Sean Corbett photo

The Ripper

 Flipside Burgers & Bar
1125 Post Rd., Fairfield. (203) 292-8235

Opening a restaurant in this economy, with people tightening their belts and other tired analogues for saving money, is a dicey proposition. You've got to find your niche and exploit it. That's what Flipside, in the rejuvenated brick walk section of downtown Fairfield, is hoping to do.

On paper, their plan is foolproof: Offer reasonably-priced bar food for people who want something quick without letting it suffer in terms of flavor.

Although it's got a large menu of favorites, Flipside is a burger joint at heart, and ordering a burger is broken down to you picking your type (beef, chicken or veggie), style of burger (straight-up or cheeseburger) and choice of toppings out of a large selection (no extra charge).

There are also "Flipside Specialities," like a patty melt stuffed between two grilled cheese sandwiches and a Fiesta Grilled Burger that just sounds insane and amazing. But it's a burger joint. I came for a straight-up burger and that's what I ordered.

And truth be told, it was a pretty great burger. It's a large burger, radius-wise, but the patty didn't slip around, and the bun was nice and soft. The meat was tender. All of the condiments I ordered were there. Overall, Flipside offered a marked improvement over similar burgers at area diners.

I went back and got the Crusty Burger, which is topped with hillbilly favorite Velveeta, a small dollop of chili, french fries and ketchup. This was overall a satisfying burger, although I wish the chili had been more evenly distributed over the patty, and the ketchup seemed superfluous — more for the fries than the burger itself.

Another time, I tried the hot dog they call The Ripper, which was described to me as a hot dog left in the deep fryer so long that it starts to literally rip. This was a highlight; the dog was crunchy and delicious, with the soft bun acting as the perfect counterbalance, light and fluffy.

Those that don't want to ingest meat stuffs have options, too. Flipside has a Caesar salad that's fairly solid, though the dressing was watery and lacked zing.

Also, the milkshakes are pretty good. I got a black-and-white milkshake that was thick and smooth and went very well with those fried-food delights.

There are some growing pains I noted, which I hope improve as the new restaurant settles in. Service is a mixed bag. One time, my waiter was so slow that by the time my onion rings arrived, they were below room temperature. Taking a look around the restaurant, there's a decided lack of ambiance or charm. The main dining room is dotted with unflattering overhead lights, and two large flat-screen televisions are pressed right up against the bar, which is distracting.

On the one hand, they have hearty, crunchy bar food that doesn't disappoint, and if you're a sports fan or boozehound, then this is a place for you. They're also open late on weekends, which makes for a great post-movie option for those of us that have grown weary of the diner. For the money, it's a pretty good value overall, even if you do pay almost $3 for lemonade mixed with iced tea.

You may wish they had finessed the execution a bit more, but this is a coin worth flipping.