The Counter Burger - Crows Nest NSW

Name: The Counter Burger

Address: 118 Willoughby Street, Crows Nest NSW 2065

Burger: Custom beef burger

Price: $17.90 - Approximately $23 after customisation

I read about this place a while ago, and had been extremely excited to visit. The Counter Burger is a USA based burger chain specialising in custom-built burgers. There is a huge range of options, including beef, chicken, turkey and veggie burgers. There are three sizes to choose from (150g, 300g and 450g). The selection of cheeses is great, and the selection of toppings is amazing. On top of that, there are numerous sauces to choose from. I recently moved from Adelaide to Sydney, and a friend from Canberra came to visit. We are both burger nuts, so decided to go check it out.

Poor picture of the menu

The menu is interesting. You select what you want on your burger, and it is made for you. In addition to the custom burgers, there is a menu which offers standard burgers and various sides (such as cheese and chili/cheese fries).

My 'custom built' burger consisted of:

• 300g Beef pattie
• American Cheese
• Grilled Onions
• Lettuce Blend
• Red Onion
• Roasted Corn and Black Bean Salsa
• Honey Cured Bacon
• Dijon Balsamic Dressing
• Hamburger Bun

Beef:

One of the best things about this place is that you can order your beef to be cooked as you like. I ordered mine medium rare/rare. It was closer to medium rare/medium, but was very juicy and extremely tasty. I'm not sure what blend of meats they use, but the flavour is exceptional. It could have done with a bit more fat, but was very tasty nonetheless.

Cheese: I couldn't go past the American cheese. I love American cheese. There were some other good options on the menu (Cheddar, Colby, Danish Blue, Greek Feta, Horseradish Cheddar & Imported Swiss). The cheese wasn't melted too much when the burger arrived, but after having a few fries, it was perfectly melted. It was smooth and salty - perfect. I'm not sure if this is 'real' American cheese, or just the Australian equivalent that McDonalds Australia use (Kraft), but it was amazing. Next time I'll get the same, but probably a bit more of it!

Bun:
Although there are a few options (including english muffin and wholemeal bun), I went for the standard hamburger bun. The bun was sturdy, but failed to hold everything in. This was probably due to the fact that I poured all of the sauce onto the burger, without realising it was actually far too much! It was lightly toasted, and had quite a good flavour.

Extras:

Where do I start?? As mentioned previously, I got grilled onions, lettuce blend, red onion, roasted corn and black bean salsa and honey cured bacon. There were a few too many grilled onions (as you can see!) and they were slightly soft. They were still tasty though. The red onion added a welcome crispiness and freshness, as did the lettuce - both surprisingly fresh. The salsa was hard to detect, but I did taste it separately, and it was quite good. Not sure it added much to the overall experience though. The bacon was amazing. Perfectly cooked (crispy, but also had tender parts) and wasn't too salty. Absolutely amazing! The dijon balsamic dressing was very good. I'm still not sure if I made the right choice considering the other ingredients I chose, but it was very good nonetheless. Next time I will go for a more 'traditional' burger, consisting mainly of beef, cheese, mustard/sauce and pickles.

Fries:

In a word: Wow! My friend and I shared an order of cheese fries. I was going to go for the chili cheese fries (had them in the USA and loved them), but he wasn't keen. There was the perfect amount of melty, salty cheese. The fries were cooked perfectly, and were quite thin. The serving size was huge, and at $7 is more than worth it. It's really hard to fault these - enjoyed them a hell of a lot.

The burger my friend ordered

My friend ordered the 300g beef burger on a hamburger bun just like I did. He got bacon, american cheese, grilled onion and lettuce with BBQ sauce. He defined it as being 'great', and can't wait to go back. I couldn't agree more!

Meat

4.5/5
Cheese
4.5/5
Bun
3.5/5
Extras
4/5
Fries

4.5/5

An amazing experience. The novelty of being able to customise a burger aside, the quality of the ingredients, and care taken in the preparation were outstanding. I'm surprised they haven't been able to penetrate the Australian market further. I can't wait to go back. As mentioned, I will opt for a more 'traditional' burger next time - and will let you know how it goes!

Total:

4.2

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