March 31, 2009 at 9:17 pm (Food)
Tags: Bacon & Cheese Burger, Burger, Church's Chicken, Flip Burger Boutique, Fried Okra, Fried Onion Rings, Krispy Kreme, Po-Boyger, sweet potato fries, Sweet Potato Tater Tots, the Varsity, Varsity
The Burger is back, but did it ever leave? Just about all restaurants, except for some ethnic restaurants feature a burger on the menu. You can grab a burger from a convenient fast food spot or settle into a booth at your favorite upscale restaurant, but those patties are a dime a dozen. The burger has been remixed, reinvented, spiced up, dressed down, but definitely over done. Despite the crowded culinary landscape, a burger joint called Flip opened up on Howell Mill Road. I was thinking a burger spot, Really? I like, no I love hamburgers, but I have identified my favorite burger spot and I’m a loyalist. However, the fun name, the sweet potato tater tots and the buzz about this place lured me to go check it out for myself.
The restaurant is one big white room with color, lots of splashes of color, but it works. One friend described it as a place where you will feel cool just being there and I totally agree. There’s also a great bar, and they aren’t stingy with the alcohol in the mixed drinks. They got two cool points right off the bat just for that. The décor is hip, but the tables and seating remind me of college. It’s more style than comfort. I ordered the basic bacon & cheese burger, a Po-Boyger aka the shrimp burger, the tots, okra and what I believe was a Caesar salad.
When the salad arrived it looked a little suspicious. It had these little red strings on top and it wasn’t fresh…but who really needs a salad at a burger joint? The cheese burger had a very distinctive taste. I believe, actually according to the waitress, the distinctive taste is due to the mix of different types of beef and it pays off because it’s hearty and delicious. I didn’t know what to expect with the shrimp burger, but the waitress recommended it. I was expecting something like a po-boy, but the shrimp was processed and turned into a patty. It’s good, very good mostly because it’s different, probably because it’s got fried lemon on it. The tempura fried okra is light and tasty. If you like the fried okra at Church’s Chicken you will LOVE their take on it. I’m a BIG fan of sweet potato fries and the idea of sweet potatoes fashioned into tater tots was tantalizing to me. The tater tots were a disappointment, a tad bit too greasy and mushy. The tots were sent back and I ordered another round of okra and the onion rings. The onion rings are dressed up Varsity onion rings just not as greasy.
The sliders were much bigger than I expected, it isn’t a little burger they serve a substantial piece of meat for a slider. If you are greedy like me you might want to order two burgers, but if you are watching the waist line just get one. I will definitely go back to flip there are two more burgers I want to try and I didn’t have the krispy kreme shake. Plus I felt on the cutting edge just sitting in my booth.
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March 17, 2009 at 10:03 pm (Food)
Tags: Mexican, Mexican Restaurant, Upscale Mexican Restaurant, Gourmet Mexican Restaurant, Jacks, Lime Wedge, Mexican Taqueria, Rosa Mexicana, Tacos, Fish Taco, Bacon wrapped Shrimp Taco, Steak Taco, Chips, Plantains, Burger, Lime Slice, Chips and Salsa, Lime Taqueria
Lime Taqueria & Tequila Bar is not your local Mexican Taqueria. I discovered this when I walked through the glass double doors. First impression, I loved the décor it’s fresh, fun and festive. There are these star shaped ornaments hanging from the ceiling and I couldn’t help but think of playing jacks when I was growing up. It actually has a hip lounge type vibe and is far more swanky than any Mexican restaurant I’ve been in. It’s nicer than Rosa Mexicano, which I thought had cornered the gourmet Mexican restaurant market. As soon as I sat down, I wanted a drink of the alcoholic variety, probably due to the huge lime slices that divided the restaurant into two. I decided to go with the pomegranate margarita. I was too tart, so it was sent back and I went with the traditional margarita. It was much better, but please note it was not of the Mexican restaurant super size variety. While sippin’ on my margarita I was alarmed by the lack of tortilla chips at the table, and of course I inquired some chips. My server replied that I had to order them. What??? This definitely threw me off. I can’t eat Mexican food without chips so I begrudgingly ordered some. Once we had our chips, I settled on the Pescado, Res and Camaron Pescado tacos and an order of plantains. My friend ordered the Burger de Mexico.
The Pescado Taco, or crispy catfish taco, was very light. The mango slaw was a little too sweet for my taste and I thought the fish needed a little bit more Old Bay seasoning, but it was alright. The Camaron Pescado, or bacon wrapped shrimp taco, was my least favorite. I think wrapping anything in bacon or cheese is a great start for a dish, but not in this instance. The bacon wrapped around the shrimp was mostly fat, it wasn’t seasoned at all (obviously the chef relied solely on the bacon to do the job) ,and they left the tail on the shrimp. The taco was also very greasy, but not greasy in that finger licking good way. The Res Taco, grilled skirt steak taco, was very tasty and my favorite. I’m not a big steak fan, but the meat was perfectly seasoned and juicy. The plantains were perfect, but you can’t really mess those up. Oh and let me tell you about the chips. They are tri-colored tortilla chips that come with four sauces for dipping. The chips are good, but stay away from the barbque sauce looking dips they are NOT good. Stick with the green and red salsas.
I love hamburgers and their hamburger didn’t disappoint. I didn’t like the bun, but the hamburger itself was juicy and well seasoned. The French fries were very good as well. They weren’t your ordinary French fries, they had a crunchy crust that made them tasty and firm, but they were still soft inside and perfect for dipping into ketchup.
I’m sure my view is slightly tainted because I had to pay for chips. However, Lime is not your local neighborhood Mexican restaurant, it’s a fancy, décor and ambience driven restaurant for those who don’t like vats of chips, globs of beans and pools of melted cheese covering tortillas. If that’s your cup of tequila you will probably like it, but if you like vats, globs and pools you should pass on this one.
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