The belly rules the mind: Future ET + TT (get it?)

I love double dates! On this night, we went out to dinner with Dang's brother and girlfriend. Quan and Ella have been together for 7 years! Crazy amazing. Quan went to UC Davis and Ella went to San Diego State. Exact opposite of Dang and I. How cute.

The Counter (4 of 5 stars)

Create your own burger!

Location: Del Mar

Check what you want!

The "Fifty-Fifty"- Sweet Potato Fries and Onion Strings ($5.95)

This was simply amazing. Not oily with an awesome crisp. I love how the onion rings were so thinly sliced that it was very crispy. They also give you three different dipping sauces- ranch, bbq, and something else I can't remember.

All mine!- $9.95

1/3 pound chicken burger on multigrain bun with soft ripened brie cheese, dried cranberries, grilled onions, grilled pineapples, organic mixed greens, sliced avocados (for $1), and apricot sauce dressing on the side

It was messy but delicious. I think I could have passed with the avocado because with so much ingredients, I could barely taste it. I really wanted cranberry and pineapple because those are things are rarely get. Ella gave the great suggestion of having chicken instead of beef. Overall, I loved my burger!

Dang's- $9.95

1/3 pound of beef burger (medium rare) on regular bun with coleslaw, red onions, roasted corn and black bean salsa, roasted red peppers, guacamole (for $1), Swiss cheese, and chipotle aioli sauce dressing on the side

Of course Dang thought this was BOMB. He was trying to go for a Latin flavor so he came up with this combination. I thought the flavors blended very well together. Definitely messy but not too oily.

Quan's- $8.95

1/3 pound of beef burger (medium rare) on regular bun with lettuce, tomato, pineapples, red onions, Swiss cheese, and honey mustard dressing on the side

He finished the whole thing in 5 minutes, so I am sure he enjoyed it!

Ella's - $10.95

This is one of their signature burgers called "The Counter Burger"

It was definitely magnificent looking especially topped with the onion strings

Cute!

He just wants me to stop taking pictures so he can eat!

All done. Yummy in our tummies

Company: Dang, Quan, Ella

Time: Wednesday, 8pm

Location: Del Mar

Type of food: American

Ambiance: Fun, chill, laid-back

Service:

Con: This took out a full star. We arrived at the entrance and had to wait 2 minutes before a hostess attended to us. The hostess simply gave us our menus and wandered off. Luckily we yelped the place before we went so we knew how everything works. However, I think hostess should explain the menu to new comers. Another thing, we didn't even receive water for our table until 10 minutes after we placed our order.

Pro: Thank you to the waitress for suggesting for us to just order one "Fifty Fifty" because it was more than enough. Awesome that the food came out at a fair pace. And awesome that they split checks.

Taste: YUM

Price: A little high for just burgers. But they were good. Totally worth it since you get to choose your own ingredients.

Overall: I had a great experience and I plan to be back!