Dishin': The Counter to Lunchbox Laboratory

Proving that there's a hamburger (and a pizza, and a Chinese dumpling) and related experience to suit everyone's taste, the recent writeup of Lunchbox Laboratory reminded this Seattlest of a less- satisfactory visit to Scott Simpson's place earlier this same year.

Starting this week, Ballard has another handcrafted burger joint: The Counter. And the hands that craft your burger are yours. The server will give you a form to fill, with each step offering choices of protein type, burger size, cheese, toppings, sauce, and bun. We're told there are more than 312,000 possible combinations, though you can always choose from a handful of their "signature burgers." (Pictured: The "Old School" burger, with bacon added.)

We're not normally fans of chain restaurants, but the burgers were pretty good. More on that another time. Most striking, the service was friendly, and as we looked around at the many tables, we saw customers aged 2 to 92 looking like they were having a great time. That made our burgers--and our experience--more satisfying than our previous Ballard experience.