See behind-the-scenes burger construction photos from The Counter's shiny kitchen in our slideshow.
Troy Fields
Build your own or get the Counter Burger with onion strings, Provolone, sautéed mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes.
Location Info
Details
The Counter
4601 Washington, 713-966-6123.
Related Content
More About
Over a mound of chili cheese fries and two beers, my friend Steve is eyeing The Counter's casually crisp interior with a look of dawning comprehension.
"This looks a lot like a burger place I used to go to in Los Angeles," he murmured. The cheerful hostess who had sat us overheard him and jumped right in with an explanation.
"We're based in California!" she said brightly, as if she'd been planted there by the California Board of Tourism itself. "And we have several locations in L.A."
Steve nodded, grinning: "Yep, that's it. I've been here before."
The Counter is a California import – there's almost no denying it despite the modern Texana-style photos decorating the celadon walls – but don't hold that against them. It's also serving up some of Houston's finest burgers with a very Texan attitude that calls to mind a favorite fast food slogan: "Just like you like it."
At The Counter, you're the architect of your burger fantasies. Inside its cool, high-ceilinged dining room – shades of light green and slate with stainless steel accents making it look like the modern California version of a malt shop – you're handed a clipboard with a staggering list of choices. You are the chef; you decide if pesto sauce pairs well with a turkey burger and dried cranberries.
You also decide what meat will be in your burger, how large you want your patty, what type of bun will sandwich it, how many or how few toppings and sauces you want, how extraordinary or mundane your creation will be. It's dizzying at first, but there's nothing quite like gleefully careening through the list of options with a pencil and a friend.
"I don't know what to choose!" I said. It was my fourth visit to The Counter and creating a burger hadn't become any easier with repetition. But I still found enjoyment in piecing a burger together in my head: Would a fried egg be too disgusting with Brie, bacon and apricot sauce? Or would it be magical?
Meanwhile, Steve was determined to figure out the answer to his turkey, pesto and cranberries question. He added feta cheese for good measure, and put the whole thing on a multigrain bun. He finished his sheet and put his pencil down with finality, like he'd finished a quiz before me. Flustered, I took a wild stab when our waiter came by and ordered the Backyard Barbecue, a "burger in a bowl" with onion rings, tomatoes, Cheddar, onions, ham and dual sides of Ranch dressing and barbecue sauce, all on a bed of lettuce.
As I mused over the potential calorie count of this thing, I was pleased to notice on The Counter's menu that none of its lettuce-bedded "burgers in bowls" are called salads. It was a refreshing bit of honesty in a time when nearly every restaurant wants to try and pretend that 1,000 calories piled on top of lettuce can be called "a salad."
When my non-salad arrived, I laughed to see that a "burger in a bowl" is, indeed, just that: my perfectly medium-rare patty sat on a bed of greens, topped with a thick cloak of melted Cheddar and a tall stack of onion rings. Dressings were on the side, and I wasted no time in cutting up my burger and mixing the entire bowl together. It was messy and silly and inarguably low-brow. And I loved every bite of it.
That's what's great about The Counter: It isn't reinventing the wheel. It's just doing a fabulous job of making those wheels and delivering them to you with a smile.
_____________________
There are plenty of build-your-own-burger places. But none of them touches this California import when it comes to the important issues such as quality and customer service, as well as those small touches that make me want to come back again and again.
The service is impeccable, highly personable and never impatient (and I've witnessed customers dawdling for ages over those clipboards). The atmosphere is clean and cool. There is an admirable selection of beers and wines to be had with your meal. The shakes are great. And the food, while not pushing any creative boundaries, is very good.
Take, for example, the dill pickle chips served at so many restaurants in town. The chips could be frozen and served with dull Ranch dressing. But here, they're clearly freshly cut and battered in thick, toothsome discs and served with the unlikeliest of all sauces: a tangy, sweet apricot sauce. The contrast between sour and sweet is subtly inspired.
I appreciate, too, that the menu isn't entirely static: Market selections change every 30 days or so, meaning that a cherry pie shake with gingery bits of graham cracker will be available amidst the rotation of basic flavors, or that a Greek lamb burger with feta will be the featured burger of the month. And for anyone who doesn't want to agonize over the list of toppings, there are standard burgers on the menu here, such as the Old School with Cheddar, onions, pickles, tomatoes and lettuce, or the fancier Counter Burger with onion strings, Provolone, sauteed mushrooms and sun-dried tomatoes. You can always go back to old favorites here, or you can branch out and try something new.
