Cuisine: American/ Burgers
Location: 666 W Diversey Parkway, Chicago, IL
Price: $ - $$
Food: 3.5*
Service: ****
Overall: 3.5*
Website: http://www.thecounterburger.com
Excluding my lunchtime sandwich mainstays on Noyes St. in Evanston, The Counter marks my first time going out to eat since returning to Chicago from my trip home to Taiwan. The future roommates-to-be and I go apartment hunting in Lincoln Park and Lakeview on Sunday, where we come to meet a very… peculiar leasing agent1, but unfortunately fail to find the place of our dreams. As the only one of our trio who is neither working nor studying (read: doing absolutely nothing) at the time, I volunteer to go back out on Monday to continue our apartment search.
By the end of my appointment on Monday, it’s 2 p.m. and I’m exhausted, having not eaten lunch yet. So I decide to venture around Lincoln Park and find somewhere to eat alone.
It’s not long before I run into The Counter – a place that draws me in with its open space and pristine interior2. A burger bar that is casual enough that I don’t feel weird eating alone, but the place certainly looks nicer than a Chipotle3.
True to its name, the place sports a long counter that doubles as the bar, with several tables as well for seating larger parties. There are a couple TVs showing SportsCenter behind the bar, so I settle in and receive the menu:
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| This is just the build-your-own burger part of the menu. |
Man. They weren’t kidding when they said this was a build your own burger bar. I think my favorite part of the menu is that you can pick your bun – meaning every single part of your burger is fully customizable.
They have a full menu as well, but since Google/ Yelp are co-running a promo (only until the end of July, sorry guys!) where you just have to mention them to get a free order of sweet potato fries if you build your own burger, that’s what I opt for.
The guy who takes my order is kind enough to ask me if I’d like the small, personal size (another bonus – their small fries cost $1.50 and $1.704 for sweet potato fries, compared to $5 for a regular order) or the regular size. Since they are both free, and since I like gorging myself silly and then waddling around the streets of Lincoln Park at my most attractive best, I obviously opt for the regular.
I’m cautiously optimistic about the fries – Yelpers write glowing things about them, but they are easy to screw up if done poorly. The humongous plate of fries arrives, with a side of horseradish mayo, and I dig in.
And they. Are. Fantastic.
They aren’t overly battered so as to resemble a knock-off of French fries – nor are they so thick cut that you only get the sweet potato taste without any of the delectable French fry crunch. They’ve got a great crispy texture, and the fries are tender without being mushy.
And then I dip the fries into the horseradish mayo. Oh god. Once I do that I morph into an unstoppable whirlwind, mechanically dunking fries into the horseradish mayo and then my mouth at a frenzied pace. The horseradish mayo isn’t overpowering, but the kick is unmistakably there. After the creamy body dissipates, the little spicy kick makes you want to instantly taste it again – and if it was socially acceptable to lick the plastic container clean while making unintelligible noises like “GWARRAGH OM NOM YUM NOM NOM BLAHHHHHHH” you can bet that is exactly what I would have done.
A few minutes into my sweet potato bliss I am interrupted by my burger being brought out – a third pound beef patty with gruyere cheese, lettuce, tomatoes, green chilies, and grilled onions, finished with a fried egg and chipotle aioli on the side. It is definitely good that I am sitting with my back to the rest of the patrons, because after my first bite it becomes very obvious that I will proceed to make a huge mess and generally eat like a caveman for the remainder of the meal.
The egg is perfectly cooked, and it seems like I’ve received one where the yolk is about 85% of the entire thing. The ingredients all go well together (of course they do, I customized the burger – basically I am solely responsible for how good the food tastes). The lettuce and tomatoes are very fresh, and the green chilies give the burger a little kick. The egg is cooked perfectly, and it seems like I’ve received one where the yolk to white ratio is something like 18:1. The burger is done medium – I am regretting a little my failure to ask for it medium rare, as I like it really juicy and sloppy (though the egg ensures I make quite a mess anyways).
The only minor things I manage to nitpick out of the meal? The patty is good, but I’d still put it well behind the quality of meat and the juiciness of an Edzo’s burger, though the two are comparable in pricing. That and the chipotle aioli isn’t very strong – I had hoped for a more powerful taste of chipotle but instead felt like slightly spiced mayo.
But since I consider Edzo’s one of the two best burger places in all of Chicago, being a slight notch behind it is no shame.
Final thoughts: The sweet potato fries here are so good, I would go back just to eat them. The service was also great – the people working made me feel comfortable sitting at the bar and we even talked a little about sports. It’s nice to have them go out of their way to talk with you when you’re dining alone, so that you don’t feel like you’re neglected and since your check is smaller you matter less. I’m moving down into the area soon (after finally finding an apartment!), so I plan on heading back very soon and trying even more of what they have to offer.
Also, their list of beers on tap is quite awesome. Next time I’ll have to order a cold beer to go with my burger and fries, for sure.
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| L-R: Goose Island Green Line, Lagunitas IPA, Goose Island 312, Shiner Seasonal: Redbird, Goose Island Matilda, Stella Artois. |
1. She made dog-like yelping noises in her car while driving us to see apartments whenever she saw a dog, and spent most of the time talking about how much she knew about dogs (but she wasn’t allowed to own one in her apartment). This woman also exhibited some of the most impressive parallel parking skills known to mankind. At one apartment, she backed into a spot in front of a fire hydrant, then remarked, “Fred the Fire Hydrant! I’ll just park extra close to you to hide you from sight. We’ll be gone before the firemen come.” She was a definite character.↩
2. It turns out that I also recognize the name from the chain they have in Times Square, so maybe some subliminal influence pushed me to eat there as well.↩
3. Not that I have anything against eating at Chipotle. Can you say carnitas fajita burrito with extra rice and guacamole and chips on the side? ↩
4. This is also a great marketing strategy because then people who order the personal size don’t feel like huge fat lardballs for doing so. Just small fat lardballs.↩
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