The Counter

First of all, there is no counter at The Counter, the California build-your-own-burger joint on Washington Avenue. Well there is, if you want to sit at a counter, but you certainly won't be ordering at one. Instead the menu is a clipboard which holds the custom burger form and some non-custom choices. So the question quickly becomes how bad do you want to be? Burgers can be made of beef, turkey, chicken or a veggie patty and start at 1/3 pound up to one full pound, and for carbophobes, there's even a bunless burger bowl option. From here, the options are nearly endless: a dozen cheeses (gruyere! brie! horseradish cheddar!) plus 30 extras like a fried egg, guacamole, applewood smoked bacon and pineapple, and another 20 sauces, which are — brilliantly — served on the side. Depending on what toppings you get, The Counter can be amazing or a flop, and it's also a bit pricy, starting at $8 with some premium toppings running at $1 each. And that's before you even order fries, which you should definitely do.