The Counter

Friday, May 25, 2007
Lunch with Masashi

The Counter is one of my favorite casual eats in Palo Alto, and my favorite burger place out here along with In-n-Out. They are a "custom burger" joint, where you get to build your own burger from a 5-step menu where you check the kind of meat, how much of it (1/3 lb is the smallest and still pretty hefty), up to four toppings, sauce, and bun. You can specify how your meat is cooked too.

I go for the "burger in a bowl," another option on the checklist. Shown in the picture, it is basically a open-faced burger on top of a salad. The one here is 1/3 lb beef, medium rare, on greens with black bean and corn salsa, grilled onions, jalapenos, guacamole, and southwest caesar dressing. The guac is a +$1 topping so this is $8.99.

Also a must-have is their fries (regular and sweet potato) and onion strings. I happen to not eat fries, but my friends rave about them. The onion strings are amazing, super light and yummy. If you can't decide between the great options, you can get a "fifty-fifty" (shown left) with two of them. Comes with BBQ sauce, ranch and southwest caesar sauce.

Per their site-- "Anti-Established in 2003, The Counter® is the 21st century’s bold answer to the classic burger joint. " Started in Santa Monica, the feel of the place is southern California diner-ish. They have another one open in San Jose, and it looks like there are plans for a ton more, which I am looking forward to!

369 California Avenue, Palo Alto, CA 94306
(650) 321-3900