The goal was to find (and feature) some of the best burgers in the Bay Area, so we headed off to The Counter in San Mateo by the Hillsdale Mall last weekend.  I had already been to the one at Santana Row in the past but this was my sister’s first time.   Ode to juicy burger!  The burgers at The Counter are one of the finest and juiciest; a favorite of many.  It was 3pm by the time we got here,  so there was no waiting for a table.  On the weekend, the place can be packed with a wait of about 15-20 minutes.  It’s always worth it, though.

The Counter in San Mateo

We kept it simple this time; bacon and swiss cheese and honey mustard on the side.  Easy enough, nothing too complicated.

Hungry some?

Custom burgers.  You decide what you want, how much meat and what features you want to include.  The clipboard with the menu includes everything you can pile on top of your chosen protein.   I’ve had mine with a fried egg on top!  Your choices of meat:  beef, chicken, turkey or veggie! All locally sourced.   It’s up to you!  You can also skip the bun if you’re off carbohydrates.

Your Checklist; Now go invent your own signature burger!

You can even design your own shake or fashion your own cocktail ~ I had a banana milk shake.

Beverage and Shake Options. Fashion your own cocktail!

Banana milkshake ~ with REAL bananas! This one's my fave.

And as for sides, we opted for onion rings and sweet potato fries.  Some of the onion rings went into the burger.  Burp!!

Onion rings and sweet potato fries

Oh yeah, someone went to town!

Our Facebook friends sent us more suggestions for really great burgers so this is only the beginning of our Burger Bars series.  If you’ve got a suggestion, feel free to let us know and we’ll check ‘em out.  In the meantime, I’m sipping on my Coke Zero right now.  Gotta save the calories, ya know.