DMark:
I used to live in the Chicago area, and then in NYC - both of those places have fantastic burger joints (Jackson Hole in NYC is great!) but living here on the left coast, you have a larger selection of chains to choose from.
I have to admit, as a Chicagoan, I am jealous of the quality California fast food burger joints. That’s practically all I eat when I’m on the Left Coast. Perhaps I’ll get flamed for this, but I don’t think Chicago is a great fast food burger town. This is not to say you can’t find good burgers here; it’s just that I expect more.
pulykamell:
AFAIK, they are twice fried. Where have you heard otherwise? (Also, I’ve had great once-fried fries, too, so the twice-fried thing is not a big deal to me if the fry tastes good in the end, which a Five Guys fry, to me, does.)
Sorry, been without a PC for a bit. Here’s where I heard that they’re once friedhttp://finance.yahoo.com/family-home/article/112557/wendys-natural-cut-fries-bnet
Given how bad the fries I’ve had at 5-guys were I had no problem believing they were once fried.
My experiences have been quite different. Best fast food fries, hands down. Anyhow, here’s a cite, though not any more definitive than yours.
E.F.: Overall, I was surprised that most of the fries we tried were better than I expected. But, it wasn’t until we took the advice of fellow foodies and went out together for the fries at Super Duper Weenie in Fairfield and Five Guys in Westport. Both were exceptional, but Five Guys did blow me away. And when we returned to the office with leftovers, I was amazed by the response of two co-workers who were positively ecstatic by the mere mention of “Five Guys French fries.”
L.S.: Yes, those were the fries we were looking for. They were the real deal. I even called the corporate headquarters to get the 411. Yes, they cook them twice, despite what I read online, and they mainly use Idaho potatoes that they soak in water. If they can’t get Idaho spuds, they will only accept potatoes from north of the 42nd parallel. Something about the climate and soil.
Emphasis mine.
As I said, I don’t particularly care one way or another. They’re just awesome.