The Counter – Marina Del Rey

Having heard of The Counter from Yelp, I finally had the chance to visit the Marina Del Rey location twice for lunch with the husband and some of his coworkers.

Based on the crowd inside, this was a pretty popular joint for the lunch crowd.  The first time, we managed to snag seats at the bar but on the 2nd visit, we had to wait about a 1/2 hr for tables to open up to accommodate our group of 8.

When you get seated, the waiter hands you a clipboard with a menu and a form.  The menu lists sides, drinks and some classic burgers and sandwiches.  The form is if you want to go the build-your-own-burger route.

First visit:

After looking over the menu, I noticed an apple pie milkshake.  SOLD!  This was an amazing milkshake.  Vanilla ice cream blended with real apples, cinnamon, graham crackers, it tasted like apple pie a la mode.  Rich, thick, creamy, this shake was everything a milkshake should be.  DELICIOUS!

Step 1 – Choose a burger.  You have a choice of various sizes of beef, turkey, veggie, and grilled chicken.  All beef burgers come cooked Medium unless specified otherwise.

Step 2 – Choose a cheese.  There’s a large selection of cheeses from Feta to jalapeño Jack to American.

Step 3 – Choose up to 4 toppings.  The list included the usual onions, lettuce and tomato but also had more exotic items like Roasted Corn & Black Bean Salsa and dried cranberries.  There is also a premium topping list which costs a little extra.  This includes guacamole, fried egg, bacon and chili among other things.

Step 4 – Choose a sauce.  From horseradish mayo to spicy sour cream to a sweet bbq sauce, there’s quite a large variety.

Step 5 – Choose a bun: English muffin, hamburger bun, honey wheat bun.  You an also opt to go lo-carb and have your burger served on a lettuce blend or mixed greens.

The Counter - My husband's breakfast burger

The husband did his usual – beef burger with Swiss, bacon and a fried egg on an English Muffin.  I call it his breakfast burger.  It’s actually really good but ugh, my heart always stops for a moment when I see it.  This falls very much into the “comfort food” category…not to be abused but used for those times when you need a hug via your stomach.

The Counter - my custom burger

The Counter - closeup of my burger

I opted for a 1/3 beef burger, Medium, with jalapeño Jack, lettuce, tomato and scallions, apricot sauce on a honey wheat bun.

When our burgers arrived, I had a mountain of a burger sitting in front of me.  There was no way I could pick up the entire thing and eat it so I had to cut it in half.  As you can see, the toppings all look fresh and the burger moist; however, it looks more medium-rare than medium to me.

The nice thing they do here at The Counter is serve the sauce on the side.

After my first bite, my first regret was not getting the regular bun.  The honey wheat bun was dry and the taste was akin to cardboard.  As I took more bites, pouring the apricot sauce prior, I realized that the burger itself was fairly bland.  Did they not season the patty?  When I commented on this to the husband, he agreed that his beef seemed un-seasoned to him as well.  Hrmmm…

The Counter - Fifty-Fifty

We also split an order of the “Fifty-fifty” – sweet potato fries and regular french fries.  It also comes in an onion ring variation.  The fries and sweet potato fries were both good – crispy, not overly oily.  I ate more of the regular fries for some reason even though I’m a sweet potato fanatic.  The aoli sauce in the back was really good as a dipping sauce.

Overall, the first visit wasn’t as good as I expected.  The concept is smart but the resulting  burger just wasn’t impressive.  In-n-Out has a better tasting burger, I think.  However, I would come back here for that apple pie shake any day…

My first visit to the counter receives 3 NOMs mostly for the awesome milkshake.

Second Visit:

We returned a few weeks later.  This time, I decided to stay away from the beef and go with chicken instead.  I, of course, order the apple pie milkshake again.  I also noticed that they have monthly specials – a burger of the month, a sauce of the month and a shake of the month.  The burger of the month was a lamb burger and while looked tempting, I stuck with the chicken.

This time, I went with a southwestern flair, choosing Roasted Corn and Black Bean salsa as a topping and going with a regular hamburger bun.  I have to say, this 2nd burger was a lot better than the first.  The chicken had more flavor (is that salt and pepper I taste on it?) and was moist and the salsa was delicious.  I may give the beef burger another chance but I would probably try to pick more flavorful toppings as well.

3 NOMs still for The Counter.

The Counter Marina Del Rey

4786 Admiralty Way

Marina del Rey CA 90292

(310) 827-8600

http://www.thecounterburger.com/

Miami Grille

This is one of my favorite places to go when I’m in town for work since it’s all kinds of yummy and a short drive away.

90% of the time, I order the same thing – Key West Chopp Chopp, a huge heap of MG rice (their version of a fried rice), romaine lettuce, tomatoes, chicken, pine nuts, rum-soaked dried cranberries, green onions and a delicious curry sauce. Seriously, this is some good eats. I never get tired of it. Also, it comes with some fried plantains which is a plus as I love that stuff.

Sometimes I’ll change it up with the churrasco chopp chopp if I’m craving beef. They really know good sauce; their chimichurri sauce is yumtastic. And the portion of beef isn’t skimpy.

I also love their sweet potato fries. Some of the best in town and it comes with some of that heavenly curry sauce as a dipping side.

They’ve got good Cuban sandwiches too though I tend to stick with the Chopp Chopps so I can keep up some semblance of eating healthy. These huge sandwiches are sort of like the Cuban version of paninis – flat, grilled and stuffed with tasty ingredients. Comes with fries, sweet potato fries (or a mix) or salad.

The portions are huge and I always walk out with a box and a over-filled stomach.

Coworkers and I have also done happy hour here a few times. Jamaican Jerk Chicken Wings are awesome – great happy hour appetizer to share with friends. The croquettes are also tasty and if you want some spice n’ shrimp. go for the Camarones a la Eddie. The Espana Tapas is a nice meat and cheese platter to share as well.

I am a fan of their sangrias. Huge glasses of fun times…

The restaurant is large and easily accommodates groups indoors or out on their two patios. Every time I go there, there’s always at least one huge group there. I recommend making reservations though if you have a large party. Otherwise, go a little early or a little late to avoid a wait during lunch.

This location likes to have fun so the music is pumped up and there isn’t a lot of noise dampening. At night, on Thursdays and Fridays, there’s live music and dancing.

The service has always been awesome whenever I’ve been there though some waiters are a bit more on top of things than others.

As for parking…well, this is at the UTC mall near the old Robinson’s May.  Hairball!

Miami Grille gets 4 1/2 NOMs in my book.

Westfield University Towne Centre
4353 La Jolla Village Dr
San Diego, CA 92122
(858)552-0668
www.miamigrille.com