A Bastion of Hope

As promised --

Kicking off this exciting weekend was an exciting trip to The Counter, a burger joint at the corner of 29th and Ocean Park in Santa Monica. There are franchises all over Southern California and smattered around the rest of the country. The Counter is an experience in and of itself. While waiting for a table (which you always will have to do) you are given a clipboard and check-able menu.

You customize everything about your burger. The type of meat (includes a veggie option). The size of the patty, 1/3 lb, 2/3 lb, or 1 lb behemoth. Four toppings of 18 possiblities. A cheese from 10 options. Your choice of sauce. And the type of bun. To get an idea of what these options are, look here.

Now this may all sound fun and exciting -- what a novelty, you can check off what you want to make, but really the burgers are AMAZING. I can not explain how delicious these burgers are. They are king of all burgers. When you take that first bite (which normally requires a knife and fork for anything 2/3lbs or bigger) you won't be able to put it down. The patty melts on your taste buds. All other burgers will be compared to this single experience. Sure. It sounds like I am exaggerating. Sure. Everyone claims to have had the best burger. But let me tell you -- I went there twice last week. TWICE. Because there were people in town who wanted to try the best burger in the world. Both of them left satisfied. And preaching the word.
This is yours truly enjoying a 1/3 lb burger, with Tillamook cheddar, fresh lettuce and tomato, jalapenos, spicy pepperoncinis, and healthy slab of honey cured bacon. All on a honey wheat bun.

Yes SassyKathy, you can visit me just to try this burger. I won't be offended.

PS - the 50/50 regular and sweet potato fries are amazing too!