Whenever stating an opinion, it’s better to admit prejudice up front.
Mine: I hate having to fill out a form to place my order at a restaurant. Something about being handed a clipboard and a pencil interferes with my appetite. I don’t even really like it at a sushi bar.
Granted, customers aren’t required to fill out their own check- box order sheet at The Counter, the Park Meadows outpost of the popular national burger chain. You can ask your server to do it for you. But that’s playing against the rules, and you’ll risk getting sighed at.
At The Counter’s website, the clipboard is the first thing this youthful, successful chain touts about itself. I’m guessing that market research tells the company that most people find the gimmick fun. Call me out of date (I’ve been called worse), but I find it annoying.
In nearly every other respect, The Counter is just fine. It neither surprises nor disappoints. It’s pricier than you’d like (count on spending $12-$15 a head for burgers, fries and a drink), but the burgers are good — carefully cooked, juicy and meaty and just fatty enough, fresh buns — and the vibe is cheery.
(To be fair, Denver has many great burgers already on the griddles in our indigenous taverns and bars. It’s not an easy market to stand out in, even for a chain like The Counter, which drew breathlessly positive press when it served its first burgers in Santa Monica, Calif., in 2003.)
Experience (a half-dozen Counter burgers over the past few months) shows that the burgers do better with less stuff on them. As seductive as some of the mix-n-match items on the check-box menu may be (Ginger-soy glaze? Spicy sour cream? Hard-cooked egg? Or fried?), many of the toppings (particularly the sauces) rate very sweet. Which, if you’re having a shake with your burger feels redundant, and if you’re having a glass of wine, just hassles the buds.
Do stick to the basics (ketchup and mayo and so forth), and you’ll find a well-balanced, nicely cooked burger with good fat-to-meat-to-seasoning ratios, big and juicy but blessedly small enough to fit between an average set of jaws. Eatable.
On the side, fries: Sweet potato or regular serve the hot-salt-grease purpose nicely. And chili, surprisingly spicy. Shame on you if you order a side salad at a hamburger joint; The Counter’s sad bowl of limp greens is your punishment.
All is served on plastic dishware, which is curious. As a practical appliance they fail: French fries (regular and sweet potato, both served in whopping portion sizes) have a hard enough time holding heat; plastic dishes don’t help. But they fail equally as a style-point, reducing rather than elevating the impact of the burgers they hold.
A quibble? Yes. But when the bill for burgers and beer for two edges past $30, quibbles make the difference.
One shining moment: A chocolate malt, rich, cold and happily supporting a huge dollop of whipped cream.
Bottom line: You’re probably going to be at the mall more than you’d like over the next six weeks. If a burger and beer helps smooth out the shopping-season edges, you could do worse.
What do you think of The Counter? Hit and let us know.
THE COUNTER
Burgers. 8439 Park Meadows Center Drive, at The Vistas at Park Meadows, Lone Tree, 303-790-9630, the
* (Good)
Atmosphere: Industrial-lite. Aluminum seating. A few booths and a fairly big bar.
Service: Not sticklers for precision. But burgers arrive hot.
Wine: Small but useful list.
Plates: Up to $10 for a fully loaded burger.
Hours: Lunch and dinner, seven days.
Details: No reservations. Parking lot. Wheelchair accessible. Kids will love this place.
Six visits
Our star system: ****: Exceptional ***: Great **: Very Good *: Good
