Counter Service has launched as a fast casual-ish sandwich shop serving up a variety of cold sandwiches, hot sandos, and some other smaller bites like desserts and snacks.
the space is a throwback to luncheonettes of decades past except with modern touches like touchscreen menus to order from . clean to the eye with a well-maintained interior with a few seating options if dining in.
ordered a Sausage, Egg, + Cheese TO GO via app (my sandwich stayed pretty warm despite a short walk home). the sandwich by their description is pretty accurate: "House made pork sausage topped with melty cheddar, a fried egg, a hash brown that we make ourselves, garlic mayo, and pickled jalapeños (that we pickle), on a sesame brioche bun." the flavors of the sandwich come together nicely. big hat tip on hash brown which stayed super crispy in the sandwich and is damn good. the egg was more of an overcooked seasoned egg puck...more of a disk than a texture or flavor. didn't really see the cheese, but it was sorta over melted into the hash brown--definitely the sandwich needs more cheese and it sb visibily melted all over the sand. the sausage patty (and the aforementioned sausage patty) are the heroes of this sandwich as the patty tastes great, cooked nicely, firm, but not chewy, and you can taste the meatiness without it being drowned by other flavors. big hat tip for grinding a homemade quality pork patty (bc commercial ones in the supermarket and most other places are the drizzly shits). not sure where Counter Service gets its brioche buns, but this is what brioche buns should be: a fluffy firm but soft bun that has underlying sweet buttery flavor. most commercial bakery brioche are terrible and collapse in a burger or hot sandwich bc they use too much butter, inferior ingredients, or made incorrectly. thankfully, Counter Service is baking their own bread or sourcing it from a quality bakery as it shows in the end product. the garlic mayo doesn't add much imo, but to each his/her own, but it doesn't hinder the taste by being too garlicky. the pickled jalapeños are a nice touch...a tiny bit of heat at the end of each bite/chew.
the sandwiches are made to order (no microwaves)--the cooked items are cooked on the spot BUT NOT BY GRILL! since it's a fast casual spot, they use that fast high heat conveyor oven to cook each element of the sandwich separately and then combine it as the oven speeds up making a sandwich with hot elements. the only sandwich ingredient that suffers cooking this way is the egg which really loses its eggy silkiness. also, my sandwich ingredients was stacked way different than how it is pictured on menus, website, etc. while it tasted fine, i do think the optimal bite/chew is probably in the way it is shown online...despite all of it going into the same place....YOUR MOUTH! and again, more cheese visibly as it felt missing from mine though it was there. consistency is about consistency whether it be sandwich flavors or visualizing them.
also if you like pretzels, order the SWEET + SPICY BROKEN PRETZELS. worth it as a snack. trust.
my Sausage, Egg, + Cheese sandwich took about 15 minutes. not bad in my opinion for a a sandwich filled with good ingredients that taste like what they are supposed to be for the most part. the service is sorta non-existent bc you order by touchscreen or any of the usual suspect food ordering apps. both workers were focused on banging out the order, so there isn't really time for chattiness in the evening hours...maybe in the daytime?
will most likely try Counter Service for one of their larger cold sandwiches down the line. they are definitely working out the kinks of the menu and the good thing is there is room for improvement on sandwiches that i daresay are quality bites and combine quality elements into fairly unique eating experiences. all that said, prices edge on the higher side for fast casual, but welcome to 2025. it's a wild world... read more