The Flipside

August 5, 2016

Background: Chefs Jon and Amy Fortes decided to open a restaurant together after years in the business. They own two locations of The Flipside, The Flipside Restaurant in downtown Rock Hill and The Flipside Cafe in Ft. Mill. The Fortes’ also run a very active catering business under the same name, and they have the distinct honor of catering the #javonwedding in December, so, clearly, we are fans. Read on to see why.

Eat This: We have only eaten at the Rock Hill location, so our review will focus on their offerings.

It’s good bread city here. First, they have complimentary homemade peach butter served with their yummy sourdough bread. Eat thirteen pieces of this, then:

MOAR BREAD: You have got to go order the UAV Ricotta & Mozzarella Pull Apart Bread. Seriously. It should be the very next thing you put in your mouth after you read this. Delicious sourdough with PEPPERONI SAUCE and basil oil. You will probably be too full to eat anything after this, so plan accordingly.

Also a hit under the appetizer category, Amy’s Pimento Cheese served with warm pretzels.

But my favorite starter, or main dish if you just ate your weight in bread, is their tomato soup. Tomato soup is one of my favorite things and theirs is perfection. It’s well seasoned, and topped with crystallized basil and grilled cheese croutons. Yes, they sandwich cheddar cheese in between two sourdough croutons. The sweetness of the basil paired with the salty soup is simply, heaven in a bowl.

Is that crystallized basil, or are you just happy to see me?

Their burrata salad is also standout, and they usually have a fun twist on it--right now they are offering a strawberry beer-rata version (beer infused burrata cheese). Grandma ordered it and was not impressed, but have you read Grandma’s take on all restaurants HERE? Regardless of Grandma’s feelings on exotic cheese, Flipside is one of the few restaurants she will still agree to visit, so that’s saying something.

Their lunch sandwiches are also creative and delicious. They have a Pressed Ham and Cheese, served with prosciutto, brie, and fig jam on a pretzel bun and a Crab Cake BLT with arugula fennel salad and tomato jam served on brioche.

When it comes to dinner offerings, Flipside offers a great deal where you can get an appetizer, main course, and dessert for $30. Not bad at all!

Our favorite main courses have been the Heritage Farms Pork Loin with sweet potato spaetzle (although the spaetzle was on the bland side) and the Hot Coal Grilled NY Strip with tasso ham and mushroom mac & cheese.

Dessert: The desserts are the one area where we feel Flipside can go pretty wrong. We had one particularly awful experience with a chocolate torte with a citrus sauce that just did.not.work. At all. As in, you couldn’t really eat it. Actual Grandma quote: "If I served this to you all, you would think I was creepy."

On our last visit with our dear friends Tamara and Zander (#tander), we decided to try four of the desserts, which threw our waitress into a vortex of confusion.

Here was the conversation:
Us: We would like [these four desserts].
Her: WOW. Okay.
Us: …
Her: So you want *incredulous tone* [lists all desserts].
Us: Yeah...

Yeah, she said "Wow," alright. LOUD AND CLEAR, LADY. Cue everyone feeling weird over what could only be termed collective fat shaming. Four desserts for four people is not that bad, right? Is that unheard of? We didn’t know how to feel.

Awkward service snafus aside, these desserts were better than on our previous visits. The Maple Bourbon Banana Creme Brulee was a table favorite, as well as the Sticky Toffee and Apple Bread Pudding. We had high hopes for the Strawberry Pistachio Cake, but it was on the bland side, and included a fake, bright red strawberry sauce.

Drink: The Flipside offers a full bar and some great local drafts.

Atmosphere: The atmosphere at the Rock Hill location is lovely: nice lighting, cozy booths, and shady patio area.

Southern Hospitality: Minus the dessert encounter detailed above, our service at Flipside has been mostly wonderful. We have also seen owner Emily a few times, and she always stops by the table and checks on us (and Grandma, especially). She is super sweet!

Frankie’s Notes: Downtown Rock [Thrill] is a throwback to the 1950s; You will tell Grandma that burrata is cheese four times and she will not believe you until the dish is placed in front of her; peach butter is medicinal and should probably be slathered all over everything; When the waitress is shocked that you are eating so much sugar so you go home and do 45 sad crunches; Our wedding is going to have THE BEST food, thanks to Flipside!