dinner at the counter

Our family went to dinner at The Counter last night, a new eatery in town.  The concept behind this place is that it is a build-your-own burger joint.

Walking in we were greeted by very friendly people with fantastic music in the background.  My husband and I were amused that somehow the place has managed to hit the exact right blend of music.  Not only did we like it, our teenager liked it and our young server liked it too.  We were given a menu that allowed us to create our perfect burger from four different proteins, the choice of a burger or a bowl, followed by a very wide selection of cheeses, toppings, sauces, and a choice of buns.

My husband ordered a beef burger with gruyere cheese and an assortment of toppings, our daughter choose a veggie burger with her topping preferences and I choose a chicken breast to be served in a bowl.  Several things stood out with our order that I thought were fabulous.  Their beef is humanely raised, grass fed, antibiotic and hormone free and they claim it is never frozen.  The veggie burgers are made in-house and are not simply reheated, cardboard tasting, burger-shaped pucks.  My salad was made with organic greens.  All three tasted absolutely delicious.  The beef was tender, juicy and very flavorful.  The veggie burger was, quite frankly, the best veggie burger I have ever had.  I'm not sure how they make it but it was moist and really stood out compared to any other veggie burger.  My chicken salad came on a bed of organic greens with the most amazing pesto.  I loved the fact that my sauce came on the side so I could choose how much I put on my meal.  We also shared some sweet potato fries with a horseradish mayonnaise.  While I'm certainly used to eating mayonnaise with my fries I will confess that I really don't like horseradish so I was suspicious of why anyone would put it into mayonnaise.  It turned out to be the perfect compliment to the fries.  Not too strong, certainly not overwhelming, just a tiny bit of bite that went very well with the sweetness of the thin cut fries.  We ended the meal by sharing an oversize chocolate chip cookie that was so large we wound up taking half of it home.  And speaking of taking it home, I was really happy to see a wax paper lined box instead of a styrofoam container.

A few things stood out to me that I think would improve the restaurant.  The artwork was great but I felt that otherwise the blue and chrome decor was rather cold and sparse.  I'd love to see it warmed up a bit.  I'm a little disappointed that with all of the wonderful local, organic, humanely raised, etc they still had conventional ketchup on the table.  Sadly that ketchup is made with high fructose corn syrup and not a healthy choice.  I would also have liked sea salt and fresh ground pepper on the table.

Overall I think this restaurant has a lot going for it and I hope that it will be successful and stay in the area.  I love the concept, I really like a lot of their food choices and what they stand for.  I absolutely admire the fact that a number of things, their sauces, the veggie burger, and even their cookies are all made in-house on the premises.  That speaks a lot to the quality that they are going for and it shows in how tasty their food is.

I liked the food so much that as I was walking out the door I was already thinking about ideas for what I will build the next time I go back.

If you haven't been yet go check it out, they have locations all over the country and even a couple of locations in Ireland.

organic beef giveaway

Rocky Mountain Organic Meats

When I teach classes helping folks learn how to make good healthy choices for their diet, organic is at the top of the list.  While I certainly understand that many of us cannot afford to eat 100% organic (I know I can't) there are ways to make sure that you are making the best possible choices.  Organic dairy and organic meat are at the very top of my list.

Organic standards are defined by the USDA and require certification to ensure that producers are meeting the standards set forth in the National Organic Program.  Organically raised animals are not given any hormones, antibiotics, medications to encourage growth, or genetically modified feed.  They are also allowed access to the outdoors on pesticide free grasslands and not placed into Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFO).

When it comes to dairy and beef products grass-fed is the best.  Why?  The biggest reason is that cows are not meant to eat corn.  They are ruminant animals and will be healthier if they are allowed to graze.  Their healthier lives in turn create a healthier product.  Beef from grass-fed cows has been scientifically proven to be better for you.  A study published in the April 2010 Nutrition Journal shared the results of three decades of research comparing grain-fed and grass-fed cattle.  The grass-fed cattle produced beef that was higher in conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) and omega-3 fatty acids, higher vitamin A content and lower overall fat.     Grain-fed beef tended to have higher cholesterol elevating myristic and palmitic fatty acids.  Clearly, if you are going to eat beef you want the organic, grass-fed variety.

See those cows in that pretty picture up there?  They live in Heart Mountain, WY where they are being watched over by my new friend Rod at Rocky Mountain Organic Meats.  He's generously offering up 10 pounds of his finest grass-fed organic ground beef, for FREE!  It's an $85 value which includes shipping; all you have to do is join in the contest.  How do you join?  It's easy:

1.  Subscribe to the email feed for this blog (if you are already subscribed say so in the comments)
2.  Become a Fan of RockyMtnCuts or GrainsAndMore on Facebook (if you already are say so in the comments)
3.  Follow Rocky Mountain Organic Meats or GrainsAndMore on Twitter (if you already do say so in the comments)
4.  Mention or link to this giveaway on your blog or twitter feed (leave a comment to let me know where)

One entry allowed per method.  That gives you seven chances to win.  Contest is open until October 25, 2010, 12:00 p.m. CST.

Winner is kindly requested to share a picture and recipe made with the prize for posting back here on the blog.

Good luck!

P.S.  Want to stay in touch with Rod?  You can sign up for his newsletter and get the latest and greatest from Rocky Mountain.

Legal mumbo-jumbo (sorry, boring but necessary):


This giveaway is strictly meant to be entertainment, no express guarantees are provided here (although I'm sure Rod wants you to be a very satisfied customer).
The product is coming directly from Rocky Mountain Organic Meats, therefore Grains&More assumes no responsibility for shipping or product.
Odds of winning depend on the number of entries.
Any taxes are the responsibility of the winner.
Grains&More did not receive any financial compensation for this offer.