A little noisy
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Service: Grade A: We had a wonderful server named Eric. Since we were first timers, Eric took a moment and explained how the menu worked. Drinks and food all came out in a reasonable amount of time. Eric was very engaging and knowledgeable and really friendly. This is an example of how dinner service should be done (in a week or two, we’re going to give you an example of the exact opposite). I have seen some other reviews of FlipSide where the service did not get any compliments, but we have nothing but positive things to say about the staff at FlipSide.
High marks: Friendly, quick service
Low marks: Nothing
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Food/Spirits: Grade A: Since we had a 3 hour drive ahead of us, we had to keep it under control with respect to our grown-up drinks. Katina ordered a Blueberry Lemonade, which tasted pretty much exactly like the name suggests it would. I ordered a New Holland Dragon’s Milk, which tastes like the heavenly offspring of Guinness and Kentucky Bourbon Barrel Ale…all the flavor of the Bourbon Barrel Ale with the color and texture of a Guinness. For an appetizer, we ordered the chili cheese fries. These turned out to be much tastier than they appeared. The cheese sauce was thinner than the sauce that’s usually on chili cheese fries. Initially this concerned us, but it turns out the thinner sauce allowed for more complete coverage of the fries, so every bite had chili and cheese unlike most other chili cheese fries where the cheese is only on the top portion of the fries. They turned out to be the some of the best chili cheese fries we’ve tried. For her burger, Katina ordered the FlipSide Burger and I ordered the Smokey Burger. The FlipSide Burger comes with aged cheddar and apple wood smoked bacon (which Katina always removes and gives to me – she super finicky about how her bacon is cooked. She calls it extra crispy, but most of the rest of humanity would call it burnt). Add balsamic vinegar and red onions and you’ve just about hit all of Katina’s favorite burger toppings. The Smokey Burger comes topped with beef brisket, smoked gouda, jalapenos and BBQ sauce (and thanks to Katina, apple wood smoked bacon). The burgers were excellent, and cooked perfectly. Our medium well done burgers had just a ribbon of pink in the center, exactly as they should. We were both very impressed with the quality. It is also worthy of note that you can get any burger with chicken, turkey, or bison substituted for beef. We also split a side of mac and cheese with bbq beef brisket added. It was really excellent – in fact, I might drool on the keyboard just reliving the experience. We’ve had this incarnation of mac and cheese at a few places, and it has always impressed us. More restaurants should offer this version of mac and cheese as a side.
High marks: Good drinks, perfectly prepared burgers, excellent cheese fries and mac and cheese
Low marks: Had to restrict drinking, couldn’t return the following day for a repeat visit since we were going out of town
…………………………………………………………………………………………………………….
Value: Grade B: The only reason FlipSide doesn’t get an A in this category is that our bill was a little high considering we were eating burgers. Portion size was adequate. However, we want that to in no way discourage you from stopping by if you haven’t yet. Again, that’s why the value category carries the least amount of weight in the calculation of the overall grade. Frankly, a lot of times the old adage that “you get what you pay for” actually turns out to be true. This was one of those times. Bravo FlipSide…what a nice way to kick off our little trip.
High marks: Excellent quality, decent portion size
Low marks: A little pricey
grubgraders 