The Counter

I know, I rave about every other burger. But The Counter impressed me. This fancy little place offers CUSTOM burgers. Did you hear me?... Custom! You're saying, "Burger Brittany, c'mon, when can't you customize your burger?". Well, friend, when can you order a burger with grilled pineapple, grilled onion, lettuce, tomato, sharp provolone and BBQ sauce?! This puppy was messy AND delicious. Burger Buddy Andrew introduced me to this little delight in the heart of Walnut Creek, CA. Inside is decorated to imitate a diner, but at the same time, a classier, up-to-date bar. An interesting angle surely, but I am most impressed to see a purely burger restaurant that is not, in any way, fast food. Yes, there's the Burger Bar, but it was pretty measly and overpriced for the type of burger I ate. Trust me, those toppings weren't offered in that fancy little "burger bar". Just look at the Build-Your-Own-Burger menu shown above! Look at those options. First, you pick your amount of beef (I went with the 1/3 pounder, to keep my lady-like figure, you know). Then the cheese, I was torn between Imported Swiss or Sharp Provolone, but do not fear, you have 10 different cheeses to choose from. And then, you pick 4 out of the 18 toppings to choose from. If you choose to pay the dollar extra, you can choose out of 28 different toppings! Top it off with whichever bun you like, and you have a quality, custom-made burger for about $8. 

Burger Buddy Andrew chose this monster of a burger shown below. If I recall correctly, it is a mountain of grilled onions, bacon, guacamole, beef and perhaps BBQ sauce. I'm not sure how you even begin to tackle this beast, but he tackled and even tamed her. We paired our burgers with a side a half french fries and half onion strings. Yes, onion strings, not onion rings. They 

were unique and delicious, but very heavy. Come to this classy diner with an appetite. Andrew and I were both nearly incapacitated after this hefty meal. Also, a picture of him enjoying his beastly beef can be viewed in the post of burger buddies eating burgers. Check it out!

I give the counter a 9.5/10, because they didn't bring our fries and strings before the meal, like we hungry hooligans requested!

Christmas Eve Inspiration

Hello Burger Buddies,

My deep and sincere apologies for my month long hiatus. Between finals, traveling and painting, I have neglected my blog and this is unacceptable. Luckily, I watched Julie & Julia tonight and was inspired . Just so my readers know, while I may have neglected my blog, I have certainly not neglected burgers. In fact, there have been burgers galore, including both Culver's and In-N-Out. As far as new burger joints, there have plenty of those as well. You must check out my burger boy toy having his very first In-N-Out burger.. how cute!
First and foremost, Jack's Brewing Company, a nice bar and grill in San Ramon, CA, right off of Crow Canyon. My parents took me to this friendly little joint on my first night back home in November. First, I ordered the beer sampler, because what could be better than beer and burgers? I challenge you to find better burger bliss. For you Columbians in Missouri, I would liken this place to Flat Branch (which happens to be the birthplace of the Burger Brittany persona, but this is another story for another blog post). At Jack's, I ordered the Blackjack burger- a burger "loaded with Cajun spices, grilled onions, jack cheese and bleu cheese dressing" (copied from menu). The Blackjack was amaZING. All that gooey, dripping cheese with the tangy grilled onions... my mouth is watering in rememberance and reverence of the unabashedly topped burger. Whether it was the beer or the burger, I left with an afterglow of satisfaction that lasted for hours. I give this burger a 10/10 and you know what put it over the top?.. The helpful, friendly service that chatted with my family and smiled every time they stopped by. Even the owner paused at our table for some bouyant conversation!
The Burger Bar in San Francisco. Now, I do not believe San Francisco is the appropriate place for burger cuisine and I think the Burger Bar kind of proved it. San Francisco is liberal, environmentally conscious and perhaps make an excellent veggie burger.. somewhere.. But beef, fat and frying may not be this city's thing. In fact, I should probably pursue the best veggie burger while I'm here in the Bay Area. Bottom line, this particular burger was mediocre, overpriced and not worth choosing over the Cheesecake Factory, which happens to also be in the same building (Macy's!). Luckily for the Burger Bar, I was in a good mood that day. On this particular day, I was with my ruggedly handsome burger boy toy. He came all the way from Washington to visit me for my birthday, which also happened to be on this day. I know what you're thinking, how dare the Burger Bar serve Burger Brittany a mediocre burger on her burger birthday?! It's OK, french fried friends, I was happy regardless. I give the restaurant a 6/10, but I give their sexy milkshake advertising a perfect 10!