So the first place I wanted to review was Five Guys Burgers and Fries. This is a Virginia based franchise that seems to have met with general popularity across the country, that is, if all the news articles and placards in the establishment itself are to be believed. I personally now have the privilege (or hazard, depending on how you look at it) of living less than a block away from one of these joints. My first experience with Five Guys was actually during a layover at the Washington Dulles International Airport. I was waiting for my flight, and I was hungry, and saw Five Guys and decided to give it a try. Earlier, Five Guys had opened a restaurant in my hometown in upstate New York, but I never had an opportunity to go, so I seized the moment. I was blown away. My first impression was literally this: "This is the East Coast In-N-Out."
Now they're on the West Coast too, good for me (in moderation of course). The menu in Five Guys is fairly straight forward, they have a burger section, a non-burger section (including hot-dogs and stuff like that), and finally the sides (fries) and drink section. There are also complementary peanuts by the entrances. As a quick side-note, the fries are designed for sharing, you'll notice everything comes in a brown paper bag, that is because the cup that you order cannot contain the fries. Oh, and make sure you order the Cajun fries.
Anyways, we're here about the burger, it's all about the burger, so I'm not going to go on and on about the other stuff. So here we go. The concept of Five Guys I feel is really to go for kind of that "backyard BBQ" kind of burger. The meat itself is substantial, a "regular" burger entailing 2 patties (a single patty is "little") and of a fairly high quality. It's a little on the greasier side, but only just enough to flavor the meat, not render consumers to a state of queasiness. The bun is a pretty run-of-the-mill sesame bun. Where they "excel" I feel is the fixings. They have a relatively large selection, the default is "all-the-way" which is lettuce, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, and pickles, the condiments include mayo, ketchup, and mustard. Additionally, you can mix-and-match amongst such options, but also with additional fixings of raw onions and jalapenos as well as condiments of A1 steak sauce, hot sauce, relish, and BBQ sauce. I might be missing a few, but they have a list at the register when you go order. What makes the fixings is that everything is incredibly fresh. You know the onions and mushrooms were grilled to your order, everything short of the pickles (which are supposed to be pickled are fresh). If you like a little kick in your burger this is good. Most burger places slap on a bunch of deli-cut pickled jalapenos on their burgers (if they add jalapenos at all) but at Five Guys the jalapenos are fresh.
So the question now is this: how does it all work together? My summarized as thus: the burger is too much for the bun. That is perhaps the only critique I can make of the thing, I think it's probably one of the premier fast-food burger chains in the country. However, the grease plus the other stuff on the burger does have a tendency of somewhat dissolving the buns, making it difficult to hold and consume, especially towards the end of your dining experience. However, that being said, the entire burger is something worth having. Just make sure you eat it with something underneath as a lot of stuff leaks out while your eating.
I suppose I should have this section so that there can be some comparison:
Rating of the Burger:
Meat: A
Bun: B-
Fixings: A+
Condiments: A+
Sides: A
Price: $6-$10 (depending on if you get fries and/or a drink)
Overall Grade: A
Recommended Burger: Cheeseburger, All-the-way, no ketchup, no mustard, A1, hot sauce, and jalapenos
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