the counter custom built burgers @ willoughby rd., crows nest

Seems like everyone I know is talking about The Counter in Crows Nest - lauded and applauded for having the best burgers in Sydney. Of course, I was going to head over and check it out for myself. In tow was J and my friend K who came to join us half way through the meal.

The 'Fifty-Fifty' - fries and onion strings. You can get any combination of fries, onion strings or sweet (yam) chips. Fries and onion strings are my default order but in hindsight (and also reading Char's post - I should've tried the Yam chips)

The unique thing about The Counter is that you can build your own burger. There's 5 steps involved from 1. Choosing your burger, 2. Choosing a Cheese, 3. Choosing up to 4 toppings (extra toppings are $0.50 each and premium toppings are $1.50 per selection), 4. Choosing a sauce (1 is standard, pay extra for more) and finally 5. Choosing a Bun. As we were there to test the 'waters' so to speak, we opted for their Signature burgers which had the selections already made up for us. Here's J's 'Counter Burger' - combo of all-natural ground beef, provolone, lettuce, tomato, fried onion, sauteed mushrooms & sun-dried tomato vinaigrette. The patty was cooked medium rare which made this burger super juicy!

On the other hand, the traditionalist in me went for the 'Old School' burger - combo of all-natural beef, cheddar, lettuce, tomato, onion, pickle and red relish. The patty was cooked medium on mine and whilst nice, didn't seem quite as tasty as the one that J ordered.

J digging in. This photo makes me laugh cause you can see how excited he is about his burger!

Whilst tempted by the milkshakes they had on offer (peanut butter and apple pie flavours!), we ended up just getting the soft drinks. They were massive anyhow and with the burger, it was a bellyfull!

K joined us half way through the meal (he'd already had lunch) and well, I'm not sure how impressed he was watching us lick our lips and fingers trying to eat the burger - it can get a little messy!

Allow about $20pp for meal and drink. Next time I'll be adventurous and build my own burger.