Ballard Food Police: The Counter puts you in control
Thu, 11/12/2009
The Counter
4609 14th Ave. N.W.
206.706.0311
Sunday-Thursday 11 a.m. to 10 p.m.
Friday-Saturday 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.
The Counter, a primarily California-based international chain, is one of the few restaurants we've reviewed that sells logo gear online.
Usually we use that as defining criteria when deciding where to go: do they sell hats and t-shirts on the Internet? If the answer is yes, we move on. But in this case we made an exception.
We typically try to stay away from chains, with the belief that what brings the highest yield of social capital are locally-owned establishments, serving locally produced food.
You can't have all that all of the time of course, but that's the direction our sails are tilted. And, the Counter does use locally produced beef.
Advance intelligence told us we could go carb-free, meatless and lo-cal here, which makes it stand out among burger joints.
Some might say why have a burger place that allows that type of thing, but we see the value, plus we got to ride the Ballard Blocks brand new escalators that go up and down pretty much to nowhere.
The Counter's shtick is the "custom-built" theme. As we were seated, we encountered a spirited presentation by a gentleman who appeared to be a manager of some sort, judging by the way he walked around and spoke softly to other staff, plus his shirt was a different color.
He spoke to us like we were his good friends, showing us the form to fill out, with numerous boxes to check regarding "proteins" (chicken, beef, turkey, or veggie patty), cheeses and condiments (or live it up with a premium condiment for a dollar extra!).
His empathy was front and center, as he looked supportive and reflective, almost in an Andy Griffith sort of way.
He told us, "Some folks find all the choices a bit overwhelming, that's why we have these already designed burger choices down here on the bottom of the menu."
A 6-year-old might have trouble filling out the order form alone, but we felt up to the task.
We were thrilled to see that we could get a burger in a bowl. At first it sounds like a meal idea intended for domestic pets, but after we got over that image, it was a terrific option.
In the bowl, we got a knock-out veggie burger, packed with brown rice, shielded with a slightly crunchy panko crust, and holding together well in the face of so many veggie patties that do not.
The patty was served over mixed baby greens, and with a zestified corn-bean salsa, this was a meal that any dieter could jump into safely.
Other sides (pick three as part of the one-protein, one-cheese, one-greens bed, three-sides, one-sauce format for $9.25) were nicely executed – big fat grilled onions and OK tomatoes.
The tzatziki sauce came on the side, right where it belonged, allowing us to dole it out as we wished.
After all, this type of "custom-built" dining is all about control, and if you can't control your tzatziki, what can you control?
A more typical choice of beef on a bun with gruyere, mixed baby greens, and standard condimentation makes for a pleasant enough experience.
We were scared that the burgers would be embarrassingly super-giant, but this thankfully is not the case.
You can upsize the patty if you wish, but we chose the standard one-third-pound size for $8.25. For $14.25, we could have had a one-pound burger. But, for $14.25 we could probably do a lot of things that should not be done, so we felt good about the one-third pound.
As a total wild-card, we added the "Hobo pack" for $4.25, which in fact was the sleeper of the meal.
Fresh grilled squash, red pepper and carrots filled a little neatly folded parchment bag. Darned if the vegetables weren't al dente, hot and flavored with Rosemary.
The combo of regular fries/sweet potato fries is enough for three or more to share. Ours were hot and acceptable, although they arrived late.
The servers were agreeable, if slightly robotic, and our one question ("What is red relish?") was met with an extremely indifferent, almost shrugged, "It's like ketchup."
As in many concept establishments, the Counter could do with less image and more personal touch. But, the vegetarian options are plentiful, and maybe they'll find their way in Ballard.
For those who want a burger fast, especially families with children who might enjoy filling out all those check-boxes, it just may be the place. And, did we mention the full bar?
The Ballard Food Police visit all establishments anonymously and pay for all food and drink in full. Know anything we should know? Tell the Ballard Food Police at ballardfoodpolice@gmail.com.