The ordering process at The Counter is clever. After you're seated, the hostess gives you an order form to fill out, and then you hand it to the waitress. They call it "BYOB: Build Your Own Burger", and the selection of toppings and sauces is huge.
The possibilities for building your burger are pretty much endless, but I wanted to taste (and review) the burger, so I kept my toppings simple: bean sprouts, mayonnaise, tomato and lettuce on a multigrain bun.
Let me start by saying that I made two mistakes here. First, I ordered my burger cooked medium, and the center was so pink that I didn't feel comfortable eating it. My husband ordered his medium-well and the color was much more appetizing.
Second, I didn't order a regular hamburger roll. My roll was too thick and tasted like it wasn't quite fresh. Not stale, but not the soft roll I was expecting. Again, my husband went the sensible route here and got a regular hamburger bun, which was a much better choice.
That said, I didn't love this burger. It wasn't juicy at all, which didn't help the bun. I couldn't eat a large portion of the middle because it was undercooked. The sides of the burger, which were well cooked, were tasty, but I didn't feel the love in this burger. It wasn't terrible. But it just ... wasn't great.
In a way, The Counter reminds me of something I saw on Top Chef a few years ago. It was restaurant wars, and one of the teams decided to do a "high class diner" featuring "the best burger you've ever had." The judges didn't think that their burger was the best burger they had ever had. You know why? Because the best burger you'll ever have won't be cooked in a trendy, clean, high-concept place in a brand-new building. The best burger you'll ever have will be cooked on a dirty griddle in the back of a little shack in a small town somewhere.
The concept and styling of The Counter are very cool. But the food can't live up to the concept, and that's never a good thing.
