THE COUNTER BURGERS - KAHALA MALL, HAWAII

THE COUNTER

HONOLULU, HAWAII

We were meeting up with Keli's friend at Kahala Mall and Keli decided she wanted a burger for lunch. She remembered her burger adventure at Burgers on the Edge and said she could again eat the whole thing. We had tried The Counter when they first opened and were not impressed. Would our second trip be different? The Counter gives you a menu with a pencil. You mark off the size of your burger and then build it with dozens of selections. 1/3 pound beef ($8.95),

2/3 pound ($10.95) and 1 pounder for ($13.95). The burgers include your choice of cheese, four toppings and your choice of sauce. I opted for a 1/3 pound with Jalapeno Jack Cheese, red onion, tomato, lettuce and pickles. First off I did not like the bun. Too rigid and no taste. The meat was also pretty tasteless and I could not taste the cheese. Shirley had a similar burger with grilled onions and gruyere cheese. Same review. Tasteless and could not taste the cheese. I ate only half of my burger and left the rest on the plate. We did love the Sweet Potato French Fries and Onion Ring combo ($6.95). The fries come with 3 sauces. BBQ, Ranch and a Spicy Mayo type. The Sweet Potato Fries are worth going back for. Perfectly cooked, crunchy and flavorful. This time Keli hit the wall after half of her burger. We all left full but not satisfied. I probably will not return here.

THE COUNTER CUSTOM BUILT BURGERS

THE COUNTER CUSTOM BUILT BURGERS

HONOLULU, HAWAII

I guess the world has forgotten the Atkins Diet and how bad beef and buns can be to your diet. Burger Joints like The Counter are popping up all over the place.  We visited this one on Sunday afternoon and found a line of people waiting for a table.  Our wait was about 45 minutes from the time we signed in until the time we got a partial order.  Was it worth the wait.  Quite honestly No.  The Counter features 1/3, 2/3 and 1 pound burgers made to order.  You are given a clip board with a menu and you simply check off your ingredients.  There are 10 different cheeses from Gruyere to Jalapeno Jack.  There are 18 regular toppings and 11 premium toppings ranging from grilled onions to Roasted Chiles and Avocado, Kim-Chee and honey cured bacon.  Then you have around 18 sauces including apricot, roasted garlic, bbq, teriyaki and peppercorn steak sauce.  Choose a bun and you have built your own burger.  The prices range from $8.95 to $13.95 per burger.  I went with a 1/3 pound ($8.95) burger with Cheddar Cheese, onion, tomato, lettuce and jalapenos.  I chose the Red Relish sauce.  It took a long while to get our burgers.  While we waited the waitress forgot to notice that our order of Sweet Potato Fries and Onion Strings did not come out of the kitchen.  When we finished our burgers we told her that the side dishes never arrived.  She did not seem too surprised and said nothing.  The burgers are big and tasty but not worth an hour wait and almost ten bucks.  The kids meal mini burgers are tiny and cost $5.95 with french fries.  People are flocking to The Counter and waiting in line to try the burgers.