By Channing Whitaker | Staff Writer

The Counter restaurant franchise originated out of Southern California and started to be well-known in 2006. Since then, the franchise has expanded to having 45 restaurants in the United States with 7 restaurants in Northern California.

Originally, the place was suppose to be in Pacific Commons, but the approval took too long so the restaurant moved to Gateway Plaza on Paseo Padre Parkway which opened on April 19, 2014.

Walking into The Counter, the atmosphere was very friendly despite being loud. The Counter is a “Build Your Own Burger” place and you fill out a form inside the menu and decide what type of burger you want and what ingredients you want to put inside of it.

Even though it is a “Build Your Own Burger” place, I decided to have one of their signature burgers on the menu called the Counter Burger while having an Apple Pie shake. The service was very quick and took only about 10 minutes before I received my shake and 10 minutes afterwards, I received my burger.

The Counter Burger consisted of many ingredients including: half pound of All-Natural Ground Beef, Provolone, Lettuce, Tomatoes, and Fried Onions. The burger tasted very juicy, with the ingredients really accompanying the all-natural ground beef. While for my drink, the Apple Pie Shake was exactly as advertised as they literally blended pieces of Apple Pie and despite the shake being thick, it tasted like heaven.

After my experience at The Counter, I would recommend others going to this restaurant. Not only is it fast service for a sit-down restaurant, but the food prices for the burgers were about or less than $10. Whether you create your burger or order one, it will definitely make your stomach very happy.

Taste of Food: 9/10 Atmosphere: 8/10 Food Service: 10/10