Extreme Hamburger Customization at The Counter

A friend asked me to meet them at some place called The Counter. I had no idea what they were talking about. All they would tell me is, it's hamburgers on crack.

Alright. I could not imagine what would constitute such amazingness. I mean there already was Red Robin that does a decent burger, but you can't really customize. I haven't been back since they had the audacity to eliminate my favorite burger, the Pizziola. But there is the issue of those fantastic thick steak fries that never end. That is a HUGE selling point. Have you had the garlic fries, so good.

Then there is Fuddruckers. Their burger is good. You can pretty much customize and they have an extreme condiment bar. You get your choice of size, etc but they're bankrupt and restructuring or something. That is bad hamburger mojo.

Don't get me started on In-N-Out that is just not in the running. There was once this great greasy joint in West LA called, "Mo Betta Meaty Meat Burgers." That place was slammin' and you can't say the name enough, it in and of itself inspires delight. The whole burger, steak fry, soda combo ROCKED!

So how good could The Counter be? What would they have to bring to the hamburger conversation? I was thinking it was going to be some shi-shi place that gave you a dinky burger with a wasabi-teriyaki sauce and called itself a new twist on burgers.

But I am here to testify that The Counter is this shiz. It is ultra modern and the burgers are big and juicy. You can choose a chicken, turkey, lamb, beef or veggie burger in your choice of size on your choice of bun, go old school with the sesame, healthy with whole wheat or get crazy with the market selection, the flavor of the month. This month its rustic ciabatta. Then you have your choice of 12 different cheeses (1 included), 21 different regular toppings (up to four included, more extra), 9 premium toppings and your choice of 21 different sauces (1 included, more extra). It is a choice overload. Kid you not.

I was dumb-founded. I had no idea what I wanted to taste. I thought about going with one of the pre-fixe burger choices, but that would be just silly.I had the beef burger with sharp provolone cheese, mixed organic greens, red onion and a delicious chimichurri sauce (market place selection) on rustic ciabatta bread. My friend got a beef burger with gruyere, carmelized onions and black bean/corn salsa on ciabatta. Each of our 1/3 burgers were about $10.00 given extra selections we requested. The ciabatta was a dollar up charge and fries are extra.

We split an order of 50/50 fries - skinny fries and sweet potato fries. The sweet fries were a bit bland but the zesty sauce that came with it made all the difference. I'm not a fan of the skinny fry but I'd get the sweet fries again, because of the sauce.

Total bill was about $30.00 with the drink. I loved it. It was a great treat! You could return a thousand times and never have your burger the same way twice. Think about the possibilities. I will be back!