Flippin' Cow

It is the middle of winter and I have had a hankerin' for a good burger, I thought I was doomed to the wait out the winter, until our dinner plans fell through tonight and we found ourselves at Flippin' Cow on Simonton Lake in Elkhart. We walked through the bar and were seated in the family friendly area in a three seasons room overlooking the lake, I can only imagine how nice it will be to sit there in the summertime, but for now they are using small space heaters to keep the place warm. We were seated on wooden benches and given menus that were contained inside old vinyl record sleeves, the first sign that this place was going to be great!

We were tempted by such appetizers as giant jalapenos stuffed with three cheeses, fried pickles made with homemade pickles, and hand battered onion rings, but we decided to skip an app in hopes of saving room for dessert. Our little man got his dinner before we did (thanks to a waitress who is also a mom!), and at first we were shocked at the $5.99 price tag on his cheeseburger dinner, but he got a full side burger and full side of tater tots, the burger was almost as big as his head, and totally worth the price!

My hubby had decided what he wanted before we even hit the restaurant, I told him about a burger with mac & cheese and bacon and his heart had been won over! He got homemade, from scratch mac & cheese between two hand pattied burgers, with thick bacon, topped with extra cheese sauce on a homemade potato bun that had been toasted on the flat top. He got a side of hand cut fries, that he admitted weren't his favorite, but personally I thought were fantastic, crisp and not greasy. All of this was under $10, and good enough quality to be a steal.

I am pretty plain when it comes to sandwiches and burgers, so while they had fantastic and unique combos, I chose to build my own burger from their myriad of toppings like grilled onions and mushrooms, lots of different cheeses, a couple different types of bacon, several different sauces and even a fried egg, the only thing missing according to my hubby was avocado. I inadvertently ordered the burger with two patties, but they are those patties that are patted really thin so eating two really doesn't make you feel like that big of a pig...and speaking of pigs the bacon on my burger was thick, well cooked, and delicious. I got all of this on a homemade pretzel bun that could only be topped by the Laugenweckle (Pretzel rolls) in Germany, and that's saying something because the German's know how to do pretzels. I have to say this really was the best burger of my life, because it was the first time in my life I didn't salt a burger, it had that delicious crispy edge, but was still perfectly juicy and flavorful, and if you aren't a beef eater, they also have turkey, buffalo, and veggie burgers. My side of hand cut chips were crisp and tasty, and for right around $10 this meal definitely wowed me!!

Despite all of this food, we still had room for dessert, and our choices were a banana split cheesecake or a homemade chocolate chip cookie mudslide, and we chose the mudslide. The homemade cookie was awesome, our only complaint about this dessert is that we would have liked the cookie to be warmer so it melted the ice cream, but otherwise, I would choose it over Hacienda any day of the week!

Winter, spring, summer, or fall if you are in need of a delicious burger Flippin' Cow has you covered, their concept and menu is unique, their food is top quality, the atmosphere makes you feel as if you are among friends (by the way, thanks to all of the diners who chatted with and occupied our sons attention), and the staff have some of the best customer service skills I have encountered. I know many people were disappointed when Lakeshore Grill closed and reopened as Flippin' Cow, but there is not an ounce of disappointment in that place!