Five Guys 2011

[Carlton]

They opened a location near me maybe 6 months ago, maybe a little more. I ran over to see what all the fuss was about. The first thing I noticed when walking in which has nothing to do with the food was "Wow I'm glad I don't have a peanut allergy!" As far as the food goes, I felt the burger, while cooked well done, at least wasn't dried out. The bacon option was very welcome, every burger needs bacon. The bun was fairly useless though, the whole burger being wrapped up so tightly in foil left it soggy and collapsed. The fries were really good but could have been crispier. The small serving was way too much to eat by myself. Burger, fries and soda came to just over $10, too much for a fast food burger meal. I went back once more a month or so later to give them another chance and haven't been back since.

[Kent D]

We have 2 locations in Wichita, but they're both 8-10 miles from where I live, and I've got a half-dozen local burger shops within walking distance, so I haven't been in a rush to try them. And besides, I ate floppy/undercooked fries, so that would kind of be a deal-breaker for me.

I'd rather we get White Castle back to town.

[Porthos]

I know there's been mention of 5 Guys Burgers before but I can't find anything in my searching. There's a new one in Rancho Cucamonga and before I drive over to try it I'd like some opinions regarding this chain.

For folks in the western US, as a point of reference, I favor Carl's Jr above all others.

So, those of you who know about 5 Guys Burgers, please fill me in.

[gfweb]

They are ok not great. Each burger is made to order on a flattop. There seems to be a lot of variability between franchises.

[catdaddy]

Great fries and fresh brewed iced tea. Burgers are best with few toppings because the beef is good.

[HungryChris]

We go to Warwick, RI on a regular basis and recently two of our frequent stops are Trader Joe's and Five Guys. We each get a small burger. I like lettuce, tomato, mayo, pickles and mushrooms on mine. We split an order of fries, wich we both enjoy, but seldom finish. I am usually impressed that when we unwrap the burgers, they are hot and juicy, while the lettuce is still cool, always a good sign. Our absolute favorite burger joint is In & Out Burger, but Five Guys has moved into second place. I will add that I have been to and not liked two other locations for Five Guys. One was in Mystic, CT and the other was on 55th St, Manhattan. We were recently going on a cruise out of Ft Lauderdale and tried the Five Guys there and we were both impressed by how good it was. I rember the price because it comes to one of the few dates in history I have managed to retian, 1066, the Battle of Hastings.

HC

[Porthos]

Thanks for finding this thread whoever took care of it.

[OliverB]

we're just back from Portland OR and went to a Five Guys there after arriving.

Hmmm. The burger was ok. Nothing special, but not bad. The fries were limp and way too many, they seem to have shoveled an other pile into our bag on top of everything else in there.

The memorable thing? All the grossly overweight people that walked in there to eat. Maybe we were just 'lucky', but it looked almost like some weird TV skit, there was not one person in there that didn't wobble around like a beached wale. Very strange.

So, burgers good for fast food, though I've had better. Fries pretty disappointing, soggy and limp and WAY TOO MANY. I'd rather have the amount I ordered done right.

Will I be back? Well, there's no 5G where I live, but if they would move in, I'd probably stop by for a decent burger with bacon. Skip the fries and get take out, enjoy with a nice cold beer at home.

(why none of these chains serve beer is really a mystery to me, McDonalds in Germany certainly does, and it's even good quality, not Bud or something like that)

[Carlton]

Thats just how the fries are. Soggy and filled to the brim.

[OliverB]

is that supposed to be a selling point? I was excited to see that many nice looking fries, but once I ate them I wished I had ordered a small portion and saved some cash, we through most of them away.

Is it really that hard to make a good fry? No, it's not. There's really no secret to it, anyone can make a great fry at home with a little prep, something that a chain restaurant should be able to do with no problem at all. Shameful actually, especially since the burger was pretty ok for a chain.

But I guess it's popular, the place was pretty full at 2:30 pm and the patrons sure looked like they eat there every day, several not even fitting on the chairs supplied.....

Oddly entertaining actually, and made me feel rather skinny

[patrickamory]

The fries are basically terrible. Do not go to Five Guys for the fries.

It's about the burgers, and specifically the toppings, for me. I usually get lettuce, tomato, raw onion, relish, ketchup, mustard, mayo, and pickles on the double cheeseburger.

It's the closest thing to a California-style burger you can easily get in New York (Shake Shack is the closest, but it's not easy), and it's pretty good. The main shortcoming is the bun, which has a tendency to disintegrate while you're eating.

I need to try the single burger to see if it works better with regard to proportion, texture and eatability.