I read about Five Guys burgers here recently, and they sounded good. Of course, they’re not in this area…
Only they are! New one just opened in town. Tonight on a whim I decided to give them a try. I ordered a cheeseburger, regular fries, and a Mr. Pibb.
The fries are made from ‘local’ potatoes. There was a whiteboard stating where today’s supply came from, and I think the variety. Nice gimmick. There was a banner in the store quoting someone (or entity) proclaiming that Five Guys fries are The Best. They’re pretty good. I like seasoned salt occasionally. Since I was driving home, I did not partake of the malt vinegar or catsup. I’ve had better fries, and I’ve had worse fries. I don’t keep a scoreboard. So let’s just mark them ‘Will buy again.’ There was one problem, though. I could do without the lagniappe. They put a cup of fries in the bag, and then they dumped in more fries. I only got through half of them. Next time, no lagniappe.
The burger was also good. Maybe a little too big, but not outrageous. How’d it taste? Like a Wendy’s burger. I like Wendy’s, so that’s a good thing. Not The World’s Best Burger, but better than many. Now that I have a baseline, I can add different things to it. Free jalapeños!
I rate Five Guys fries right down there with In-N-Out fries. That is, crap to worse than crap. The best fast fries around here are from The Hat. My ideal lunch would be an In-N-Out Double Double, Animal style, Hat fries and a draft Sierra Nevada.
I’ve got a Five Guys a couple of blocks from my apartment. It’s good. The thing that must be remembered is that it’s good for a fast-food place. I’d rather eat there than McDonald’s (the worst of the fast-food places, IMHO), Burger King, Wendy’s, or even White Castle (which I love).
But it’s not a great burger. I can think of a few places here in New York that make a great burger, and none of them are fast-food joints.
Bobby Van’s burger is fine. It’s excellent. Peter Luger’s burger is, I think, better. And there’s a place down on Stone Street called Nebraska Beef that has an incredible burger. Order it with sauteed mushrooms. Nebraska Beef is a weird place, but their burgers are my favorite.
I tried Peter Luger burger last year but didn’t much care for it.
I’ve not heard of Nebraska Beef, though, but I’m going to have to shortlist it now.
Have you ever been to Jean Georges? It’s not really a burger joint (at all, really) but they have a burger and it’s good. Really tiny but I’m not a huge eater, so it worked for me.
They opened one near us a few months ago. The burgers are good, but I don’t share the enthusiasm of my sis and her husband, who rave about them. They’re good, but I don’t get excited about burgers the way I would about an awesome burrito place. I do like the texture of the smashed burgers though.
A meal at the 5 Guys here will run ya north of $10, which is a lot for a burger, drink and awful, horrible fries. Cheese, vinegar, ketchup and cajun seasoning all failed to save the fries, which were very soggy and not crisp at all. Next time I go I’m just getting a burger. Actually, there’s a Steak and Shake almost right next door, and they have the same smashed burgers and these wonderful crispy thin fries there. And good milkshakes. So I’ll probably just stick to S&S.
BTW why do they serve free peanuts? If you do order the nasty fries they’re not stingy with them, and their burgers are decent sized. I can’t see too many people needing to fill up on peanuts after eating their meal.
The peanuts are there so you can eat them while you wait for your burger, hence the floor covered in shells. I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone eat the peanuts after they got their food. I think it’s a concession to the fact that your order takes longer to come out than a traditional fast food place.
I don’t get the hate for the fries; I like them. Of course, apparently they’re really bad for you and they give you a metric ton of them.
I love Five Guys. I don’t know what they do to the meat, but it tastes gooooood. I don’t care if it’s soylent green.
I was so glad to have them open a store just two blocks away from my house. I try to give them my business, but I’m also trying to cut out greasy dining out food.
Unbelievable! How long did you live in LA? The Hat also has delicious pastrami, and for a real pig out get a double chiliburger and a pastrami dip. Hell, if you are going all the fucking way to Alhambra, you may as well stock up.
In-N-Out’s intent is good on their fresh cut fries, but they really should fry them in lard.
Never been to Five Guys, but do I really have to go to Cerritos in order try the damn thing?
In-N-Out fries are phenomenal, the problem is that they don’t travel or age well - you have to eat them HOT - that is, within 5 minutes of receiving them.
Once they start to cool, yes, they become a disgusting soggy mess. Don’t get them to go.
I also don’t get the 5 Guys raving. its ok. thats it.
We just got Five Guys. I’ve been there once. I thought the burger was excellent, as good as Swenson’s, one of our local drive-ins. The fries were a total waste.
The fries at our Five Guys are not soggy. They fry them nice and crisp. I think this varies from outlet to outlet, at least that’s the way it seems from what others say. That said, I’ve also eaten at the Five Guys in Warrenton VA and the fries weren’t soggy there either.
I never take out, I eat right away in the store, maybe as a previous poster said, that is the key to my more positive fry experience.
At any rate, I like 'em – they don’t signal the arrival of Moshiach or anything – but I enjoy the burger.
I ate at a Five Guys twice in the past week, and had never eaten there before (only a couple of blocks from the hotel I was in)…the first time the fries were fantastic, very firm and yellow-looking, nearly perfect. The second time they were more brown and a little soggier. I get the sense that because they (supposedly) cut and make their fries on a day-to-day or even batch-by-batch basis, there’s an incredible potential for variability. Cooking fresh-cut fries is pretty easy, but also easy to mess up if you’re not careful.
We have a new Five Guys and tried it out last week. I thought the fries were good and not soggy; and holy crap do they give you a metric shitload of them. I also appreciated the malt vinegar. Tasty!
The burger was a little greasy but pretty delicious. So while I can say I’ve had better burgers (I like Red Robin, in this area) I would definitely go back.
