"the counter burger" news and stories

You're not likely to find gruyère in most fast-food burger joints, but now you will, at the crossroads of America, New York's Times Square. Just in time for the city's New Year's Eve bash, there's a new burger joint in town: The Counter, a nearly 8-year-old California-born chain specializing in custom-built burgers with uncharacteristically top-notch ingredients. The new outpost just opened in Times Square yesterday -- the chain's 26th U.S. location -- at 1451 Broadway.

Oprah has already named their "Build Your Own" burger one of the "20 Burgers You Must Eat Before You Die," and GQ's Alan Richman put it on his list of best burgers in the country. At least with more than 300,000 possible combinations you'll never get bored. There are four types of patty (Angus beef, grilled chicken, turkey, veggie), 12 types of cheese (like Greek feta, provolone and soft-ripened brie), 33 toppings (house-made guacamole, sautéed mushrooms, and even a fried egg) and 21 sauces (like basil pesto, chipotle aioli and ginger-soy glaze). Then, top it off with one of six different buns, such as honey wheat or ciabatta.

Unexpected starters round out the meal, from sweet-potato fries to turkey chili and fried dill pickle chips. New York City's location is also the first to have shakes, malts, floats and a full bar with spiked shakes, beer and wine. Plus, they say all their meat is humanely raised and hormone- and antibiotic-free. Especially cool? The promise that each outpost includes some locally sourced market ingredients. Happy National Burger Day!

I know that Joe's been slinging burgers at you every day at noon in honor of (questionably official) National Burger Month, but those are Burgers of the Day. This is the Burger of the Night.

This monster burger is from The Counter Burger in Santa Monica, CA, which happens to be number 15 on Alan Richman's GQ List of the 20 Burgers You Must Eat Before You Die (we also covered the California Burger from Houston's from that list earlier this month), and which happens to be a burger that had its own Oprah moment. I went to the Counter, and I have to say, I was not overly impressed. Then again, "must eat before you die" and Oprah builds up some pretty high expectations.

I will say, however, that the sweet potato French fries that we had with the burgers were out of this world. The Counter is definitely worth a visit if you're in the area, but don't go out of your way just to make it before you die.

If you follow along in the burger world, then you might know about The Counter in Santa Monica, where their thing is BYOB - Build Your Own Burger. Alan Richman even named it one of the 25 burgers you must eat before you die in GQ.

Based on their list of topping choices, there are 312,120 different burger combinations, but at their new location in Palo Alto, Tim attempted to do it all in one shot. He ordered a 5 lb. burger with every topping available. At once. Served in a bowl, the burger almost looks like a sundae and it is not pretty. Neither is the aftermath.

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