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The Counter, a closer look
Aloha!
4/11/09 - Aaah, I feel so free! During the last couple of months, my time has been split between closer look entries, constant up-dating of the site, and a special-little project you'll get to see here in about two or three months from now. I've just finished-up all the prep and leg-work, so I finally have time to breathe! I don't want to say anything specific yet because there are still a few details to be ironed out, but just know that something's coming, and I think you all just may like it! I'll keep you posted!
For now, it feels sooo good to be spending most of my time here doing closer look's - i'm hoping I can get more done this month than normal, but we'll see...
Wifey and I finally got a chance to stop by that big 'ol burger joint at Kahala Mall, the one that's been getting all the rave reviews! Gushing accounts have been all over the press, not just here in the islands, but internationally, as it was listed as one of the top ten must-try burgers in the entire country on a program by the Food Network (or was it the Travel Channel?). Big Al, who travels extensively and always keeps me informed, says that there are many varieties of foods in the Mainland that Hawaii just can't hold their own against, not the least of which are probably two of the most obvious, breakfasts and burgers! God bless places like Eggs 'n Thing's or Cream Pot on the breakfast-side, as well as Teddy's on the burger-side, all of which can definitely stand-up admirably to Mainland establishments, but as a whole, we could surely use some help in both departments.
Is The Counter one of those places that helps close the gap? Is it all it's stacked-up to be? Hmmm... From the looks of the crowd there that evening, it's certainly off to a good start. I wouldn't say there was a line outside, but the reasonably spacious, clean dining room did have its fair share of occupants, and it wasn't even the weekend yet.
The set-up is pretty simple, I'd say. To tell you the truth, I was kinda hoping for something a little more flashy, perhaps a tad cheesy, even, in an American Chain kind of way, with, I dunno, a giant mock-up of a cast-iron bbq smoker, or a big, bronze beer fermenter, or a full-sized, bright-red choo-choo train or something? The only gimmicks around were the meager collection of wheel-less skateboards hanging on the far side of the wall!
I know it's a theme that's run over and over again, but even the classic retro-look that Teddy's Bigger Burger sports would work for me! Juke-boxes, red and black checkerboards, neon lighting signs and trim, classic cars - like burgers, it just never gets old! Hey, anyone remember that retro place down at Restaurant Row, where they'd give you toothpicks to shoot up into the roof? Now, aaat's what I'm talkim' 'bout! Somebody shoot me over the name of that place, please!
Here's the bar-side of the shop, with only one person there but hey, it was still early! I was definitely glad to see the draft spigots behind the counter there, with more than one choice of Budweiser or Budweiser.
There's not a whole lotta surprises on the menu, half of which consists of a 5-step "Build Your Own Burger" checklist. Choose from a beef, turkey, veggie, or grilled chicken burger, then name your cheese, four different toppings, a sauce, and a type of bun. The sixth choice is actually to sign up for their e-mail newsletter and on-line community, which I warily declined. Though there's only one kind of cheese, four toppings, and one sauce included in the 1/3, 2/3, or 1 lb. burger price ($10.95-$15.50), you can always pay a little more for extra choices, which can include things like jalapeno jack or Danish blue cheese, grilled pineapple, hard-boiled egg, spicy pepperoncini, house-made guacamole, sauteed mushrooms, caramelized onion marmalade, or Southwest ceasar dressing, to name a very few. They even have a burger in a bowl, which means exactly what it says, only without a bun - kinda like what a taco salad is to a taco.
Other than that, there are a few set-filling burgers if you don't want to build your own, as well as simple sandwiches, chili, locomoco (wonder if it's only Hawaii?), desserts, and all your typical side's like fries, sweet potato fries, onion strings, and dill pickle chips. Ok, maybe not so ordinary in the last case! I know it's been all the rage up in the Mainland, so I couldn't pass up an opportunity to try them, even though I don't even care for pickles. In fact, anytime I find 'em in my burgers or on the side as spears, they always end up in wifey's stomach!
Don't know why I was expecting to snap my fingers and somehow make something I don't even like taste good. Maybe it was just the high expectations upon coming here. But even beyond that, the coating wasn't working for me, either - it just seemed like panko that was breaded in the morning or the previous day. For those who love pickles, I can see how you may just get into this offering, but even wifey took a pass on this one, only more for the reason that she was saving herself for the burger, instead.
I hope you don't think that wifey and I even came close to finishing-off everything we ordered on this particularly fine early-evening. Note even close. And that was mostly because, along with the dill pickle chips and just out of curiosity, we ordered three very filling, very much deep-fried side's in all. The next two did come as one dish, though, called a fifty-fifty, which is basically splitting a full order (not including pickles) into two.
Check out the platter:
How'z it look to you?
Me?
Aaaah... To tell you the truth, the side's in total were the most dissapointing parts of the evening. I wouldn't have skipped a beat at all if I had gotten these fries from Mickey-Dee's or Burger King, as they weren't bad or anything, but just very, very... conspicuously normal? Not exactly what we expected, is all. Couldn't they have been thick-cut, thin-cut, Slinky look-alike-cut, wedge-cut, crinkle-cut, shoestring-cut... I mean, something, anything to set them apart from looking like I got them from a drive-thru?
And the onion strings? Aaaah... they were covered with that typical Mainland crust, that deep-fried, heavily seasoned, super-crispy coating that tastes great after the first bite or so, but, unless you're used to fast-foods every other day, just has a way of wearing you down and beating you to a pulp! And because they were onion strings, they were so thin I couldn't even taste the onion! Again, fine for fast-food, but not exactly what I expected after all the hype.
Just to clarify, I did love the taste and crispy texture of this batter, and if it were more evenly-matched with thick, giant rings of onion like at Teddy's Bigger Burger, I'd probably be raving about them! But these thin-cut's? Waaay over-powering, the batter was, for sure, not to mention the tiny-little crumbles underneath the larger pieces, which literally made up at least half of the pile and made them very difficult to dip without having to lick the sauce off the tips of your fingers - which, on a brighter note, actually brings up something I very much enjoyed:
These sauces were simply awesome! The sweet bbq on-top, the roasted garlic aioli, the apricot, the sun-dried tomato vinaigrette (not shown) - all made everything else taste so much better! Next time, I'll just order these sauces as more worthy side dishes, and then get fries to complement them...
Nevertheless, here's where the rubber meets the road - it's burger time. Forget the turkey, veggie, or chicken breast, it's all about 100% fresh-ground Angus beef, raised on a strictly vegetarian diet without any hormones or antibiotics. With these kinds of claims, plus the fact that you can order patties any way you want them done (in our case medium), I just assumed we'd be in for a twenty-minute wait, at least. More time to get down a frosty glass of Longboard Lager, is what I say. However, the wait wasn't very long at all, and before even half my frosty mug was gone, two more plates arrived, each containing what looked like jumbo supreme burgers at any other place but what were actually the smallest versions here, the 1/3 pounder's! Not counting kid's burgers or slider's, that is.
Wifey's, first of all, contained an Angus beef patty on a regular hamburger bun, with greek feta cheese, Bermuda red onions, tomatoes, and jalapeno's, along with that delicious sun-dried tomato vinaigrette half-way hiding in the background.
Now, that's one Ivan Putski type of patty, and more than thick enough to be able to control the variations of well-done, medium, rare, or whatever, something that gets a little more tricky with the thinner patties found at most other places. And control the situation they did, as both of our patties were done beautifully, the insides still red, super-tender, and not greasy at all. For pure beef-lover's, this is definitely your deal!
So am I saying that the side's aren't the greatest but the burger's are? Well... Kinda. I mean, if you've ever looked in the Burger section of the main guide pages, I explain that I've basically found three types of burgers here - the first being super-gourmet versions like from Alan Wong's or Ed Kenney's Town, the second being the decent-sized, decent-quality stuff found at most restaurants (Chili's, Ruby Tuesday's, Cheeseburgers in Paradise, Big City Diner, etc.), and third, the really cheap one's about the size of a regular McDonald's hamburger or cheeseburger. Now, you may think, that of the three, I prefer the first set described, but, eeeh, I actually favor the second! The burgers in the first category come fresh from local farms and/or are of a much higher quality in general, are usually very lean, not nearly as greasy, and not nearly as heavily flavored, which, of course, are all qualities that a connoisseur would normally die for! Forgive me in my crude un-appreciation, but when it comes to burgers, I guess I just like a little more salt, a little more fat, and a little, I dunno, working-man-friendly?
The burgers here taste somewhere in-between the first and second group, but are definitely aligned closer to the first - perhaps a positive sign to many, but to me, maybe not so much. However, the Aku can surely appreciate quality, and there's definitely quality here in these beef burgers, the pure taste of beef shining through and fresh enough to not have to be charred well-done, a convenient method often used to disguise a good deal of freshness and quality issues. Any burger place that lets you choose is pretty darn confident, for sure.
Check out my choice:
Now that's one pretty burger, ain't it? I also had the smallest patty, the 1/3 pound, along with gruyere cheese, grilled onions, roasted chile, roasted red pepper, and scallions, which I don't very much recommend because, as you can see from the pic, you probably get about a half-penny's worth, and you won't be able to notice them at all! In fact, I didn't think much of the other additions, either, because they seemed to be waay over-cooked, soft, and lacking in any real substance. Of course, with all that beef in there, any addition just may well be of little consequence!
I did manage to finish it, and did very much enjoy myself in the process, but as far as all the gushing over this place, I'd probably be a little more reserved in my adulation. The whole experience is kinda like entering into a product of modern, cutting-edge marketing, too intallectually proper to resort to Disney-esque gimmicks and red choo-choo trains like I so cheesily yearned for. Perhaps we've just entered into a new American era of Japanese minimalism, with their simple, yet very attractive, clean-cut designs and a functionality that's razor-sharp, and honed to promote a Corporate-like efficiency in all aspects. In fact, by the shine and sheen of everything here, it seemed you could easily clean the entire place with a power pressure washer at night, walk in the next morning, and use the entire dining room as a giant petri dish. No carpet to soak-up any foreign odors, no cushioned seating to Scotch-Guard, no, I dunno, softness to speak of anywhere! I guess it's all about efficiency these days, ey?
Hey, it's all good to me... Just teasing, actually. As long as they keep cooking good burgers like they do, that's all that matters! Yes, I do recommend this place, despite a few perhaps over-exaggerated quirks, all of which I've already mentioned. Do make sure to check it out and see for yourselves. There's lots of opinions to go around, yes?
I'll leave you with a final shot from the outside, as we were leaving with a quarter of wifey's left-over burger and more than half of the side's ordered.
Have a fabulous weekend and may you all happily celebrate a risen Christ on Sunday!
Take care and Aloha till next time!
Aku
Comments
Jeff Jeff - Hey, I totally agree with you on the side orders. I went a couple weeks ago and got a side of regular fries and sweet potatoe fries. The sweet potatoe ones were alright in that you can't find them in fast food places. But after a few bites, they too were just.. plain. The sauces were excellent. I believe I got the peppercorn steakhouse sauce with my burger. I highly recommend that one! 4/12/09.
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