A Double-Double is hardly “lousy food.” As for the Secret Menu…it’s a way of separating the natives from the tourists. 
It’s also not-that-secret.
I don’t know much about Culver’s or Fatburger, but I agree on Fuddruckers, and disagree on Steak & Shake- it’s as much a category 1 burger as any of the others.
Five Guys does kind of straddle 1 and 2, you’re right. I think that’s a lot of it’s problem- people can’t decide how to categorize it; if they put it in category 1 (fast food) then it shines by comparison, but if they put it in category 2 with Fuddruckers and Smashburger, then it gets beaten like a red-headed stepchild.
FYI, Taco Cabana has the same dilemma- it’s an absolutely terrific fast Tex-Mex restaurant, but pales somewhat in comparison to real Tex-Mex restaurants. In other words, it beats the crap out of Taco Bell/Taco Bueno/Del Taco, but loses out to places like Mariano’s, Uncle Julio’s, etc…
Even the blizzards seem to have gone down hill.
Well, Steak & Shake is a proper sit-down restaurant, hence category 2. It’s not really the quality of the burger. I would also put it as a middle-tier hamburger. I like Steak & Shake very much.
My husband finds my annoyance with the “secret menu” hilarious, but godDAMN it’s stupid.
This is very location dependent. Some Dairy Queens have had among the best griddled hamburgers I’ve ever had. But I suspect this may be either a difference in expectations or taste, as you don’t seem hot on In N Out, while I would classify that as the Platonic ideal of this style of burger (beating out any of the “category 2” places on bump’s list.) And the Platonic ideal of how a fast food place should be run. I’ve never ever had better service at a hamburger joint, whether mom & pop or corporate chain.
I love Five Guys and their fries. But I don’t think they are amazing in some sort of objective sense, I just think they fit my taste preferences pretty well.
That’s shocking, Ralph. Right there on the floor? Next you’ll be telling me that on farms, people pick up potatoes right off the ground.
As for Five Guys, I’ve eaten there a couple of times. The burger is OK. A Shake Shack opened in New Haven a few months ago, and I’d like to try that sometime.
I will have to check next time I am in a 5 Guys, but I thought the boxes of potatoes in the dining area are just part of the decor - there’s no real food in there, is there? I did not see anyone from the kitchen come out there to grab some spuds for cooking. I guess I am not paying enough attention to these things.:o
I’ve been to In-N-Out with In-N-Out lovers. Their burgers are fine, but their fries are absolutely the worst fries I’ve ever eaten in a burger place, and when I was in school I went at times to some really rotten burger places.
The Five Guys near me is fairly new. Their burgers were good, but their fries were outstanding. Far better than what I was expecting.
I live in the Bay Area and I really like Five Guys. I especially like the choice of toppings. I often order mine with tomatoes, green peppers, and A1 Sauce, for example. Not many burger joints have all those available.
Wow, I’m impressed with the amount of love Whataburger has gotten in this thread. I assumed that I’d get told my love for them was caused by the same nostalgia that drives adults to eat McDonald’s, or that I was some “TEXAS IS TEH BESTEST!” nutball. Their only drawback besides not making the green chile burger a regular menu item is that they aren’t all over god’s creation. My brother lived in Atlanta and had me bring him a double double when I drove there. It lost all of its charm during the 18 hour trip, and he couldn’t finish one bite. It’s good they’re branching out of the state. I can think about moving away from Texas now. 
Pulykamell, I’m sure to eventually give INO a try. Now that I’ve heard of mustard fried, I’ve got a reason to break my habits and go there.
Bump, I agree with your taxonomy based on price. However, I’ve never had a top tier burger that I didn’t think was an awful dining experience. Level 1/2 is probably where the hamburger got its start, and where it seems to thrive the best. The large chains just have a hard time delivering anything with quality, though.
Steak 'n Shake, now that’s an odd little hamburger sandwich. Even though I’m a person who likes thin hamburger patties, their patties are the meat analogue to saran wrap. Two is the mandatory starting point for their burgers. I’ve never had one that wasn’t obviously prepared after I ordered it, and I’d go there if they served nothing but their vegetable beef soup and the burgers. Those hypodermic needles they sell as french fries are for the birds, though.
No, those are definitely real bags of real potatoes. I have seen them come out and haul a bag into the kitchen. Guess they don’t have a lot of storage area in the back.
Yes..it looks really classy! I wonder if storing the potatoes in the rest rooms would look equally neat?:eek:
I like their fries. Once a week I’ll get a little hamburger with pickles, mushrooms, grilled onions and BBQ sauce, and a regular Cajun fry. I actually prefer my fries soft - hate 'em crunchy. The fries without the seasoning are too bland IMO. (The same reason I won’t eat unflavored potato chips.)
My guess is that one of the first restaurants lacked storage space and so they stored them in the dining room. Presumably they could have planned future restaurants so there is enough space in the back, but I suspect they like the look. Also it emphasizes to the customers that the restaurant isn’t serving frozen fries from a factory (as do McDonalds and other fast food chains). And I think there is a sign in the restaurant identifying the specific farm that grew that day’s potatoes.
Perhaps not, if you live in California. I’ve been on the planet for a while and am a bit of a burger freak, and I had zero idea about a hidden menu when I stopped there.
I’ve been going to 5 Guys for a couple of years now. I think the quality has been going downhill in the last year or so, enough so that I don’t go there as much any more. I do still like the fries, but for one person they give way too many.
Yeah, the first time I went there, I had no idea. And then somebody told me about it. So the second time, I simply ordered an “animal style.” Didn’t realize you had to append that description to another noun. :smack:
Eh, I find it all in good fun, and you don’t need to order off the secret menu. The good stuff’s on the regular menu, too, and I’m equally as likely to order a regular cheese burger or double double as I am an animal style one.
Anyhow, I actually have a book on In N Out history here (In-N-Out Burger:A Behind-the-counter look at the fast-food chain that breaks all the rules). Basically, the “secret menu” came out of a desire to please customers, and has stayed as a bit of mystique:
Personally, I think it’s kind of cool, and it’s hardly like In-N-Out is the only place with a “secret menu” other than theirs is a big open secret. There’s really no need to make it “official” as it’s all part of the fun, which started with certain custom orders for customers being common.