They do that at The Hat, too. Only their fries are…you know…good. 
Right. And there’s this about IN&OUT- the quality is consistent. (And despite the limited menu that appears, you can order anything they can do with those ingredients, and they try and do it. For example, many do like their fries, but I found them not crispy enuf, so I order them extra crispy. No problemo).
Five Guys? I have been to a few, and the quality is just not consistent. First time- slightly better than IN&OUT, but no 1000 island dressing (boo!). Next time? Meh.
The only Five Guys in my area that I know of is 30 miles away in Pigeon Forge which I have been to twice and each time that I have been there, the food was great to where I wish that there was one closer to my house. My last time being there was on this year’s Labor day.
God bless you always!!! 
Holly
As long as I have Burger King, I’m not gonna slum it with 5 Guys. Burgers are so greasy that the carry-out bag is covered in grease! Gross.
Normally, I do not let anything containing mayo touch my hamburger. My standard fast-food burger toppings are the following: ketchup, mustard, onions, pickle. That’s it, and that’s what I order to compare burger places. Well, and cheese. I don’t even like bacon on my burgers. But In N Out is my one exception. That’s the only place I’ll take the “special sauce.” I don’t know why. But their burger with my normal toppings is damned good, too.
And my little hometown cafe which is on second generation ownership. Though you’ll have to sit and wait while they hand-pat the burger and toast the homemade bun on the grill.
And cheap dill pickle chips, ketchup, mustard and onions are the only accompaniments. But it’ll cost you a pittance and provide you with a PostWWII experience at the same time.
I couldn’t handle another trip to Five Guys. The peanuts gimmick was fun but the building was built in a sort of deconstructionist way with metal high ceilings and girders and all the little folks running around and yelling echoed like crazy in there.
They opened one near where I work a few years back. My sister and her husband have been to their other locations, raved about them, and were very excited. To me 5G is okay, definitely a cut above McDonalds, Sonic, and the like, but I’m still mystified as to why my sis raves about them so much.
There is a Steak n Shake right near the Five Guys that has similar burgers but more menu options plus they’re a lot cheaper and their fries don’t suck. I love SnS’ shoestring fries a lot but hate the soggy, tasteless thicker fries that the 5G have.
I don’t normally rave about ANY burger place but we did go to one called Burgatory that was very very good. Not sure if it’s a chain or not, and it’s expensive for fast food ($9 -14 and up per burger). But they had some of the best burgers I’ve eaten.
Absolutely. In-N-Out is way, way, WAY over-hyped. The burgers aren’t inedible, but they have Wonder Bread buns, and the patties are just normal fried gobs of 2nd or 3rd tier beef. But it’s the love for their fries that is perplexing.
They are not good fries. I think folks believe that because they can see them cutting raw potatoes in front of them that they are the ultimate in freshness and therefore, must be great. Those people can not think objectively, as the fries are below meh.
Well, the In N Out thing is not nostalgia for me, as I never had any nostalgia for the place, having grown up in Chicago and not having an In N Out until about 5 or 6 years ago. My mother-in-law, who is from Chippewa Falls, was introduced to In N Out by me in Phoenix (where she lives) and now it’s become her little guilty pleasure. It’s just a solid, fast-food burger. If that’s not a good griddled fast-food style burger, what is? Serious question. I don’t know how the heck you can even insinuate it’s 3rd tier beef. It may not be prime beef (which I assume you’d call first tier), but it’s fine, freshly ground beef, and why in the heck would you waste prime beef on a burger? I assume it’s choice primal cuts. In N Out’s meat is every bit as good as the beef I use when I make my own burgers at home.
I personally don’t like their fries, but I could see how people do. I like my fries more towards Five Guys style. I like the skin on them, I like them somewhat crispy, but a bit mushy on the inside, and tasting of potato. In N Out is just bland to me, a little maybe too potato-y, but I could see the appeal for some.
Greasy, extremely overcooked burgers accompanied by a huge mound of limp, grease-laden fries. A whole lot of folks like them, but I’m not a fan. My wife’s family won’t eat beef that has even the slightest touch of pink, so it’s the perfect place for them.
Yes, this style of burger is generally cooked well done because it’s a relatively thin patty and, when cooking from fresh not frozen, it is rather difficult, if not impossible, to cook anything less than medium well and still get the outside charring that is key to this style.
Look, I like my steak on the rare side of medium rare, as do I pub burgers that are usually half pounders. I love to have the juices oozing out of those things. That makes me happy. But with fast food burgers and thin patties, it’s pretty much gotta be well done. If I want a rare burger, I go to a pub. And that’s fine. But it’s really apples and oranges, two quite different styles.
When I finally tried Five Guys my impression was that while the individual ingredients on the burger seemed to be good, there was no synergy. There was a good meat patty, and a good bun, and some good lettuce and onion, but the whole thing didn’t add up to a balanced burger.
In-n-Out, on the other hand, delivers a burger where all the different parts work together to produce a unified burger experience. There’s no comparison.
I don’t think anyone can beat INO for a fast food burger. Give me a double double and I’m happy as can be.
(shrug) I just think they taste good. I’m not the foodie type who gets super-finicky about the process used to make my food (within reasonable health/safety guidelines, of course), I just care about how the result tastes.
Absolutely right. But I prefer the taste of beef, not grease – which is what I taste from Five Guys. I love the taste of charring and perhaps Five Guys does this with their burgers. Unfortunately, I’ve yet to experience it. Maybe if I had gone when they weren’t so busy I’d have had less grease and more of the “char” that we both find so tasty. Until then, I’d rather make mine at home or go to a pub-style place. Forced to fast food, I’ll stick to a chicken sandwich, I suppose. In any case, that doesn’t excuse those fries that Five Guys serve. They have the consistency and taste of what I’d imagine salt-laden strips of ten-ply toilet tissue soaked in hot grease would provide.
Well, you’re in good company. Thomas Keller likes 'em, too. He even catered the 16th anniversary party of The French Laundry with In N Out Burgers. 
It’s true. Their burgers, like In N Out, are certainly on the greasy side. But that’s part of what I like about them. When I make mine at home, I generally stick to around 70-30 meat-fat for thin burgers. Pub style 1/2-lbers I’ll go 80-20 or maybe 85-15, but no leaner.
As for the fries, I don’t know if you had a bad experience, or we just like different fries. These are the kind of fries I like, and Five Guys comes pretty close to those.
Meh.
Never ordered the fries after the first time.
And I always get a huge sneezing attack after I go in there, even to just pick up to go. Peanut “stuff” in the air???
There is one near me that is actually one of two burger places in the same shopping center with articles posting proclaiming it the best burger in Broward County.
-D/a
I’ve had Five Guys twice. I heard from a few friends that it was a good burger, but I hadn’t heard any of the hype at the time. My opinion was that the cajun fries were good, but nothing really memorable. The bacon cheeseburger was"eh-ok." While the portions were impressive, I felt that the price was too much for what I thought was an average fast food burger. Ignoring the price, it was a better burger then McDonalds, but the price difference really wasn’t worth it.
As for the In-and-Out love, I really liked their burgers (Double-Double, mustard fried but not animal style) and fries (I got them twice fried,) but I don’t get the level of fanaticism that they seem to inspire.
Peace - DESK
Agreed. A regular fry is enough for 2-3 people. What’s really annoying is the way they pack them. They just dump the frys in the bag after the burger along with a plastic cup the frys are supposed to be in. Cause everybody shoving their bare hands into a bunch of piping hot french frys to get the burger out.