The Counter-Kahala

The Counter to me, is an upscale burger joint. Located at Kahala Mall, right across from Chillis, this new burger place was crowded. We put our names in, and had to wait about 20 minutes for a table. While we were waiting, they gave us all an "order sheet" for the BYOB (Build Your Own Burger) section. You start off with choosing Beef, Turkey, Veggie, or Grilled Chicken. From there you pick the size, 1/3, 2/3, or 1lb. Starting at $8.95, and up from there. You choose 1 cheese, anything from Gruyere to Tillamook Cheddar, and any other selection sets you back another buck. Moving on to toppings. You can choose up to 4, from Red Onions, Jalepenos, sprouts, to then the "premium toppings" which all are $1 more. Things like Honey Cured Bacon, or even Kim Chee. Next was a sauce, they had a lot to choose from, 18 to be exact. Teriyaki, Honey Mustard, and even plain Mayo. So the burger I built was Beef (of course) the 2/3 patty ($10.95) then I had Horseradish Cheddar cheese, red onions, dill pickle chips, grilled onions, and grilled pineapple. For my sauce, roasted garlic Aioli, on top of a hamburger bun. We also ordered some Fried Dill Pickle chips ($4.95) and Sweet Potato Fries ($4.95). The fried pickles were good, but very small portion, the fries were awesome and came with plenty to share.

Below is a picture of my burger. It was ordered Medium Well. Grilled onion and melted cheese on top, the red onions, pickles on the bottom. I had already removed the grilled pineapple and ate it on the side.


They had other things to choose from, such as ordering your burger/chicken/veggie as a "bowl." This would be on a bed of baby greens, no bun. Also had BLT, Ham & Swiss ($7.50) a Loco Moco, some desserts, a very good looking peanut butter shake, but we were too full to try anything else.

We were all very pleased with our visit to The Counter, and look forward to stopping back in to try other things on the menu.

The Counter
4211 Waialae Ave E-1
Honolulu, HI 96816
808.739.5100
thecounterburger.com

Summer Frappe

After enjoying a Saturday morning walking through ChinaTown, picking up fresh vegetables, and other little eats, my wife and I stumbled onto Summer Frappe. I walked right past it, headed to pick up some manapua and pork hash for my dad. We then walked back to the window and gazed at all the fresh fruit in the glass case.
Since my wife spent a year of school in the Philippines, her first instinct was to see if they sold a green mango smoothie. She likes them sour. I looked at all the pictures on the wall from pineapple to avacado, and even jackfruit. No green Mango.
All smoothies ranging from $3.50 to $4.50. I thought, why not, let's give it a try. When there was no picture of a green mango smoothie, I asked the lady if she could make one. "No problem" she said as she walked in the back to get a nice fresh, green mango. She then asked if she wanted it really sour, or with some sweetness. My wife, not liking too much sugar, said, very little sweet. The lady making the drink asked if we had ever been to the Philippines, as most of the people who ask for green mango, are her Filipino customers. I told her that I didn't but my wife had. Within 2 minutes the drink was done, and it was just what my wife thought it would be. The drink had a nice sour taste of green mango, with a small hint of sweetness. Too sour for me, but my wife liked it.
We will definately be back to Summer Frappe, when we are in ChinaTown again.

82 N Pauahi St
Honolulu, HI 96817
(808) 772-9291