The Counter burger, it's a-coming. Santa Monica, CA

the masses

so... goaded by a friend (and by Erik M 's post), I realized I must eat at this joint before '08. After all, if Oprah says "The Counter" is the business, it must be good. And of course you want to wreck a good thing by franchising it to death in the next 24 months.

Product
"I" made a fine burger and my genius is obviously superior to Erik's: sharp provolone (brand unknown), caramelized onions, baby greens (arugula, etc.), tomatoes, over easy fried egg, garlic aioli. The garlic aioli wasn't too overpowering but instead added a fine dimension to a proper burger topped with only mayo. Running egg yellow, however, challenged the supporting properties of the brioche-like bun. This is an instance where Kuma's pretzel product could've lent a hand. Otherwise, "my" burger that needed nothing and was ready to be a benchmark for other burgers of the future.


the intelligent burger

Accessorials
after a 1/3 lb of Angus, i just didn't have the heart (or the gut) for sweet potato fries. the burger was already the climax for me and the shake a fine cigarette.

Thoughts
I hate this place. I hate the Santa Monica crowd. I hate the no U-return street this corner restaurant is located on. I hate the Caucasian woman who gave me the evil eye as I manhandled my sammie with my bare hands while drools of aioli rolled off my chin. I hate myself for enjoying such a fine product at such a despicable place. I hate the presumption under which the franchise will operate: people, given this many choices, make wise decisions. Case in point: the menu offers a "burger in a bowl" and people order it. It was obvious the menu wrecked havoc on the human psyche: "I" built-a-burger. My burger is better than your burger because, of course, I'm smarter than you. Just like I am a better driver than you. The multiple-choices force you to take possession of the process and immediately place you in cognitive dissonance. I wanted to shed my skin + shed the burger as soon as I walked out and I couldn't walk out fast enough.


the POS had a byline.. something about being the "ultimate" burger. ugh. the SMUGNESS.

Reminds me of the ill fated "The Butcher Shop" chain of cook-it-yourself steak places that opened, and then closed, a few years back. In that case, you got to choose your raw steak and then cook it communally over charcoal. I decided that A) I could do this at home without sharing the grill with a bunch of yahoos that didn't know how to properly cook a steak, and B) I bought better meat than they provided, though they had no problem charging me an exorbitant price.

It sounds like "The Counter" is a similar venture.