The Counter — Restaurant in Los Angeles

On The Today Show, one of the affable hosts mentioned that “The Counter Custom Burger" was one of America’s top restaurants. I’ve never experienced The Counter, so I went to the Miracle Mile location and brought my eight year old.

Located next to the Page Museum – La Brea Tar Pits, The Counter enjoys a busy lunch hour filled with office workers from the surrounding buildings. On nice days, groups gather at tables on the pleasant outside patio facing Wilshire Blvd.

In the evenings, the restaurant is filled with residents from Park La Brea and nearby condos enjoying Happy Hour and a burger while watching the latest sporting event on flat screen televisions.

Weekends the burger joint is buzzing with families exploring nearby museums during the day and later stroll over for a burger, milkshake and fries in the afternoon or early evening. The kid’s menu (under 8) features mini burgers, grilled cheese, ham and cheese and a peanut butter and jelly sandwich with fries or applesauce for $6.

The décor is industrial-style with taupe and light sea foam green colors. Ricky explained the 6-step process to building a custom burger. On the table is a container with little pencils and a clipboard with a 6-step custom sheet. The Counter offers over 312,000 different burger combinations.

The first step is to select a protein. Beef, chicken, turkey, veggie and a market selection all come in 1/3, 2/3 and 1 lb. sizes. Market selection may be buffalo meat one month and lamb the next month.

Guests place a check mark if they want their burger on a bun or in a bowl with a lettuce blend or organic mixed greens. Next, patrons choose one of twelve different cheeses, from Greek feta to imported Swiss. Burger lovers may choose up to four toppings from the list. There are 21 toppings including hard-boiled eggs, dried cranberries and roasted corn with black bean salsa. Imagine how creative and unique your burger can be. The Counter also offers premium toppings, such as applewood-smoked bacon, chili and a fried egg for an additional fee.

The last mark on the sheet is for a hamburger bun, multigrain bun or an English muffin. You may complete “The Counter Culture” at the bottom to receive monthly updates and exclusive offers. Twice a month fans receive coupons for free burgers or new items.

Diners who don’t feel creative, may order off the standard menu. Many of the items listed are still ingenious creations, such as the 1/3-pound taco turkey burger with jalapeno jack cheese, dried cranberries, lettuce blend, scallions and a spicy sour cream sauce.

I ordered the grilled vegan vegetable burger with 8 vegetables, brown rice and breadcrumbs. No soy or tofu is added. It was scrumptious. My daughter had the mini burgers with cheese, pickles and ketchup. Ricky brought a plate filled with Parmesan fries, sweet potato fries and thinly sliced onion rings with three different dipping sauces. If only the Parmesan fries were no fat and low in calories. The savory Parmesan and garlic aioli sauce on top of the fries were delectable. I had to push the dish away; otherwise I would have devoured it. My little enjoyed the thinly cut and battered onion rings.

The Counter does serve various salads. Some that peeked my interest were Kale and Hippie Salad.

The Counter serves over 20 different beers on tap including IPAs, lagers and amber ales.

Get creative and visit The Counter when in the...

BETWEEN THE REVIEWS w/ Rodney S

Q) What brought you to The Counter at Miracle Mile, Rodney? A) We spent the day at the La Brea Tar Pits, taking in the dire wolves, ground sloths, mammoths & saber-toothed cats. Although we brought empanadas for lunch, we needed some hot food. In my case, I also needed another review to write. My eyes spied The Counter across the street from the La Brea Tar Pits, so since I've never been to one before, the time seemed right to check it out for the first time.

Q) What did you order? A) Upon perusing the menu, the prices seemed to high for us. There were a plethora of varied & intriguing burger & sandwich options, but too much for what we were looking for. We decided upon the Fifty-Fifty, which is 2 fries of your choice. Our picks were the sweet potato & chili cheese fries (additional $1).

Q) Your thoughts on the Fifty-Fifty sweet potato & chili cheese fries? A) Rodney, both were good! The sweet potato fries had a crunchy exterior, with a fluffy interior. Especially when dipped in the horseradish aioli, these were hard to resist. The chili cheese fries proved heftier fare and did it's job.

Q) Why the low score? A) Besides the pricing, we had to wait quite a few times for someone to assist us during our Fifty-Fifty break. Whether it be ordering, refills or the bill, we had to wait longer than necessary, especially considering it wasn't very busy, at all.

Q) Final thoughts, Rodney? A) I wasn't very impressed with The Counter, Rodney. Although they do have a lot beers on tap, and an interesting array of menu choices, the prices are a tad higher than what I expect them to be and the service was, I found, lacking. Walking by the LACMA Café next door to the La Brea Tar Pits, we could've ordered regular fries for only $3. But, live and learn & I at least have another review under my belt.

I don't recommend The Counter...

0 stars. Been going here for nearly 10 years, this location specifically. Yesterday afternoon walked in and sat in my usual seating area. At this moment slow dine in traffic maybe 30% approximately. A guy and girl server roaming the tables with a guy bartender navigating the bar top were FOH. For 10 minutes no one acknowledged me in any sort of hospitable manner, not one word. I then began to see patrons (both inside and out) show up after me, get greeted, their orders taken, and drinks brought to the table. This has never happened before. Before I get upset, I asked myself the question “was I supposed to wait before I was seated?“ as the policies may have changed since the last time I’ve been here. I walked back towards the entrance and the host stand, and see the sign that says just that. So I wait another five minutes at the host section, inside this restaurant, and its open floor layout where everyone can be see by everyone, and still I get the same result. I then approached the bar and one of the servers on the floor (the guy) finally decides to engage in a dialogue. “Are you picking up a to go?“. I respond by communicating my experience up into this point and he says “I’m sorry” followed by clueless look on his face as what as to what to do next, I say “let me talk to the manager”. I’m on my lunch break, I’m hungry, and I have to explain to her what has transpired, she takes my order after apologizing with the same automated response and the server, and proceeds to do nothing to compensate me for the lack of hospitality, responsibility for her servers attitude on the floor, or no host manning their stand in no shape former fashion. Her name is Jasmine. GUESS the paint job of my skin. GUESS the paint job of the two tables and three patrons that came in after me. GUESS the color of our...