The Counter is For People Who Think Toppings Make the Burger
The Counter, a burger restaurant from SoCal, opened right smack in the center of Times Square back in December. Our very own Zach gave us a sneak peek of what we would be expecting from The Counter in LA. In his write-up he got 2 burgers where 1 of them he went crazytown with (roasted green chilies, grilled pineapple and onion strings?!) But how does the NYC version stack up- especially considering its Times Square location (surrounded by a whole host of TGIF type of restaurants.)
So as I sat inside The Counter in Times Square going over the menu, I thought about how I vowed never to eat in Times Square. (The things I do for this blog!) It probably took me a good 10 minutes to go over what 4 toppings to pick. Do I want sprouts and hard boiled egg with blue cheese and peanut sauce or salsa and black olives with Greek feta? It was fun coming up with weird combination and hoping they actually taste good. I ended up getting a 1/3 beef burger, cole slaw, dried cranberries, tomato, grilled onions, yellow American cheese, mayo with a regular hamburger bun.
So what I got was just meh. There weren’t enough cranberries to give any sweetness to the burger and the grilled onions were pretty forgettable. I was hoping they put the cole slaw (which tasted pretty standard) in the burger but instead they put it into a tiny cup. The 1/3lb beef patty was medium rare just like the waitress said but it needed seasoning. For $8.95 I’m not sure if this is worth a trek up to Times Square.
Oh and you want fries with your burger? It’ll be couple bucks extra which puts you over the Midtown Lunch range. My bill came out to be around $12 without tips.
Mandatory burger innard shot.
Of course if you REALLY want a great burger, just walk over to 8th Ave for either Schnipper’s or Shake Shack. But if toppings are your thing, there are more than enough to make The Counter a fun experience.
Have you been? If so what are some of your crazy burger creations?
The + (What somebody who likes this would say)
- I get to build my own burger? Cool!
- I like regular fries & you like sweet potato fries. No problem. Get a “Fifty-Fifty”.
- So many choices for toppings.
The – (What somebody who doesn’t like this place would say)
- I hate making decisions, just give me a plain burger. What? You don’t have that here?
- I hate Times Square.
- There are cheaper and better burger options elsewhere.
The Counter, 7 Times Square (btw 41st+42nd St), 212-997-6801
Posted by Donny T. at 12:00 pm, February 23rd, 2011 under The Counter.
9 Comments | RSS comments feed for this post
9 Comments
-
-
I have not been here so I have no bias, but part of the reason you might not have liked your burger is because of your toppings. Cranberry??? Cole Slaw with additional mayo? Whenever I try a place like this (a la Five Guys) I tend to choose more generic toppings first to get an idea of what it’s like. The pics look awesome.
Were the fries any good? What about the bun?
-
I can’t stand their burgers. The meat is cooked properly but there I have a feeling its a 93/7 blend and there is no seasoning on it whatsoever. I have never had a burger cooked medium rare come out so dry and disgusting as I have had here TWICE. Yea thats right, I gave them two chances.
-
Your dad is going to weigh in again any moment now….
-
-
It is definitely lean beef. If that really bothers you, than Counter is not the place for you….However, I thought their sauted onions did a nice job and certainly didn’t find the total package to be dry.
-
Thanks for the sauteed onions comment. I was a cook there for 2 years. The burger with sauteed onions, raw onions, tomato, lettuce and Cheddar cheese was the fav at the Counter in Santa Monica where I worked. And, just so you know, the beef was 8.2 beef. “Nothing lean about it.” And if you’re ordering it well done? Then you are ordering it burnt. The beef was Angus fresh, not frozen with no hormones, grass fed and delicious. Are cash register told the story. Those burgers were money. And if any of you got something that was not, you should have complained to corp. Most chefs will tell you that meat that is not pink inside is crap! You loose all the flavor of what it should taste like. Even the bible says, give me those fatty meats! Sorry. It’s just, if Kane and able fought for it? God clearly took sides. Whine and bread is for poor students visiting Italy. God wants to eat some goodness!
Scripture aside, give me those fatty meats was not the exact quote, but the moron who started this narration by stating: If you think burgers are about the toppings, then this might be your place? Again, not an exact quote, but still douchey enough to sound like him. Seriously? What a douche. Who likes there burger without anything? Try going to in and stay a while and ask for a meat pie. I don’t want all that stuff! Just give me a couple of patties! Hmm! Let me know how good it taste without the Velveeta and the smokey island dressing? Love to all.
-
-
Donny, cranberries have no place in or on top of a burger.
I say good day, Sir!
-
Hahaha the cranberries, like I said it was for fun. They offered it so why not?
@username303 the fries were just like McDs fries.
-
Can I get some chicken ass on my burger?
With extra mayo of course
I loved it when i had it for free. If it wasn’t in times square, i’d go a lot more….