The Counter - New Burger Spot in Lakeview

As noted elsewhere, the new LA-based high-end hamburger establishment, The Counter, has opened on Diversey just west of Clark. I thought I would give the newest neighborhood spot a try and wasn't terribly impressed.

FOOD: Decent but nothing special. I ordered a 1/3 pound Turkey Burger in a Bowl (no bun, served on a bed of lettuce), and for $9.25 I could add one cheese (wanted Horsesradish Cheddar but they were out and had Tillamook Cheddar), four toppings (added three - grilled onions, olives and thin pickle slices) and one sauce (Sweet BBQ Sauce). In addition, I started with a bowl of Turkey Chili, served in one size - large - for $5.95.

The Chili was rather mild for my taste, with alot more tomatoes and corn than ground turkey. Rather disappointing. The Five-Way spot on Broadway south of Belmont is much superior.

The burger was an improvement over the Chili, nicely spiced and cooked Medium Well. The toppings and BBQ Sauce were uninspired. Again, another neighborhood spot, Duke's on Clark and Wrighwood, serves a much better turkey burger.

SERVICE: Despite having my Chili arrive about 90 seconds before my burger, I actually can't say enough about the service. With a team approach, the server seems to lose control of the process once the order is taken, and he had no idea that my two courses bumped into each other until he inquired how everything was for me. Without asking, he took my 1/4 eaten bowl of Chili off the bill. The spot was crawling with staff - servers, managers - all on top of things and making every effort to please. Understanding that they are new, I did notice a number of tables sending things back to the kitchen.

VALUE: None at all, and that probably was the biggest disappointment. The Chili, a 1/3 pound burger and a soda ran about $20 with tax, far too much for what was being offered. The feeling was one of being underwhelmed, but knowing that if any of the staff were my neighbors, we'd be great friends.

I doubt that I'll return, given better options in the neighborhood for the same menu, though in the early going they are busy. But with the competition in the neighborhood being what it is, if they don't get the kinks out that even great servers cannot control, they will struggle to survive.

The Counter - Custom Built Burgers
666 West Diversey
Chicago, IL 60657

773-935-1995
http://www.thecounterburger.com/

Is Counter Burger a sit down restaurant with a waiter/waitress? It sounds like from your description it is, but I am picturing a restaurant where you would walk up to a counter to place your order.

Despite the name, the restaurant is indeed a sit-down establishment with servers and a bar where one can eat, providing there is room and the 'counter' is not overtaken by those having a drink while waiting for their table.

Has anyone else given this place a shot? It's been oddly packed since it's opened, with lines out the door on occasion. My curiosity has yet to lead me to actually give it a try though.

That's a shame. I hear the LA chain is amazing.

Went here tonight. Nothing special. The best thing I can say about the place is that my burger that I ordered medium rare was a dead on perfect medium rare. The meat itself was pretty bland. For burgers with lots of stuff on them in the neighborhood, I'm sticking with Duke's.

Duke's
2616 N Clark St
(773) 248-0250

With deeply diminished expectations, I popped in here with the kids tonight just because we were at the Barnes & Noble a few feet away anyway. My D.D.E. were exceeded, modestly. I thought the burger was pretty decent, really-- meaty (the 1/3 lb. is plenty), cooked to a pink-middle medium, quality beef. I agree that the ten zillion things to put on it are hard to wade through until you realize that you'd never eat 90% of them on a burger anyway (maybe a turkey burger in some cases). Service was a little annoying at first, since just as I had figured out the categories I had to wade through, she appeared to explain the underlying concept to me, with complete redundancy. And it bugged me that mustard, though offered, did not turn out to be in her other hand or somewhere else which would allow instantaneous delivery, since it's guaranteed that you won't get it in what seems like a timely fashion when your burger is sitting there cooling. (I didn't, and had to ask for it again.) But it was all right otherwise. Fries are lame, frozen fries, weak Lawry's type seasoned salt, served in a wide plastic dish that ensures they cool rapidly. Still, I'm going to give them points for what was a pretty good burger, better than Epic Burger, for instance. I'm still waiting for a great gourmet burger chain, but I'll probably be back-- when I'm back at these bookstores or the Century movie theaters.

Mike G wrote:With deeply diminished expectations

. . . having read this thread, and yet, being hungry and having found a nearby parking place in a snowstorm, I visited West Hartford's The Counter yesterday. The place had been packed with a line out the door every time I had passed by on previous occasions, so I hoped the local iteration of the chain would have something to offer.

I went basic: 1/3 lb. burger ordered medium-rare with red onion slices, dill pickle chips and cheddar cheese on a hamburger bun. I ordered the fried onion strings, which I took off the patty and ate separately with the side order of fries.

Unfortunately, neither the individual elements of the burger, nor the experience of the gestalt met my moderate expectations. Bun was slightly dense and stale, cheese was not sharp, fried onions were cold, and the burger itself was cooked to medium-well, making it hard to discern the quality of the meat, few juices being left to soak the bun. Fries were undercooked and over-salted.

I recently wrote about red pepper relish, and I was surprised to see it offered at The Counter as a "sauce." What came was a stainless cup of what appeared to be ketchup, but which tasted strongly of celery salt, mustard seed, and had the overall texture of ketchup with a bit of sweet pickle relish stirred into it. I must admit that, silly as it seems, I was disappointed. Not a half-mile away, at Quaker Diner, they have Webber's Original, the real thing, locally made, and most likely, a better burger.

MikeG wrote:And it bugged me that mustard, though offered, did not turn out to be in her other hand or somewhere else which would allow instantaneous delivery, since it's guaranteed that you won't get it in what seems like a timely fashion when your burger is sitting there cooling

.
The absence of mustard on the counter bugged me, too. I almost always add my own scant 1/2 tsp. of mustard because in not doing it myself, I run the risk that all I will taste is mustard.

My complaint about the overdone burger was handled graciously, and the counterman comped my $3.50 (!!!) sparkling water with lemon and gave me a coupon for a discount on my next meal there. It's unlikely I'll use that coupon, with Harry's Bishops's Corner still on my list of places to visit.

However, in observing the families around me I did get a sense of why The Counter appears to resonate with people. It's not their burger-building concept, though that may get people in the door initially. From what I could tell, their appeal rests on two things: 1) the classic White-Castle-meets-California-chic decor, and 2) the place is not a tavern, (i. e. it is family-friendly), and adults can order a glass of beer or wine with their dinner. Is that enough? Not for me.

I had dinner at The Counter this past Friday, and I have to agree with the previous reviews: it was just okay.

Four of us walked in around 8pm, and the place was pretty packed; luckily were seated within 20 minutes.

We started with the onion straws and the fried pickles. The onion straws were a bit on the greasy side, and came with a few dipping sauces (ketchup, BBQ sauce, and one other one that I don't remember). The fried pickles were acceptable, which was kinda disappointing: I thought the combination of sour pickle slices & seasoned batter would be awesome...unfortunately, the pickles were quite bland, which killed the whole thing. The only thing I could taste was the batter. They came with ranch dressing for dipping.

I thought I'd get a spin on the "black & blue" burgers I've had a few times at other places around town, so I ordered a 2/3lb beef burger, medium rare, with danish blue cheese, bermuda red onion, black olives, spicy peperoncinis, and honey cured bacon ($1 extra), with roasted garlic aioli on the plain hamburger bun.

To their credit, they really nailed the medium rare - it was cooked perfectly, red & slightly warm in the middle, and hot on the outside with a nice sear. Unfortunately, the burger was not especially beefy-tasting, or anything-else-tasting for that matter, even after I scraped off most of the blue cheese.

And boy did the blue cheese need scraping; there was literally 4-5 tablespoons of blue cheese on it, formed into a kind of discus shape. The bacon was good, but the olives, onions & peperoncini were overpowered by the blue cheese. I should have known better.

I wouldn't be averse to giving them another shot if I'm in the area, only this time I think I'll try swiss cheese, grilled onions, sautéed mushrooms ($1 extra), and the honey cured bacon (also $1 extra). It'll be a pricey burger, but maybe a classic (and milder) combo will be more enjoyable, and will give me a chance to see if the beef is tastier than I gave it credit for.

However, I definitely don't think I'd specifically make a trip up to Lakeview just to go there.

I was there for lunch last week. I ordered the 1/3 lb burger, medium rare, grilled onions, swiss cheese, and tomato on a bun. My friend and I shared an order of fries. On seating, one gets a clipboarded form that lists meat types and sizes, bun types, cheeses, toppings, "deluxe" toppings, and maybe even music choices. I was overwhelmed and wound up ordering my regular cheeseburger.

The service, for a burger place, was outstanding -- attentive without stalking. Refills were brought for our drinks, even though we spent two hours at the table. (A lot of catching up to do.)

My burger, ordered medium rare, arrived medium rare and it tasted like beef*. The grilled onions had some nice seasoning on them that didn't overpower the burger's own flavor. The tomato was served under the patty so I didn't get that slimy tomato/cheese interface layer that can cause the patty to be ejected from the bun.

I'll go back.

*Good burgers taste like fresh beef. Popular fast food burgers taste like fried animal grease or flame-grilled animal grease, with varying degrees of freshness.

The original in Santa Monica is just amazing.....wonder if these are the same owners?

$15 for $30 offer from Groupon - http://www.groupon.com/deals/the-counte ... newsletter

As suggested above and on the website, this Fuddruckers for the New Millenium is a franchise that has grown from the original.

The one trendy LA burger joint that's becoming a chain I really liked is 25 Degrees. Good old fashioned stuff (mostly), well done.

i knew nothing about this place when i stopped by with a friend for lunch last sunday after a movie at the landmark theater. the place was attractive enough and the service was excellent, but the menu choices and the food were disappointing. for $8.50 i got a 1/3lb. burger cooked well, though i'd ordered it medium rare. i got choices of 4 toppings from a very boring list of options. the sweet potato fries were alright, but the french fries were not brown enough for me; a common problem. this place wasnt on my radar before my visit, and it is now off my radar for good. justjoan

For a burger in the neighborhood, Flub-a-Dub Chub's is your best bet. Duke's (the place I mentioned upthread) has really gone downhill.

Flub-a-Dub Chub's
3021 N. Broadway
Chicago, IL 60657
(773) 857-6500