Five Guys

You want hamburgers, we got hamburgers. And fries- but they are the greasy, limp and meaty, skin sometimes on fries. You know the type. Not my favorite kind, but not bad. I just prefer crunchy fries. But the hamburgers are good.

There are basically two schools of thought in hamburger patty design — make ’em thick, or make ’em thin. Five Guys is firmly in the latter camp. What really makes them, in my opinion, is that glorious crusty carmelization they let develop all over the patty. You can opt for the 2-patty “Five Guys burger” or the 1-patty “Little Burger”...the latter is plenty tasty, although the hamburger flavor is more prone to getting lost among the toppings. There’s only one cheese option, and it’s American, so leave your craving for Swiss or bleu at home.

In a lot of ways, I think this is what Johnny Rockets wishes it were. Start out with a fistful of peanuts and toss the shells on the floor. The boardwalk-style fries are consistently tasty, whether plan or Cajun-seasoned. Greens and pickle slices are appropriately crisp and contrasting in temperature. A darn good burger, as burgers go, so I’m giving it an ’8’.

-dave

Five Guys serves what some people think of as the perfect hamburger: greasy, heavy, full of flavor and saturated fats, and served with fries cooked in peanut oil. This is not my perfect hamburger, but it has its appeal.

They’ve been adamant for years that there can only be five locations because there are only five guys, but reportedly they’ve now decided to open fifty more. We’ll see if these newly discovered guys are as good as the old ones.