FLIP

Last night (and today for lunch) I checked out Birmingham's new burger joint - FLIP. This is apparently the brainchild of one of the Top Chef contestants out of Georgia. I dont watch that show, but I like the food that results. My unofficial critique:

FLIP is trendy and modern, yet not too posh for Birmingham. Despite the atmosphere, the clientel varies in age. However, this will probably change in time, as the price range (if you arnt consuming cocktails), allows it to be appropriate for a high school hangout. Despite this, and the lack of comfortable seating for parties over 4, FLIP is a must visit. They have taken the modern hamburger and "flipped" it into so many different ethnic dishes, that you actually might have to go several times just to try the assortment of delcious sounding burgers. I went classic with the bacon and cheese last night, and although it was probably the most boring item on the menu, it was fantastic. Coupled with vodka battered onion rings in a beer money mustard sauce, i was in heaven.

Today, i went in an opposite direction and tried the Faux-afal - a fried chick pea patty with arugula, red onion, cucumbers, and a feta spread. Sounds great, but it was NOT. I should have tried what either of my coworkers had which was the Ossobuco burger or the Butchers cut (with red wine reduction sauce and some kind of yummy relish). I did make a strong decision on my side of sweet potato fries with chocolate salt dipped in a truffle ranch. Although the variety of burgers will keep you coming back for more, the drinks (both alcoholic and non) will make you want to stay the night.

Try the ginger margharita or the peach sweet tea if you want a cocktail. They also added a root beer float martini today that looks promising.  Or, you can go for the smore, krispy kreme, fois grois, or  pistachio and truffle milkshakes. Where else are you going to come across any of those combos in Birmingham?

The only other grief I have is that the service is weak. At first I chalked this up to it being a newly opened restaurant, which will always have some kinks in the system. However, after returning today, I'm pretty certain that they hired the most impersonal servers in the South.  They were not only lazy, but seeminly apathetic to the hectic turnover of a lunch and dinner crowd. Jordan's dad said it best when he compared our first server to someone who joins his buddies afterwords for live action role playing...

So, there you have my unofficial thoughts on the place. I'm glad to see a new food place in Birmingham, especially one that pushes the envelope with food. It reminds me a bit of MOTO in Chicago. Not anywhere near as creative, but one that mixes science and food. (mostly because of the use of liquid nitrogen in some of the drinks and milkshakes). I can only watch Iron Chef American or throwdown with Bobby Flay so many times before I want to try something of that caliber myself. Not that FLIP is near that level, but it does make burgers fun.