The First Meeting

I'm not sure I have a full review in me but here are the pics from our first of the 'Dinner Club' series.  It's basically 3 guys, a different place each month, in keeping with the 'man food' we like to eat.  First up is the 'The Counter' just off Lindero Canyon Rd. It's a build your own burger joint and overall fairly impressive, at least the idea of it, given that it's Westlake-new.

For me, a good burger is about the meat, the texture, the taste of said patty.  Then the bun, then the toppings. While I wasn't terribly impressed by the burgers as a whole (they were decent), I thought the patty itself was won-der-ful.  The simple fact they cook it with a true pink in the middle excites me.  That's a lost art.  And it's clearly good meat they start with (heartily-portioned too).

The sweet potato fries were stand-out good,  The icy beer glasses also a nice touch.  Otherwise, I felt the mark was missed ever-so-slightly.  The recipe for success is there but I was wanting more somehow.  if it were my place, I could dial it in to win, no question.  Then again, I was a little off that day so I'll need to invoke the 'try it twice' clause before I pass final judgement.  Stella's in Newbury Park might be the best of the local burger stops having passed the 'let's just phone it in from now on' mentality of Jack's Deli of the past few visits.  Good vibes come from Jerry's Deli across the street, I've been to the valley location and it's faboo (real good).  We might need to hit that at some point.

Next month is not going to be Soup Plantation or Boulangerie, that much we know.