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- The Stella Moo at The Flippin’ Cow. (Truth photo by Marshall King)
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- Macaroni and cheese (Photo by Marshall King)
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- Owners Cam and Sue Snyder (Photo by Marshall V. King)
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- The interior of The Flippin’ Cow (Photo by Marshall V. King)
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- Funky tabletop (Photo by Marshall V. King)
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- The Flippin’ Cow menu (Photo by Marshall V. King)
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- Menus will be inside classic rock album covers. (Photo by Marshall V. King)
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- Another shot of the interior (Photo by Marshall V. King)
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- Simonton Lake view from the restaurant. (Photo by Marshall V. King)
The Flippin’ Cow is ready for business on the shores of Simonton Lake.
Owner Cam Snyder said Wednesday that a soft opening began this week and the first day of business will begin at 11 a.m. Thursday, Dec. 20.
He and his family closed Lakeshore Grill, 51330 S.R. 19, Elkhart, after Nov. 24 and started remodeling. Snyder said he was at the business 23 straight days getting it remodeled.
As promised, the walls have wood recycled from pallets. Bathrooms got remodeled. A boat was hung above the bar. An awning from an old house was put on the wall behind the bar. A 487-pound shuffleboard table exited a Middlebury house through a window, hoisted by six guys, and now is part of the dining room at The Flippin’ Cow, he said.
The menu features bar food and burgers with a twist, Snyder said. “We put some fun stuff in here. Tried to have fun with the menu,” he said.
Appetizers include loaded tater tots ($7.99), fried pickles made with the recipe of Snyder’s Gramma Wa Wa ($5.99), as well as cheese curds, onion rings, wings and poppers.
The burger menu includes eight “fancy” burgers and the ability to build your own from a variety of toppings. Burgers are made with chuck steak, black beans or bison. Buns include a buttered potato version made in South Bend, a sweet pretzel roll and a wheat brioche. The menu also includes salads, baskets and other items, but it’s not massive. It does look really interesting though.
The Stella Moo I got to try was a burger topped with smoked brisket, jalapeno bacon, onion straws, pepperjack cheese and an alehouse barbecue sauce that has Sweet Baby Ray’s as a base and has some added beer. The burger had great flavor, wasn’t too messy and was certainly satisfying. It’s listed at $9.49 on the menu.
Burgers were the best seller at Lakeshore and also sell well at Chubby Trout and Fat Tomato, the Snyder family’s other two restaurants.
The burger bar has six taps, five of which are craft brews, and is no smoking. It has seating for about 100. Its winter hours will be 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday to Saturday, noon to 8 on Sunday.
You can reach me at mking@etruth.com or via the Dining A La King Facebook page.
You can view the menu below:
Do you deliver?
Nope. Sorry. =)
We ate there tonight. What a disappointment. The Lakeshore was an icon with incredible food for all tastes The Flipping Cow menu was pretty lame. The food was poor. Sorry Cam, your other locations are excellent, but this concept ain’t gonna wrok as currently structured.
Have you ever heard the phrase, “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it”? Sadly, the Snyders have attempted to fix something that wasn’t broken.
This evening, I had a craving for the Lakeshore Grill’s California Club Sandwich (a wonderful sandwich with avocado and cranberry mayo) and their amazing fries. My husband was hungry for their fish. Knowing nothing about the renovation, imagine our surprise when we opened the new menu. Hubby was still able to get his fish; I settled for a “build your own” burger. And boy, were we underwhelmed.
The “build your own” burger concept starts with your choice of a beef patty size. That’s it – just the PATTY. You then pay extra for a BUN choice. Don’t know about you, but I’ve always thought a burger consisted of a patty AND a bun. The burger I received (with lettuce, tomato, cheddar cheese, pickles, and mayo) was bland and flavorless. My husband’s fish basket contained two small pieces of over-fried fish, with “hand cut” fries that could not hold a candle to the old Lakeshore Grill’s french fries.
We’ve enjoyed all of Cam Snyder’s properties – the Chubby Trout is one of our favorites, the Fat Tomato has a nice atmosphere and good food. The Lakeshore Grill was a popular place, and always crowded. The menu choices were always tasty and flavorful. We are extremely disappointed that the Snyders have chosen to destroy what was a full menu with lots of choices, and to alienate a clientele that was loyal. Unfortunately, we can’t really think of any reason to go back.
The reason I can think of to go back is that the restaurant hasn’t been open very long. I tasted a burger the day before the place officially opened, but I generally don’t go to a place too soon or make many judgements for the first while.
Cam Snyder has always been good about responding to feedback. I’m pretty sure he’ll pat attention to your comments and I’m sure he’d like you give them a second chance.
P.S. To call this a “Burger Joint” is a rather misleading. While they may serve a wide variety of burgers, I can honestly say mine was one of the worst burgers I’ve ever eaten. Period.
Is this kid friendly?
I’m pretty sure the place is 21 and over only, but I’ll double check.
It is kid-friendly. Just got the word from Cam Snyder.
I LOVED the Camwich at the old Lakeshore. I was disappointed that it is no longer on the menu. We were at Flipping Cow for lunch today and waited OVER an hour for our food! We were very disappointed.
Recently my husband and I tried to enter and dine at the Flippin Cow. However, we are both handicapped and the handicapped ramp was chained off with a sign saying, “Enter at the front entrance.” We drove to the other side of the restaurant and found only the one entrance with stairs to get in. Did we miss the handicapped entrance…or is there really none available in the winter?
Thank you.
We ate at the Flippin Cow today and what a disappointment. The food was cold and the hamburger did not fit the sour dough bread it got lost.
The garlic fries were so cold they were not even fit to eat and they were swimming in oil.
I will not go back there again.