Encountering the Counter - CLOSED

The Counter

6416 Irvine Blvd.

Irvine, CA 92620

The Counter is one of those places that you always hear about. I have been here once before, but this was before I started my blog. I had meant to come back sooner and blog about it, but the opportunity had never come up until now. We have really been on a burger kick lately. We have been to Slater's 50/50, Five Guys, Bravo Burger, and Fuddrucker's within the last month, so it was the perfect time to compare The Counter to the other burgers.

The Counter has been around since 2003. Since then, they have expanded to nine other states and even opened restaurants in Ireland. Their next wave of expansion is taking them to the Middle East, where they plan on having three units in operation by the end of the year. There has to be a reason for this expansion. Let's see if it is the food.

We arrived at The Counter at six on a Wednesday night. I was expecting a wait, but we were seated right away. The decor here strikes me as very sterile but with a hip vibe. You are seated with a clipboard to help you build your perfect burger. You get to choose the type of burger, size, toppings, cheese, and sauces that you want on your burger. They have just about anything you could imagine for a burger. They did the math, and with all their ingredients, you could have a different burger every day for the next 312,000 days. That is the equivalent of 854 years. Of course, eating all those hamburgers would probably decrease your odds of living to 854 years old, but what a way to go!

To start our meal out, we got a few side items. We selected French Fries, Crispy Onion Strings, and Sweet Potato Fries. Honestly, none of us were in love with any of these sides. The fries were average, the onion strings were bland, and I am not a fan of sweet potato fries anywhere. However, my dining companions felt that the sweet potato fries were the best, so I will defer to their opinion about these.

Now, the reason we are all here is the burgers. Up first is Ryan's creation. He wanted blue cheese, bacon, red onion, spicy pepperoncini, roasted corn, black bean salsa, and chipotle aioli, all on a wheat bun. Ryan quickly gobbled up this interesting burger. He felt the burger was full of flavor and enjoyed the bun.

Richard was very amped to try the Counter, and after some deliberation, he chose this as his burger. He went with herb goat cheese spread, red onion, lettuce, tomato, bacon, and roasted garlic aioli. Richard had no problem putting this burger away. He really enjoyed this burger but felt this burger was good because of the high quality of the toppings.

I went for a more traditional approach to my hamburger. My two-thirds-pound burger was topped with grilled onions, bacon, cheddar cheese, red onion, and mayonnaise. This was a very juicy burger, to say the least. I ordered this medium, and that is the way it came out. The toppings on this were definitely high quality. The meat was good but could have been seasoned a little more.

Katie's burger of the night was a multi-grain bun with guacamole, fried egg, grilled onions, roasted red peppers, roasted green chili, queso fresco, and chipotle mayo. She really enjoyed this self-named "Mexican omelet burger." The guacamole really stood out for Katie. She also felt that the toppings at the Counter were fresh and helped make this a superior burger.

Every month at The Counter, they have a shake of the month, and while we were here, it was the Churro Shake, and Richard could not resist it. Little pieces of churro were sprinkled into this vanilla-based shake. Richard felt this shake had a subtle flavor but was really good and creamy.

To finish our meal, we also got a Caramel and Chocolate Brownie Sundae. The brownie was very chewy, which I like. I would get this again, but ask for more ice cream. There was not nearly enough ice cream for the size of the brownie that they gave us.

So you ask, how does The Counter rate among the titans of the hamburger world? I liked The Counter. I feel that what makes them good is their high-quality toppings. Do I like them more than Slaters? No. The burgers at Slater's are a little more inventive. Unfortunately, the meat at The Counter can not stand on its own like Slater's (maybe because the meat at Slater's is half bacon, which can never be a bad thing). I am not dogging on The Counter, though. I would definitely return. I did have an excellent experience here, and there is always room in my hamburger repertoire for more than one burger place.

Out of five Formica countertops (for obvious reasons), five being best to zero being worst, The Counter gets 3 Formica countertops.

For more information on The Counter, click here: http://www.thecounterburger.com/