Design Your Own Burger at The Counter

Our group at work wanted a place to commemorate an achievement--our new website design just went live. I was lucky enough to have had a part in it--mainly gathering and updating specifications, and I'm quite proud of it.

So, we went to The Counter for drinks and burgers. What a place.

I have had fine hamburgers at other places, including the esteemed Buffalo Bill's Brewery in Hayward (California). But at The Counter, you can custom build your own. They give you an order sheet and an official The Counter golf pencil to fill it out. It's a mind-boggling custom building process.

First, pick your patty: Beef, Chicken, Turkey--or even veggie. There's something called Market Selection MP. I picked beef.

You can have 1/3 lb., 2/3 lb. or a full pound of meat--that weight is after cooking.

Have it on a bun or in a bowl, and if you opt for the latter, there are three different salad mixes.

Pick a cheese. There are 12 listed, including Herb Goat Cheese Spread, Horseradish Cheddar and Soft Ripened Brie.

Choose up to four toppings. Pick from 23 (!). There are also nine premium toppings (add a buck each). These include Applewood Smoked Bacon, Guacamole and even a fried egg.

Choose a sauce. 23 of those, too. Want Apricot Sauce? Dijon Balsamic Dressing? Peanut Sauce? Sun-Dried Tomato Vinaigrette?

If you want a bun (see above) you can pick from seven kinds. Whew.

If you can't figure out what you want there are a baker's dozen burgers--some in bowls--for you to point to.

I had a beef 1/3 pound burger on a Honey Wheat bun with marinated artichokes, Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa, and Sweet BBQ sauce. I think there was something else. It was fantastic.

The Counter has starters too--I sampled their sweet potato fries and crispy onion rings--and a fried dill pickle too. They've got plenty of beer on tap and it was happy hour, so they were discounted to just 3 bucks.

They claim 100% Natural Angus hormone and antibiotic free meat that's humanely raised and handled. It's hard to tell, but the beef patty I ate was fine. No trans fats, and the veggie burgers are vegan.

I'll be back! There are locations within driving distance in Northern California.