Am I the last person to finally get a bite of a Five Guys' burger? I was waiting for the lines in NYC to die down before a visit to the hamburger mecca. So when we were in Alabama visiting my family, we trekked to Huntsville to visit friends. There was a Five Guys. But, oh no, we had to wait for the NYC one. Plus, we had other culinary adventures on our list like bbq, Chick-fil-A and Sonic (funny the things you miss!). I tell my friend Michelle how we're visiting Five Guys. "Oh, we have one in Atlanta," she replies. The walls of the restaurants (and cups) are plastered with accolades from publications in numerous cities like Philly and D.C.
We went on Sunday for lunch and the restaurant was practically empty when we entered. First of all, the burger goes down as probably one of the messiest I've eaten as I have five dirty napkins to show for it. I got "the regular" cheeseburger which has sauteed mushrooms and onions, along with tomatoes, lettuce and pickles. I added jalapenos. Big mistake. Those babies were thick and beyond hot. I can handle a jalapeno but this was too much to compete with my regular sized soda (This was before I realized refills are free.). The burger was good.. Okay, very good. I especially liked the way the cheese is smothered between two beef patties. And the sauteed onions are a nice touch. Plus, the Cajun fries rocked. Crispy on the edges, nice and soft in the middle with an excellent Cajun spice.
But in the end, I think Five Guys is just the East Coast's answer to In & Out Burger (with superior fries!). It's a good fast food burger, when you're craving it. And it's massive. I think I like it's smaller, fattier and more flavorful counterpart at Shake Shack. But I could be tempted into smuggling those fries in to eat with my Shake Shack burger (or at least on the way to Shake Shack).
Technorati Tags:Five Guys, Hamburger, Shake Shack, NYC, Best Burger
Sounds yummy! Maybe we'll get one around here soon. This is off the subject, but did you check out the January issue of Gourmet? It's all about Southern food and Southern cooking. Unfortunately, it's probably the thinnest issue of Gourmet ever, but it's worth reading.
Posted by: Mary | January 08, 2008 at 11:33 AM
Oh, no! I have the Jan. Gourmet on my coffee table this moment just waiting to be read.. I'm going to move that up on the reading schedule now. Thank you!
Posted by: Andrea | January 08, 2008 at 11:50 AM
Hmmm, Shake Shack better than Five Guys?? I'd have to eat Five Guys again to decide, but the Shack is pretty hard to beat.
My first trip to Five Guys was almost a year ago now...Would it be bad to Shake Shack one night and Five Guys the next?
Posted by: Michelle | January 09, 2008 at 12:03 AM
Five Guys is HUGE down here in Philly! In fact, a group of about 10 guys in my office has an event called Five Guys Friday, which means they all order Five Guys on a Friday for lunch and sit in our break area with a huge bag of cajun fries and those delicious burgers. I only got to eat it once before I became my new health-nazi self...but man was it good!
Posted by: Laura | January 11, 2008 at 01:04 PM