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.