Review: Flip Burger Boutique

At a time when restaurants are struggling, when many people’s dining budgets are severely curtailed, it’s quite a feat to be the guy who’s drawing a two-hour wait on a Monday night.

That guy is Richard Blais, molecular gastronomist, reality TV star, inventor of the foie gras milkshake, and now, purveyor of hamburgers so pedigreed they require a “boutique” to sell them.

Flip Burger Boutique is Blais’ first project since leaving Tom Catherall’s Home, where he stopped by for a while after almost winning Bravo’s “Top Chef.” There’s a vast difference between Home’s forced nature and boring Buckhead sensibility and Flip’s freewheeling nuttiness. Located on a congested strip of Howell Mill Road between tire shops and used car lots, Flip’s clean modern lines and playful aesthetic are apparent before you even turn into the parking lot. Once inside, it’s obvious that fun is the objective.