Santa Cruz visitors

We really do appreciate Steve and Lisa coming to visit us. We don't always spend a lot of time taking them around to see the sights of Sacramento because by now they've seen most of them. And if the day is overcast and rainy like today, we don't feel much like walking outside anywhere.

They did, however, introduce us to a new restaurant in the area - The Counter. They are located in 20 cities around the world right now and apparently ready to open in 200 more!

I forgot to take any pictures so these are from their web site. I think our waitress Lindsay is the one on the left.


The concept is that you select your own meat, toppings, sides, sauces, and even buns. This gives the customer the illusion of being more in control as well as the feeling that the menu is virtually limitless. However, Carolyn and I with all 18 choices of toppings available to us picked exactly the same four. What are the chances of than?! (Well, actually on a purely random basis the chance is 1 in 3,060 that we would pick the same 4 toppings.) I just wish I were as good at picking lottery numbers.

There's even the choice of a "Burger in a Bowl" which makes a lot of sense if you are trying to cut back on your carbs. Now doesn't it look just as appetizing as a burger?

And for those of us who are intimidated by too many choices or just want to go with tried and proven combinations, there is the regular menu. We also used the regular menu to order a 50/50 Fries with half of them being yummy potato fries and the other half being more exotic sweet potato fries. There was a horseradish/mayo sauce to go with them.

Although we had to travel 10 miles to Roseville for this scrumptious meal it was worth it for special occasions. The service was as good as the food. We will definitely return.