Sunday, August 7, 2011

A hearty lunch at The Counter

Sorry for the excruciatingly long break I've been taking from blogging! Between taking a short vacation, work, and play, most of my free time has actually been spent... sleeping and recuperating. With my busy summer break, however, I have been eating many delectable meals, and I can't wait to share all these places with you guys :) In particular, I recently ate at The Counter in Pasadena with my family.

As a celebratory meal for my mom's birthday, my mom wanted to try something a little more creative and different. The Counter fit the match with its "build your own burgers" (more on that later). The setting was also very comforting. Although very casual, the restaurant gave a very beach-y vibe, with it's outdoor seating, large windows, and aluminum chairs.

We started off with two intriguing appetizers: fried dill pickles and Parmesan french fries.

Fried dill pickles from The Counter.
Parmesan fries from The Counter.
My sister, a fan of fried pickles, told us that we had to try them, and so being the loving family members we are (haha), we ordered a plate of them. I... still don't know how I feel about them. The flavor wasn't very distinctly pickle-like, but rather, it was very ambiguous tasting, like it was trying to be sour, savory, and sweet at the same time. Very confusing.

On the contrary, I am in love with the Parmesan fries! I would order these over regular fries any day. I love the contrast between the smooth melting cheese with the crunchy crisp fries.

In addition to the appetizers, we ordered off the build your own burgers menu. We each got a small clipboard with a sheet of paper that gave options of meats, toppings, sauces, and buns that you could check off with a pencil. We all ordered the smallest patty, and even that itself was very huge. You could select up to a patty that was as heavy as a whole pound. Who does that?!? Pretty crazy :)

Customized burger from The Counter
I ordered a burger with blue cheese, tomatoes, lettuce, onions, and ranch dressing; just a pretty basic burger. I added blue cheese, because I remembered how good it tasted in a burger at Red Robin's, but unfortunately, when I ate it in my burger here, it was incredibly overpowering and was basically all I could taste from my burger. Also, I thought that the dressing I added would come already drizzled in the burger, but it came as a side, which I guess would be good for adjusting how much you might want to add, but I just found it a little inconvenient. Overall though, the patty was grilled to perfection, and the vegetables were fresh and crisp.

Here are the burgers that my brother and mom ordered:
My brother and his way of decorating his burger at The Counter.
My mom's burger topped with caramelized onions at The Counter. Yum!
I would definitely come back; I think it makes a very good lunch place. (But I'll probably skip out on the blue cheese next time!) The portions are pretty large though, so if you're not starving, you might end up taking home half a burger...

The Counter
140 S Shoppers Ln
Pasadena, CA 91101
(626) 440-1008

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