Al Fresco Dining Overlooking Lisman Landing

By Steve Cooper
The Foodie Foursome

Steve Cooper

If you are from the area I am sure you have been asked or seen on social media questions like “Where is a good restaurant with water views?”

Flipside Burger and Bar is located in the downtown area, just off the green and overlooking the harbor at Lisman Landing. The name, however, does not tell the whole story. Previously the location had a Mexican establishment and another called Indigo. Flipside serves upscale American bar food, designed by owner Michael Baffa. It has a great bar and indoor dining area, but the outdoor deck is outstanding. It is designed for any season, and is spacious with great views.

Their menu features over 20 creative burger specialty combinations as well as a design-your-own burger feature. They also have many more food options.

Cindy and I were there for dinner with friends Tom and Karen. We sat outside to enjoy the breeze off the water and Milford waterfront scenes.

We started with a few cocktails. Their margaritas were refreshing, unique combinations and fresh squeezed juices. Their espresso martini was delicious and topped with shaved cocoa.

After perusing the menu we chose several starters. The first two were a unique version of classics. The glazed calamari was a delicately fried calamari drizzled with a blackberry-jalapeño glaze with chopped banana peppers. Their take on the glaze was different from what we have tried at any other local restaurants and a nice departure from the norm. The street corn dip was fresh sweet corn off the cob, first grilled and then chilled, in a corn tortilla bowl with chipotle aioli, cotija cheese, fresh pico, chili powder and served with corn chips. The creativity and levels of flavor elevated it to my personal favorite appetizer list. It was a favorite of our party.

The next app was the grilled Mediterranean goat cheese. The panko crusted and seasoned fresh goat cheese, black olive tapenade, extra virgin olive oil, preserved lemon and hot honey drizzle was served with house-made cauliflower chips. Taking a bite with each element included was tasty and creative.

We finished the starter part of the meal with two outstanding adobo beef tacos. The soft taco shells were chock full of chunks of seasoned ground beef, lettuce, chipotle aioli, cotija cheese, fresh pico, pickled jalapeño, picked onion and topped with tiny tortilla strips which added a nice crunch to this well-balanced taco.

Our intermezzo was one of their imaginative salads. The Flipside salad was a bountiful bowl of baby greens, candied walnuts, dried cranberries and gorgonzola with a subtle balsamic vinaigrette.

Our entrée excursion started in Flipside’s wheelhouse, with burgers. Their house and handmade sirloin burgers are among the best we have tasted. Of the multitude of choices, we started with the candy popper burger: a 10-ounce patty topped with cream cheese, candied bacon, pickled jalapeños and sweet carrots on a pretzel bun. It sounded like a crazy concoction, but it just worked. The Milford smoke house burger was a spicy patty, cheddar cheese, bacon, coleslaw, spicy fries and smokey adobo ketchup. It was cooked to perfection and next level “burger tasty.”

Our last two choices came at us from left field. The first was a lobster roll. The lobster was cooked fresh that morning and picked for the rolls. The tail, knuckle and claw meat was fresh and sweet with drawn butter on a toasted brioche bun.

The second was the Asian tuna wrap. It was made with large cuts of seared rare ahi tuna, baby greens, wasabi mayo, soy sauce, green onion, shredded carrots and encased in a wheat wrap. The tuna was fresh and seared to perfection. The added ingredients were the perfect accompaniment to the soloist of the plate: the ahi tuna.

The sides we got were outstanding, from the house-made coleslaw to the fries, of which there were several types. We had normal salted fries old bay fries and honey mustard and sesame sweet potato fries. Our favorite was the onion rings, which were cut fresh and battered just before frying. The thin, crispy crunch before sinking your teeth into the sweet and juicy onion was special.

For dessert we had one of Flipside’s signature confections. The loaded buttered popcorn was topped with caramel, chocolate drizzle, candied walnuts, toasted coconut, whipped cream and a maraschino cherry. It smelled like a carnival arriving at our table. It was unique and tasty and a great change from the norm.

I finished off with one of my weaknesses – a vanilla malted milk shake.

This conveniently-located restaurant will soon become one of your go-to spots once you try them. Baffa, his general managers and our server made our evening a perfect night out. They feature happy hour specials and the kitchen is open from 11:30 a.m. to 9:30 p.m. seven days a week. Flipside is located at 1 Schooner Ln.