Monday Munchies- The Flipside
It’s Tuesday in July. Somehow, it turned out to be one of those unicorn-type days where it’s a breezy seventy-five outside. (Who would have known that we would be living on the surface of the sun over two months later?) While I was waiting a couple minutes on my friend Carla to arrive, I had the pleasure of doing some people watching in the 12 South area. If you’re familiar with it, you know that it is the central living quarters from bachelor and bachelorette parties from all across the world. If it is one-hundred and twelve degrees in August, or thirty-five and sleeting in January, you could see Walking Dead type herds of women in matching denim shorts and monogrammed tees shuffling along at the few restaurants and shops around the area. I’m not sure why this small neighborhood has become such a hub for the Nashville tourist, but it’s constant. Anyways, I digress, and we move on to the reason we’re here, to talk about the delicious food at The Flipside.
Hillary and I have gone here a couple of times, usually as a meeting point for lunch whenever I worked in Brentwood and she was in Green Hills. The Flipside has a couple of features that give the atmosphere a really unique aesthetic. A lot of the décor around the restaurant is 50’s based, from the cherry red mini-fridges around the bar area, to the TV posters framed throughout the restaurant showing old TV personalities. Our favorite thing about just being in the place, however, is that every table has a different era of Trivial Pursuit cards on the table for patrons to go through while they are waiting on their food. Usually it is just another chance for Hillary to show me how superior she is to me in trivia knowledge on everything other than sports. If you are reading this and don’t know Hillary, she is the human version of IMDB when it comes to movie or television knowledge. It’s uncanny how often I can be thinking of an actor or an obscure character trying to think of who plays the role and, most of the time, she is able to come up with the answer. I love it and hate it at the same time.
Starting off with the drink menu, they do a really good job of having a lot of well-priced options. Almost everything on the drink menu is under ten dollars. There is a ridiculous menu option though, that contains some pretty crazy things if you’re feeling adventurous and have a spare $27 to drop on a beverage. “The Big Fix” is a vodka-based drink containing a dill pickle, bacon, tater tots, chicken, and a Snow Crab Claw. Not many places around here can boast that they have a drink with a seafood delicacy sticking out of the top of it. For weekend brunch, they have two for $12 on bloody mary’s, mimosa’s, bellini’s, and sangria’s. And every Tuesday is two for $12 margs.
“The Big Fix” Like I said, a bit extravagant, but if you ever go and actually order this I need you to let me know.
On to the food! For appetizers, they have a menu option that is, literally, a half-pound of bacon with maple syrup. Where else other than a Shoney’s breakfast buffet is it socially acceptable to just throw down eight ounces of bacon in public? I can’t think of one other than the sanctity of my own home. For the main course, all of the chicken options have the same premise, called “Jack’s Best”- pounded-thin chicken, breaded, pan-seared in EVOO (for all of the old school Rachel Ray fans out there). The assortment comes with the toppings. My personal favorite is the “Betsy”, and not because my favorite Chattanoogan Betsy Browder lives there. It’s the pan-seared chicken covered in buffalo sauce and bleu cheese crumbles, paired with a side of 8.4/10 French fries. If you haven’t been able to tell from my last few posts, I’m a big fry guy. Hillary has gotten the “And That” a couple of times, and that’s essentially a poutine dish, which you can never go wrong with. Fries, chicken, and gravy- what more can you ask for?
To the left, is the “Betsy”. Mouth is watering just thinking about it. To the right, is one of their sandwich options.
Next time you’re considering going to 12 South for a casual lunch or dinner, you need to consider The Flipside. One of my favorite shows, ‘Impractical Jokers’, has an actor that reps them on TV for a few episodes. (Also- is there a show that is more driven by a male audience than that one? So much of the humor is based on guys doing stupid things to embarrass other guys, and Hillary absolutely hates it and thinks it’s stupid beyond words. I, on the other hand, think it’s genius and hilarious.) You’ll see the occasional bachelorette party downing bucket after bucket of mimosas and screaming and cheering their sorority sisters on as they chug champagne, but most of the time I feel like it’s a really chill environment that delivers a quality meal for under $30.
SCORE: 7.1/10