The Counter--Mountain View, CA

Yesterday we met my dad for lunch at The Counter, a new hamburger restaurant at The Village at San Antonio Center.

The 2/3 lb. burger with American cheese cucumber and pineapple. The hot wings sauce give this sandwich just the right amount of kick.

Though it's a sit-down hamburger joint, a couple of things separate it from your run-of-the-mill malt shop. First, The Counter has a wide variety of exotic sauces (Would you like Cabernet reduction with your burger?), toppings and buns to make your burger. Second, The Counter has a bar.

Fifty-Fifty fries with the kid's meal in the background.

The highlights for us were the fries--we ordered "Fifty-Fifty", an even mix of fries and sweet potato fries. Also, it was pretty amazing to see the 2/3 pound burger my dad got (and split with me). How often do you get to see a burger that big? The sauces were OK. My apricot sauce didn't make itself known, but the horseradish sauce I used for dipping was excellent.

The birthday cake shake, made with cake mix!

If there were any complaints, it was that the burgers were undercooked (Jenny even said the center was cool) and the kids meal was an iffy value proposition--basically two sliders and some fries for $6. After tax but before tip, the two shakes, fries, two kids meals and three burgers came out to $63, putting it in a price category where it has to meet tough expectations given this is lunch, after all.

With all of the flair found at The Counter, though, for pure beefiness and value, I prefer Five Guys. Still, The Counter is a fun experience. The restaurant is airy, bright and cheerful. The staff is clearly happy to be working there. We'll keep it in the back of our minds as a once-a-season type of restaurant to hit on a random weekend.

I ordered this burger medium; it was a bit pink.

The Counter

2580 W El Camino Real
Mountain View, CA 94040

(650) 948-2333

thecounterburger.com