OK, it’s time for my annual rant about restaurants…or lack thereof, in Foster City. Earlier this week I took the kids to dinner at The Counter in San Mateo. It recently opened across from the Hillsdale Mall in a little space that’s on the corner of the building that houses Trader Joe’s (used to be Tower Records and The Good Guys). The Counter is really sort of obscene…it has way too many choices if you ask me. For example, you have 30 choices of toppings for your burger (including burger regulars like dried cranberries, and hard boilded eggs) 12 types of cheeses and 21 sauces including Apricot sauce, Ginger Soy glaze and Tzatziki Sauce. The idea is that you sort of build your own custom burger…check out that link above and see for yourself.
Honestly…I still like Jack’s Prime better. It did make me think though, about how many custom burger joints have opened around here in the last few years. In San Mateo, in addition to The Counter and Jack’s we have Jeffrey’s Hamburgers, Rave Burger on 3rd Ave and of course Taxi’s on El Camino.
In Belmont (of all places!) there’s the relatively new Godfather’s Burger Lounge and the little Classic 101 Burgers on Ralston. In San Carlos there’s Sneakers , Pudley’s, The Office and even though their specialty is Pastrami, The Refuge makes a terrific burger too!
All of which brings us to Foster City. Why, exactly is it that Foster City can’t support a single burger joint? I don’t get it! OK, OK we can go to Red Robin but technically that’s in San Mateo too. What’s up with that? In Foster City we get McDonalds and Carl’s Jr. Pardon my whining…but why can’t Foster City join the club? Imagine telling your friends, “Hey, I know Jacks or the Counter are cool but have you tried XXX burgers in Foster City? It’s THE BEST!”
Now THAT’S a fantasy worth considering!
When the most famous restaurant in your town is Chevy’s, then maybe your town could use some new restaurants. I actually really like that Chevy’s too, and we go there alot. The waterfront location can’t be beat, but can you imagine thinking of a Chevy’s when you think of restaurants in San Mateo or San Carlos? Even Redwood City has a number of new, good restaurants! Turtle Bay, in my opinion is really excellent. I’m crazy about the “Lazy” Dungeness Crab and their Cioppino! I’ve had some great meals at Kobe in Edgewater Place and ABC Seafood too…I just wish there were more like them. How about you? Wouldn’t it be great to see something like San Carlos’ ”Town” or San Mateo’s Kingfish or Ristorante Capellini in Foster City? 
Shrikant on 
allie on 
Dana Ferri on 
A reader on 
Suresh on 
