Bip’s Broiler

RIP Bips. Had many, many good times there. Hope to have more good times at their late location. Only been to the new Bluefin Thai food place once; will review when I’ve tried more of the menu.

Love Bip’s but went by the other day for lunch and it’s gone. Replaced by some new Thai restaurant that will be opening soon. :(

A greasy spoon with sticky counters. If that isn’t the American way, then I don’t know what is…
Stopped in here recently as I continue my quest for the perfect patty melt. The version here isn’t bad, but my search will have to go on. The burger was compact, and the meat didn’t impress. The fries were good and plentiful. Everything here probably came from Jetro down the street…
The staff is friendly, as are the prices here. Neighborhood spots like these are a dying breed; here’s hoping East Enders continue to support this place…

Bip’s is a cheap hole in a grocery eatery. just a grill, a counter, and a few tables.
sampling: ¹⁄₃ hamburger (5.95) with choice of side
–ordered medium rare, got naked medium burger (no condiments), slice of red onion, tomato, lettluce and a piclke.
burger above average, ingredients fresh
–cole slaw,
vinegary, chewy, plenty of it
foodnotes:
–cheap food. quality above average
–fish & chip (7.25) looks inviting
–smiling, courteous, fast service.,

Good burgers, great portions. Fries are very good. For me, the location is great cuz it is near my house. I will admit I don’t go often enough as I usually am looking for something than a grill/​burger place. They have some great specials and the service is excellent. I’d recommend it.

Yum is the operative word here! Bip’s, located in the corner of the crazily overpriced Encinal Market, makes possibly the best burgers in Alameda. Its original ‘50s interior is priceless, the food is top notch, and everyone who works there is very nice in a genuine way. Better Half and I have eaten many a lunch here (cash only, order at the front counter and your food will be brought to you) and every time we’ve walked — or waddled — away very satisfied. Burgers, fish and chips, hot and cold sandwiches — all have been excellent. And the french fries! Second to none!
Unfortunately, Bip’s has a for-​sale sign in the middle. I hope it doesn’t end up another cruddy Chinese restaurant or a bad diner run by people who don’t know what they’re doing but just want to make some quick money. But until that happens, Saturday will often find us eating Bip’s gut-​busting burgers — and loving them all.

I did not intend to go to Bip’s, but it was a last resort and I was hungry. However, it turned into a pleasant surprise with the food.
I seated myself at the counter and the young lady standing by the register collected my order of a cheeseburger with some cole slaw. I also requested water as my drink. The waitress /​cashier pointed across the room to a water pitcher and some plastic cups and told me to «help myself». Uh oh I thought, here we go downhill.
My cheese burger arrived nice and hot, better than I expected. Surprisingly the cole slaw was the big winner. «Made fresh every day» they said and it showed. It was very good.
I noticed some local regulars ordering some pretty hearty looking dishes with meat potatoes and gravy. They appeared to be in a happy karma state of mind.
In summary, I may go back. The food was pretty good, but the service is quirky at best.

Great old fashioned burgers and fries — hey it’s a small little greasy spoon diner that fits the ticket, plus not jam-​packed like other places, and out of the way — great place, come and check it out!

This place seemed to have potential from the looks of it, but it turned out to be depressing, overpriced, and just overall bizarre. Went for breakfast and I think I irritated the person working the register because I was unaware at this diner that you needed to order and pay before you sit down. I didn’t like that… made me not feel at home as soon as we stepped in.
Food was super greasy and there was no real service. It was not friendly in there… just everybody keeping to themselves and it was just strange and quiet in there. I just didn’t like it.
With a bit more service and less grease (I like grease, but über grease is just too much), and the ability to get a hot chocolate and water in something other than a dixie paper cup, I could see myself giving an extra star or two.

I dropped by one day because it was close and a friend had recommended it. This is the last time I take that friends food recommendation.
You too could open a Bip’s Broiler. How you ask?
Go to any industrial food vendor.
Get their cheapest frozen hamburgers and french fires. Pick up some cheap canned chili and school cafeteria cheese. Water down your soda’s and there you are.
I hate fast food but, if nothing but Bip’s and Burger King were open, I’d starve.
Sorry, these people are not even trying.

Burgers that scream like a little girl. Plus I dig the authentic McCarthy era vibe. I half expect to look up to find Kruschev banging his shoe on the table demanding more ketchup or to see James Dean come breezing in and start acting all alienated and disaffected ‘n shit.
I’ve been meaning to get more red meat and fried food in my diet, so I plan on putting Bip’s Broiler into heavy rotation.
See you in cardio, baby.

Bip’s is awesome! You cant find friendlier staff and the food is to die for! Every time I go, I try something different, and never have I been disappointed. I read some of the negative reviews. and all I have to say to the «need fancy mustard guy» is «Pardon me. do you have any Taste Buds??» Simple pleasures people! Simple pleasures.

There are some definite pluses to Bip’s Broiler:
1) It’s called Bip’s Broiler, which is just an awesome name, so that helps
2) It’s cheap — too often these days you see greasy spoons charging gourmet prices
3) Compared to Olé’s and Jim’s it’s really easy to get a seat in Bip’s despite the small size.
One big problem with Bip’s is the energy in the place — whereas Olé’s is bustling, lively, and friendly, Bip’s is sluggish and lackadaisical. The food isn’t amazing enough to make up for this ambiance problem — it’s just your basic greasy spoon food with nothing particularly notable about it. You order at the counter, a waitress brings food to table, but then you have to get up and get utensils/​water/​sugar/​cream yourself — the system is peculiar, a tad annoying, and really unnecessary. The place is so tiny, there’s no advantage to not having table service.
If you like large portions, you’ll be in hog heaven here: the combo breakfast includes 2 eggs, choice of meat, big pile of hashbrowns, 2 full-​sized pancakes, and toast for $ 7.95. It may not sound like that much food in print, but it comes on 3 plates and includes 3 different carbs. It’s huge.
I can see loving this place if, for whatever reason, it happens to hit you just right. But for me, if I’m looking for a straight-​up greasy spoon breakfast, I’d rather be at Olé’s or Albert’s.

Visit: December 2008. (Yeah, I’m a slacker. Sue me.)
The Great Parts:
–The cook used to work for a local, well-​known seafood restaurant for over 20 years. The quality of the seafood speaks for itself. The frywork was lovely and the fish was of decent quality for the price.
–The Salsibury steak was FABULOUS. Like drop-​dead yummy with sinful mashed potatoes. Clearly the cook has been around a kitchen for a long time. We actually took it home because we couldn’t eat it AND the burgers we had ordered. (I have a small appetite.) It was charming that he came over and asked if anything was wrong when we had barely touched the plate. He was offended that we weren’t eating it. The BF was quick to reassure him that we were simply saving it because the burgers weren’t going to hold out as well.
–The French onion soup was also lovely. The stock was nice and beefy, clear and with a nice fresh herbal flavor. Not too salty and very rich. The BF wanted to buy it by the quart when making his own beef stew, and he’s one picky mutha.
–The portions were generous.
The not-​so-​great parts:
–The burgers were clearly pre-​fab patties. They didn’t taste bad, but it seemed weird that they’d use them when such care had been put into the entrée. I don’t need Niman Ranch, but I’d like something hand-​formed and seasoned. The fries were ok. Nice, not thrilling.
–Same comment about the teen-​aged help. Lotsa texting, no eye contact. The front-​end partner did all the work, which was fine since we were in-​between rushes. I hope they aren’t paying her much.
–Closes at 7:30. Makes a non-​early bird dinner a bit of a pain.
Final Impression: It’s a promising diner. Go for the seafood and the entrees. Burgers are just *meah*. Owners are clearly old friends doing this as a second start and that’s also charming. Menu is a bit more limited than some place like Tillie’s or Jim’s, but they rock the seafood.

My review reflects breakfast only as I’ve never eaten anything else here.
Breakfast is awesome here. Huge American portions to make you fat. And small price. There is nothing fancy here. You won’t get any creative Pork Store café scrambles or fluffy Belgian waffles with froo froo topings.
But if you want bacon, eggs, hashbrowns and pancakes this place is awesome! very fresh and very cheap. No line.

Sunday, Monday, Happy Days.
Tuesday, Wednesday, Happy Days.
Thursday, Friday, Happy Days.
Saturday, What a day,
Groovin’ all week with you.
After making my weekend carnivorous butchers run to Scalise and Sons, I decided to give Scalise’s neighbor Bip’s Broiler a try for lunch the other day. I usually patronize Mona’s Table across the parking lot, but Mona’s was jam-​packed with Fernside Jog Stroller Mothers (FJSM’s) and it was uncomfortably warm in the restaurant as well. Bip’s had just thinned out its lunch crowd so I bopped over to Bip’s and had a look at their menu.
Oh Happy Days! This is definitely the 50’s diner diet. This is also definitely not the place to come if you are watching either your sodium or cholesterol intake. I think my arteries started to harden a little just by reading their menu. They have assorted burger and sandwich options. They even have a Salisbury steak sandwich. Marion Cunningham and June Cleaver would be proud of Bip’s selections. I settled on the grilled reuben sandwich special along with a bowl of their homemade potato cauliflower soup of the day.
As I waited for my lunch, I checked out the restaurant. It’s definitely a quaint little retro diner-​style place. It’s fairly small with several booths and counter-​style seating. There is is a soft-​serve ice cream machine and they serve fountain drinks.
My reuben arrived piping hot. The corned beef that they used in it was very thick and tasted good. The cheese was thoroughly melted. My only issues were that the grilled rye bread was a little on the oily side and there was a bit too much sauerkraut for my tastes. I was very happy that they put the thousand island dressing on the side since it could have made the sandwich soggy.
The cauliflower and potato soup was pretty good and clearly homemade. It was not the gourmet-​quality that Mona uses to create her soup across the way, but this soup was basic comfort food. Everything was also a little salty for my tastes, but I’d like to try this place again with my kids and try their burgers and fries. We’ll have to arrange for an early dinner since Bip’s closes at 7pm.
Food: 3 stars
Service: 4 stars. The waitress was very cheerful and friendly
Ambiance: 3.5 Oh Happy Days!

Every time I think I find something on the menu that looks really good, it turns out to be a serious letdown.
The grilled cheese is white bread and rubbery American cheese (gag).
The milkshakes aren’t even real milkshakes; just soft-​serve with a lumpy thickening powder in it.
The fries are often lukewarm.
Even the potato salad can look a little rank sometimes.
I’m not sure where everyone’s getting this idea that it’s got a ‘great vintage vibe’, because the whole atmosphere feels very hokey. There is nothing authentic about it. May I direct the jury’s attention to exhibit A: the giant cardboard cutout of James Dean by the door.
I should probably stop where I am right now, because I have a feeling I’ll be coerced into eating there many more times in the future by my boyfriend’s family, and I don’t want the owners to have reason to hunt me down should they ever come across this.

Neat place, food is very basic, but its almost no different than a backyard bbq without the backyard. This is the place where you want to organize a night on Fonzi’s Bike or appear in you ’55 Belair. Have a ducktail, own a leather jacket, can get the saddle shoes off the shoe tree? Then make sure your fuzzy dice don’t get lipstick on it. Go for the atmosphere and order a shake.
They certainly go for fresh food.

I did very well with the «bleu bird» chicken sandwich and green salad with carefully-​placed diced/​quartered tomatoes. The two owners were very friendly once we bonded on the topic of vintage cars (bigtime fans of 50’s-60’s Detroit there). These guys rented this place on a quiet Alameda corner, gutted it, and restored it to 50’s diner glory, down to the authentic seating and plateware.
I think that all you cool retro cats in Alameda with vintage cars should have a «rumble» at Bip’s. It’s perfect!

I am giving Bip’s a rating and I have never even eaten there! I hope thats not being unfair, because I do plan to go back and actually order something. I will edit my review if I need to after that, but I am hoping it will live up to my hopes for it.
Some friends and I found Bip’s Broiler last night while walking our dogs (so we couldn’t go in). But I had to rate it anyhow, because I just love how its built into the front of the Encinal Shopping Center (with it’s rad Googie-​esque Signage) and it looks probably just like it did 50 years ago. It looked clean, and oh-​so cute with its horseshoe shaped counter and 1950’s booths. Even the NAME is great.
As I wrote this, (at work), a 40-​something friend who grew up in Alameda told me that this place has been a burger place for as long as he can remember – before its current incarnation as Bip’s it was the Burger Orchard (?) and before that it was a burger place too. Apparently the people who own it now (as Bip’s) recently bought it and cleaned it up to look more classically 1950’s. Thats not nearly as thrilling as finding an original 1950’s spot still doing business, but its still pretty interesting. The menu looked good… classic choices. I will get back to this after I eat there…
**** UPDATE 2÷08÷2006 ****
I ate at Bip’s for lunch. It isn’t as good as I’d hoped it would be. The fries were of the most medicore frozen variety (and seasoned with something kinda reddish *& yucky-​seasoning salt?). They weren’t tasty or crispy. Just blah. The burger was just OK. Not delicious. The meat seemed to be that pre-​formed type of gray looking kind you can buy in bulk at Smart & Final or Costco. How hard is it to make your own patties and season them a little? I was not impressed at all. In fact, I was quite disappointed.
If you need to eat a burger in Alameda, I’d stick with Olé’s…the meat is way tastier, and seems fresher, and the fries are basic, but GOOD. You can get a cheeseburger and fries at Olé’s for about $ 3.00 less than at Bip’s. I hope the owner (s) read this… because it’d be a shame to see such a cute place go away just because they didn’t try hard enough.