THE COUNTER

www.thecounterburger.com

30990 Russell Ranch Rd
Westlake Village, CA 91362

(818) 889-0080

OVER PROMISING BUT UNDER DELIVERING

I have alway been in search for the perfect burger. Who hasn't. That ratio between what it tastes like and what it's worth has always been at the core of any food hunt.

Even if you've been here you may want to rethink what the perfect burger is.

The perfect burger to me is unforgettable. It should be something that keeps coming to mind every time you try a new burger. It should ruin you for other burgers. No other will do.

Let's get right to it. It scores high in Ambiance. The decor was very cool and the set up was done right. It flows right to the bar where they have LCD's going with sports. The outdoor patio is packed and you would think the whole town must be here. Large windows let a lot of light in but the high ceilings add to the spacious feeling you get upon entering. To say they put some money into this place is an understatement.

But to say they met up to the challenge is sadly not true.

I came in and mentioned to the girl who seated us that I have never been here before and want to know whats good. She mentioned a shake that I will get to later. But the service was a little slow to come over and even slower to bring our food and even slower to pick up the bill with our money and cards.

SERVICE:

They got a lot of orders wrong.

Erik: Came on time but wrong. They gave him the wrong sauce. They also forgot his fired egg in his burger.

Koen: Came on time and correct.

Harry: On time but wrong. Wrong cheese.

Kim: It was correct but VERY LATE.

Grace: Hers was the worst of all. They put bacon on her burger. (She ordered the Veggie burger and she's a vegetarian. We're lucky she doesn't freak out about stuff like that.

Juan(Mine): Correct but SUPER DUPER LATE! I did say something about it and gave them time to fix the problem. They ended up bringing it out and they comped the three different fries we ordered but the experience was already burned into my memory. This was not the best burger experience I have ever had.

THE SIDES:

We ordered both of their fries and some onion rings. they had a seasoned skinny fries and tasty skinny sweet potato fries. The onion rings tasted great but did not look like the traditional onion RING. they were onion strings. I'm not a big fan of onion strings when the price dictates that these should be the best I've ever had. I could have gotten these at Wood Ranch on top of a steak at no extra charge and the steak would have been worth it.

The skinny fries are better at McDonalds but most fries are, and you could hardly taste the seasoning. They were good but I thought they were a bit expensive. The Sweet Potato fries are worth it. Not a lot of places have them so this makes them a unique find. Buying advice. Order 1 basket and share.

THE BURGER

The decision that I came to about their burger bothered me for a lot of reasons and for awhile before writing this up. But mainly I just didn't get it. It tasted okay. Even after all the hype and the really nice location I just didn't find a great taste in the burger. I have had better burgers that didn't cost an arm and a leg. (The RANCH for one). By the time I got my burger my hankering was over and it became a need to eat not a want to eat. So it had a lot going against it right from first-bite.

I mentioned what went wrong earlier and you might think 'it could happen to anyone'. Yes it could, but I should mention that this place let's you BUILD YOUR OWN BURGER. you use a list of items you can check off with a pencil and they give this to the cooks in the back. So to say they couldn't read someone's writing would be true in most cases but not here. All you had to do is look at the check marks and build it that way for the customer. They messed up more that they got right. And the how do you explain two out of six burgers late and then superlate? We were a big enough table that they should have paid close attention. Plus there is the part about me mentioning to them that most of us, especially me, have not been here before. You would think they would really try to make a good impression on us so we would return. A bad experience is still a bad experience and no amount of free fries can save that.

But I digress. The burger can be order to taste and to size. Their unique concept of burger weight is for after it's cooked. you can order from 1/4 pound, 3/4 pound and 1 Pound. Yes you read correctly. Their largest burger weighs 1 pound after it's been cooked.

Order the smallest burger. It's enough.

They do have a long list of unique ingredients and some are very interesting. I will be trying this place one more time. But it will be awhile. After all it was a very expensive burger, I hope they get it right next time.

The SHAKE: You thought I forgot. This is where they got lucky. I am an expert shake tasting master. I come from a long line of shake making masters and I have tasted some of the best maltiadas (home made shakes from México) and ice cream shakes from all around. The quest could have come to an end here. This place had the great idea to call out a burger and shake of the month which will change every month. I was lucky enough to have the amazing and expertly crafted shake for the month of July. It was the Cherry Pie Milkshake. read the photo below.

I can describe it as smooth tasting, the real cherries do not distract from tasting the graham cracker crust they mix in. Not tart at all, just pure milkshake heaven. my ode to a milkshake would go something like the Tree poem by Joyce Kilmer. This is the only reason I would go back and give them another try.

VERDICT:

Approach this place with some caution. Order it a little more on the rare side to get more flavor out of it and bring some bucks, it isn't cheap. But alway save some room for dessert. ( I drank mine). Till next time this is Juan hungry Guy, out!

Coming soon: My Best Burgers Ever review. I will listing my top 3 burgers.