Flip Burger Boutique- Making Burgers Into Fine Art

Flip Burger Boutique in the Summit shopping center has been on my "to-do" list for quite sometime now. I must admit, the name "boutique" added to the end of a restaurant name was a little intimidating. All sorts of thoughts went through my head. Sounded almost as if there would be a dress code. This visit would shatter all of the misconceptions that I had.
Flip Burger puts a modern spin on the art of burger making. This is not your average burger joint. It's chic, trendy and very artsy.
Recently Flip Burger hosted an exclusive media tasting event in which yours truly participated. The chain introduced fall menu creations designed by Chef Richard Blais. They also introduced the new CEO, Rick Tasman. Rick brings with him over 35 years of experience and a positive outlook on the future growth of this restaurant chain. We spoke briefly about how excited he is to join the team.
Chef Blais is a culinary innovator, author and the winner of the Bravo network's Top Chef All Stars.
After reading his bio, I was even more excited to try what Flip Burger Boutique had to offer. My motto, "hype means nothing until I taste it".
My dining, companion, who is the founder of the  Discover Birmingham organization, was also eager to taste the variety of fall menu selections.
Atmosphere: Bright & energetic with an uptown decor. There is also outdoor seating with an amazing view. Not too crowded. Definitely a great place to have a lunch meeting or bring a date.
What I/ We had: I had the warm and creamy tomato bisque, the double stack burger- 2 patties featuring tillamook cheddar, bacon pickles and mustard, crispy Brussels sprouts.... (let me just pause to say OMG!) I also had the sweet potato tots and house-made french fries. My lunch companion had the beet and goat cheese salad. He mentioned that he thought that the flavors of the arugula & beets clashed with the vinaigrette dressing. He also had the "BIGGER" burger-  1/2 lb patty topped with American cheese, lettuce & tomato with onion rings and R1 steak sauce and YES... it is bigger. Also included in his meal was a side sampler of vodka battered onion rings, house made fries and sweet potato tots. Both our meals were extremely filling, seasoned just right and very well prepared.
For dessert I had the pumpkin pie milk shake. This creamy concoction was a shake lovers dream.The pumpkin flavor was not too over the top. This also included a touch of graham cracker crumbles inside of the shake. Sinful, I tell you. Just sinful. My fellow foodie had the apple fried pie with salted caramel. He stated that paired with a scoop of vanilla ice cream, this made for an amazing concept. However, scaling back tremendously on the amount of salt in the  caramel topping would probably catapult this dish into the dessert hall of fame.
Prices: The soups and salads range between $5 to $12 dollars. Very good portions.Burgers start at round $7.50, the sides start at $3.75, but your best value would be to get a 3 side sampler for about $9.00.The hearty dessert shakes and dishes start at $5.00.
Out of ten stars, I give the Flip Burger Boutique 9 stars!
For more information, to book an event or place an order, please visit http://flipburgerboutique.com/
Or call (205) 968-2000.
Follow us on Social Media: https://twitter.com/flipbham
@RestaurantRaidr @DiscoverBham

  

The 2013 Pig Iron Challenge Benefitting the Children's Harbor organization 10/18/13

For the past several years I have attended the Pig Iron BBQ challenge with friends and family.
During this event, there's trash talking, good times and lots of team work but all for a good cause.

The Children's Harbor is a non-profit organization that assists families that have seriously ill children and children with special needs.
Here are their principles:

• Our top priority is to respond to the needs and rights of every client with a sense of urgency, dignity and compassion.
• Children’s Harbor is passionate about family-centered principles and quality-of-life issues.
• Children’s Harbor views counseling as a key to empowering children and families to reach their maximum potential.
• Children’s Harbor is a quality, performance and integrity-driven organization.
• Dedication, honesty, trust, innovation and stakeholder satisfaction are the foundation of Children’s Harbor’s work.
• Children’s Harbor respects the dignity of its team members and assures them empowerment through professional development and personal growth.
• Children’s Harbor is committed to partnering with other organizations that share its vision, mission and values.

The Pig Iron BBQ challenge is just one way that the organization raises funds. This event is held annually next to what is or was known  as the Hoover Met baseball stadium inside of the RV park.
After paying just $10.00 at the gate, the public can go inside and sample award winning barbecue from countless teams of corporate sponsors and competitors. I am a huge advocate of charity. This years attendance was "rumored" to have reached over 10,000 patrons. Hat's off to Birmingham for showing up. For more information about the Children's Harbor, to donate or include your team in next years barbecue challenge, visit http://www.childrensharbor.com/
Everyone seemed to be having a great time except this guy- seems he got side tracked on his way to the market: