5.24.2010

the counter

I've heard a lot about this chain burger place in Carlsbad called The Counter. Curiosity got the best of me so I drove up to check it out.

The concept is similar to Which Wich, where you get to customize your burger based on a picklist. You pick the size of burger, a cheese, up to four toppings, a sauce, and a bun.

I'm a little bit of an Alton Brown burger purist (cheese and mayo only), so this was a little weird. It's kind of nerve racking, because you are constantly wondering if topping x will go with topping y (and z). Or if the topping will make the actual burger all together. I was paralyzed for a moment, but decided fuggit, and just ordered what I felt like at the moment, compatibility be damned.

I went with 1/3 lb patty, blue cheese, spicy sour cream, scallions, olives, green chiles, jalapenos, and a regular bun. They were more than happy to cook it medium-rare. Actual medium-rare, not medium-but-called-medium-rare most places do.



I know it sounds like it would be nasty, and it probably looks nasty, but somehow this hot mess of a burger totally worked. All the ingredients, the meat, the bun Really, really good. I just wish there was one closer.

What didn't work were the fries (not bad, just nothing special), the mix on the soda (too much carbonated water), and the music. As much as I enjoyed getting the burger down, hearing Snow's "Informer" and Maroon 5 almost made my lunch come up.

3 comments:

  1. Anonymous07:49

    dude, i'm not one to preach about eating meat. i'm from memphis for god's sake. you are really taking chances with a hamburger that rare! you can get e. coli and other diseases from that. check this article from the ny times.

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  2. Anonymous10:26

    oops. here it is:

    http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/04/health/04meat.html?_r=1

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  3. Thanks for the link. Interesting stuff for sure. What I've found is that places that can source their meat and have faith in the tend to be more willing to cook a burger on the rare side. The new trendy of high end burger joints are always bragging about their methodology in choosing meat suppliers. I'm sure this is 90% PR bullshit, but I think there is a grain of truth to it. In-N-Out does medium-rare, most chains do not, because their beef is crap. If I am going to eat a Cargill-type patty, I will be cooking the shit out of it.

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