The Counter, Crows Nest (Closed)

Finally.

Do you know how long I've been trying to convince someone to go to The Counter with me? I was amazed that people could be so unwilling to eat a big, juicy burger! In fact, the only reason I managed to drag some people along was because we had originally planned to go to Indulgence Cafe but it had closed early. On a Saturday afternoon. I'm not going to get too attached to Indulgence, the signs are ominous. Oh well, plan B!

We are handed a whole bunch of clipboards with pencils and build your own burger forms and I practically skip into the restaurant, I was so happy I would finally get to try that Apple Pie Shake!

This really is my type of restaurant. From the retro styled interior to the novelty of the clipboard menus, right down to the insane shakes. I'm loving it. I order the apple pie shake and stop short of madness by forcing myself not to combine it with the Shake of the Month (honeycomb Tim-Tam!). We also order the peanut butter shake. I already know that the shake will be so rich and filling that it will make up half of my meal.

Apple pie shake and peanut butter shake

Everyone tells me the peanut butter shake is fantastic and better than the apple pie shake because the saltiness from the peanut butter balances out the sweetness a bit. I don't mind the super sweetness of the apple pie shake, but will I sound insane if I said I wished there had been more apple pie in it? My shake seemed a bit light on the crust and apple pieces and tasted mostly of vanilla ice cream. It was still yummo!

The Fifty-fifty - Sweet fries and onion strings with three dipping sauces

We order a serve of the sweet potato fries and onion strings. It comes with three dipping sauces - barbeque, ranch and something else I can't quite remember (I think I heard the word horseradish in there). The sweet potato fries are particular crispy but they are so delicious and fantastic with the creamy sauces. The onion rings are super thin and crispy and go well with the sweet barbeque sauce. These arrive at our table first and we have practically finished them before the burgers arrive.

There are 5 of us and we order three 300g burgers to share, since we are having a late lunch and are booked in for an early dinner.

Brother's custom burger - 300g beef burger, american cheese, grilled onions, grilled pineapple, lettuce on a regular bun with caramelised onion marmalade.

My brother and I ended up with very similar burgers because we were both going for something safe that was bound to be good. We knew we could experiment with whacky combinations on future visits :) I didn't get to try his burger but he wasn't too pleased with the sauce he chose, the caramelised onion marmalade was just sweet chopped up onions and not really a sauce. When you think of marmalade, there's usually some sort of saucey/jammy component to it right?

Grilled chicken burger - Grilled chicken breast, Gruyere cheese, mixed baby greens, tomato, spring onion and honey mustard

The grilled chicken burger was lovely, I was surprised by how moist the chicken breast was. The cheese and honey mustard sauce were the perfect complements. The only thing I wasn't completely sold on were the spring onions. They were a bit too overpowering and raw-tasting for my liking.

My Custom Burger - 300g beef burger with Gruyere cheese, sweet red hot peppers, lettuce, grilled onions, grilled pineapple, on a regular bun with the sauce of the month (creamy avocado)

I was very, VERY happy with my burger. I think I had the best combination at the table *pats myself on the back* hahaha. The peppers has some wonderful zing to them and well...you can't really go wrong with grilled onions, pineapple and lettuce. I love melted Gruyere cheese. Next time I might consider a different bun though, the bun was a little too soft for my liking and got quite soggy when it absorbed the sauce. The creamy avocado sauce wasn't very strong, it was nice but once I added tomato sauce to my bun I couldn't really taste it. The burger was perfectly cooked, a strong charred flavour on the outside but still juicy and pink in the middle.

Food porn...

I couldn't believe how huge the servings were at The Counter, I only managed a third of my burger! The food is simple and good with the twist of the custom building and the crazy shakes and fries. I can't wait to go back and experiment with new combinations in my burger!

The Counter, Custom Built Burgers
http://www.thecounterburger.com
118 Willoughby Rd
Crows Nest 2065
(02) 9436 2700

Mon-Wed: 11.30am-9pm
Thurs-Fri: 11.30am-10pm
Sat: 12pm-10pm
Sun: 12pm-9pm