Awhile ago, I posted about burgers comparing some of the finest that I've tasted in my short twenty some odd years of life (see August 11, 2007 entry). However, the times, they are achanging, and there's a new place in town, called The Counter. While it has not completely won my heart over (mostly because burgers start at about $8.50)they have an interesting concept.

In short, it's burgers, done the way you like 'em, exactly how you like 'em. For indecisive people this is hell. For the pickiest people this is heaven.

Here's how the menu works: you receive a clipboard listing the types of patties: (beef, veggie, turkey, chicken), in the lb. amounts you want (1/3 lb., 2/3 lb, 1 lb). THEN here comes the fun part, you get to pick what cheese you want: (feta, gruyere, american, goat cheese spread, etc.) AND THEN four toppings, ranging from grilled onions, to hardboiled eggs, to sauteed mushrooms. My favorite thing is the sauce options: BBQ sauce, roasted garlic aoli (hello? yum) , peppercorn steak sauce, soy ginger glaze.

If you're totally confused, this is what I'm talking about.

I ended up getting a beef patty on a bed of lettuce, with gruyere, grilled onions, some other toppings and such and it came out to $9.50. Pretty pricey in my opinon. While it tasted pretty good it wasn't amazing enough for me to do this often. The sweet potato fries, however, were amazing, and had I been able to eat a bucketload of fries I would have eaten them all.

In short: great, interesting place to take friends (they also serve beer)
Catch: kinda pricey/nicer than just-a-grab-a-burger-joint like In-n-Out

The Counter (locations)
Locations in Santa Monica, Corona, Irvine, Palo Alto
Also Texas and Florida

Labels: goodeats, ShoutsOfAdoration