“Can’t believe you’ve never been cow tipping before! Get ready to live.”
— Chris Farley, “Tommy Boy”
Redmond, Wash., is so ready to live. The chain-reigned corridor of downtown Redmond has seen its fair share of corporately ran restaurants, some of the same eateries also seen at malls in Sacramento and Albuquerque. As its neighboring city to the west (Seattle) expands in the locally-owned, locally-sourced, Redmond has quietly been taking notes and now has opened in the form of the Tipsy Cow Burger Bar.
With 100 percent pasture-raised, all-natural grass-fed beef from Long Valley Ranch in central Oregon, hand-cut Kennebec fries (aka the ultimate restaurant hybrid potato for fries), daily delivered Macrina Bakery buns and 42 rotating taps largely featuring local producers, the Tipsy Cow is doing their part to put Redmond on the artisan culinary map.
Not their first rodeo (owners Keith Mourer and Dave Zimmerman also own Brix Wine Café in Kirkland, Wash.), the atmosphere is clean and contemporary yet comfortable, with the restaurant seating parties up to six on long high-top tables and smaller groups in cozy booths or at four-top squares. “Industrial but warm” was the goal according to Mourer, which is exemplified with the bar (already acquiring regulars with their choice seats), which runs a sterile, state-of-the-art tap system (that has its own walk-in cooler and two-line, private pump nitro) for 42 (and growing) handles.
The Tipsy Cow is centered around two things: burgers and beer. However, with only one month on the books, those might be the two main things they have mastered but hope is still on the horizon for this fledgling eatery with steadfast, hands-on ownership and an animated and attentive staff. Give ‘er time, evil Yelp reviewers.
Let’s talk burgers. Macrina buns? Great. Beef cooked to the customer’s specifications? Good. Toppings and variety? Impressive—from “The Market” (a sumptuous house made vegetarian patty of quinoa and chickpeas) to “The Winemaker” (a hefty beef patty topped with oozing triple cream brie, sweet caramelized Walla Walla onions, pleasantly crunchy alfalfa sprouts and drool-worthy white truffle aioli) or the “Big Eye” (seared rare Ahi tuna with crisp beer-battered fried nori, spicy-sweet purple cabbage slaw topped by wasabi aioli), there is a burger for anyone.
Let’s talk the beers. From mere miles away, breweries like Hi-Fi, Mac & Jack’s, Black Raven, Dirty Bucket and Triplehorn all hold their presence on the list, while love is still given to Seattle mainstays like Pike, Georgetown and more.
Needing something sweet to end the meal? Take heed, gluttons, you can have your bacon and deep-fry it too: the cooks behind the Cow take their daily selection of bacon, batter it with beer and fry it, served with maple syrup. Want to get your buzz on while sipping on a shake? The made-to-order boozy milkshakes will do the trick with a swift kick of spirits in your chocolate drink.
And if you are needing inspiration when faced with ordering decisions, channel the late great Thomas R. “Tommy” Callahan III (the iconic Chris Farley character) and read the quote written on a blackboard by the front door: “Keep your feet shoulder width apart, stay low between the udder and the hock, it’s a 32 option belly option on two-one-two.” And that’s how you tip a cow—that or go tap-handle surfing and beef-devouring at Redmond’s Tipsy Cow.
Tipsy Cow Burger Bar || 16345 Cleveland St., Redmond, WA || tipsycowburgerbar.com
Follow on Facebook: Tipsy Cow Burger Bar
Track on Twitter: @tipsycowredmond
