Restaurant Review: The Counter

Yay for Christmas shopping! Well, I should say, ‘Yay for a whole day away with Dave!’ We really did need to get in some last-minute shopping, but what I looked forward to the most was just hanging out with him.

I’ve been buying a few deals the last couple of months through Living Social and Groupon. If you don’t know about those, google those names when you have a minute. You just sign-up and customize your location, and then you get a daily deal offer emailed to you. I’ve mostly bought food deals, but I also got a great deal on a haircut and facial. Can’t wait for that one!

Yesterday the plan was to head down to The Counter in Ballard, which claims to have been “Anti-Established in 2003” and which bills itself as “the 21st century’s bold answer to the classic burger joint.” I had a coupon for $30 worth of food, which I paid only $15 for when I bought the daily deal. As soon as you sit down, they bring you “the clipboard.”

You choose from four regular proteins (beef, chicken, turkey or veggie burger), or a couple of special (and more expensive) market selections, like bison. And something else. Can’t remember. Then you choose a cheese–and that’s where it gets hard, in my opinion. How do you pick between Danish Blue, Horseradish Cheddar, Softened Brie and Jalapeno Jack? Those were the four I kept darting between, although I had eight other choices. The sauces aren’t easy, either. Garlic Aioli. Basil Pesto. Hot Wing Sauce. It was a decision nightmare, I tellya. What was easier was choosing from the toppings. They had me at “sprouts and tomatoes.”

So in the end, I chose a small beef burger on a focaccia bun (you could choose to have it in a bowl or on a bun) with Danish blue cheese, garlic aioli, red onions, sprouts and tomatoes. And for a side, I opted for a small plate of Rosemary-Parmesan fries. OMW. I would go back just for those fries.

So, right off the bat, I took off half the bread. That’s just a lotttt of bread, and it was all piled so high I couldn’t have taken a bite otherwise. Didn’t miss it.

Dave ordered his with garlic aioli, jalapeno jack, applewood smoked bacon, and … and … other stuff. I wasn’t really thinking about his hamburger, to be honest. But here’s a picture:

He ate it all, plus his order of regular fries, plus about 3/4 of my Rosemary-Parmesan fries. I did my best, but here’s as far as I got:

It looks like I must have been flinging my arms all about my red onion had a mind of its own.

I think we’ll go back. I mean, we should. There’s a possible 312,120 burger combinations. That’s going to take a few visits.

Turned out to be a good thing I couldn’t finish my lunch, because I was ready for some Red Mango when we arrived at the Alderwood Mall a couple of hours later. Dave opted for Madagascar Vanilla, but I had a perfect bowl of Pomegranate w/a sprinkling of coconut. Love. Red. Mango.

We ate this while sitting in the middle of the mall and ogling people for a half an hour. You can do a lot of good people-ogling at the Alderwood Mall.

Came home to split pea soup, which is always a good thing to come home to. I’ll post the recipe for that later today … off to a meeting!