After hearing mixed reviews about Flipside Burgers I decided to give it a try last Saturday night. My son and I were on our way to the Sound Tigers Hockey Game and met another father/son at the restaurant before heading to the game.
When you enter the restaurant, you either head to the bar to the left or the seating area to the right. It's well appointed inside with comfy booths and upscale decor. We got there at about 5:20 and there were a few tables left. By 5:35 there was a line. There was plenty of staff bustling around. We were seated without menus. That's no longer odd since several places have done away with menus (annoying!). What was odd was being asked several times if we needed menus by different staff. Yes, and several stacks of menus did eventually show up.
Now the menu is an interesting bit of marketing. In a place like this, you'd expect to find $8-$10 burgers. That's not the case. A regular burger is just $5.75, with cheeseburgers starting at $6.25. The burger you get is not exactly small either. The menu says nothing about the size of the burger (why?) but it's at least 1/3lb. However, you are going to want fries and a Pepsi (no Coke) with that. Small fries are $2.75 and the Pepsi is $2.50. So a cheeseburger with fries and Pepsi is $11.50! Ok, I'm not expecting Duchess or McDonald's pricing, so the burger is going to be off the charts, right?
Not really. My burger was dry. I like my meat cooked rare to medium rare and the waiter said he could do it. As delivered on a square (?) plate, it was medium to medium-well. I've flipped enough burgers to know that even a medium burger doesn't have to be dry. You just don't squeeze it with the spatula when it's on the grill, to speed up the grill time.
The fries were thin (another time saver?) and a little overcooked, nothing to rave about. The staff was very friendly and attentive. There were kids all over the place and they handled the chaos with aplomb. The number of kids is a bit counter-intuitive, since there is no children's menu. With Hot Dogs, Grilled Cheese and Burgers on the menu, they don't really need one.
Has Flipside earned the name "Burger Joint?" Not in my book. You can get a better burger at Circle Diner. There is nothing "Joint" about the place either. From the square plates to the upscale furnishings, it's more Gold Card than cash. Maybe that's what they are aiming for.
http://flipsiderestaurant.com
1125 Post Road, Fairfield, CT 06824
(203)292-8233
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