Review: Five Guys Burger and Fries

My wife and I were hungry the other night, but we didn’t want the spaghetti I made for the kids. She had mentioned earlier in the day that she was craving a burger, so I thought it would be a good time to try out the new Five Guys Burger and Fries that just opened recently. Yes, it’s the first one in our city.

I checked out their website first to see what it was all about and what options they had on the menu. Once in the restaurant, the friendly, perky employee at the counter asked if I had ever been there before and needed help with the menu. I told her I had checked them out online and knew what I wanted. I ordered a cheeseburger exactly the way I like it: with lettuce, tomato, and grilled onions. For my wife I ordered a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, ketchup, mustard, and grilled mushrooms. I ordered us both a regular order of regular fries (not Cajun), got my order number, and sat down.

While waiting, I noticed the big box of peanuts on the counter for those waiting or dining in to enjoy, along with a sign warning of peanut allergies and to please not take the peanuts out of the store for that reason. I mostly paid attention to the employees behind the counter assembling orders. Everything in this particular store is done in view of customers. I didn’t see any food preparation that bothered me. And I enjoyed watching the fries guy adding extra “bag fries” to every order.

I also noticed most of the burgers they were assembling had two patties.  I hadn’t realized that’s how they made them. I guess the “Little Burger” on the menu is a single patty burger. The great thing about Five Guys is that you can pretty well customize your burger however you want it. Any of the toppings in any combination (cheese, and bacon are an extra charge)… don’t want a bun? That’s fine too.

Once home, I shared the bag fries with the kids – they liked them and want to try out the restaurant themselves sometime. I enjoyed the fries, long and kind of thick cut with the skins on, but they weren’t really anything special. The burger was huge, two patties stacked with a slice of cheese between, and I think there was another slice of cheese in there somewhere too. There was the perfect amount of lettuce, and two thickish slices of tomato, both on top of the patties, and the grilled onions under the patties. There was just a vague hint of pink in the very middle of the top patty, nothing to be concerned about. The bun was nice and soft, covered everything well, and had sesame seeds on it (my favorite kind of hamburger bun). The bun held up well under the weight of the burger and toppings.

The burger tasted good, but there wasn’t anything special about it. My wife said there was way too much food for her, but she enjoyed it about as much as I did (the kids ate her leftovers).

Five Guys makes good burgers and fries, but there’s nothing special about them.