Your days of "hold the onion, please" are finally over. Located in Lincoln Park, The Counter lets you customize everything between bread, straight down to the sauce.

The concept is simple: First you get to choose your burger (beef, turkey, veggie or grilled chicken), then you pick from the list of fanciful cheeses, including Danish blue, gruyere, Greek feta and imported swiss. Once you've settled on the heavy stuff, move on to the trailing list of toppings, which highlights unconventional choices like dill pickle chips, grilled pineapple, roasted corn and black bean salsa. From there, top it all off with one of The Counter's 18 sauces, ranging from sweet Apricot Sauce to spicy sour cream. Keep it traditional with a slathering of honey mustard and mayo, or branch out and get a dollop of ginger soy glaze, roasted garlic aioli or red relish.

Too many options can be overwhelming, though. And The Counter doesn't want you to get your stomach all in knots debating between honey cured bacon or black forest ham, so they've come up with a list of favorites. These signature choices highlight classic sandwich selections like grilled chicken with Gruyere cheese, mixed greens and honey mustard and the "old school" with ground beef, Tillamook cheddar, veggies and red relish.

Carb-conscious folk will coo for The Counter's "burger in a bowl" – a glorified, meat-heavy salad. And let's not forget about the best fried appetizer on the block: the restaurant's "Fifty-fifty," a hefty serving of onion strings with your choice of regular or sweet potato fries.

Follow The Counter on Twitter.

Average cost: <$10

Centerstage Reviewer: Stacy Warden