Five Guys Burgers serves very solid burgers, hot dogs and fries. Their specialty is allowing the customer to customize their burgers with a choice of multiple, free toppings. Five Guys Burgers originally started in the Washington DC area as a single burger stand in 1983. They were very successful and in 2003 they started selling franchises. Today they have over 1,000 locations nationwide, with another 1,500 stores in development and planning to be opened soon. Their success seems to follow in the wake of the popularity of the trend that started with Subway, where restaurants allow customers to customize their foods.
The simplicity of the Five Guys restaurants and operations reminds me of In-N-Out Burgers. The restaurants feature clean and very Spartan decors, with a large and simple kitchen. The workers are dressed in white utilitarian, work uniforms. In the El Segundo restaurant, they feature two Coke Freestyle drink machines.
As a great signature feature, Five Guys offers free, bulk, peanuts in the shell. The loose peanuts are in a large box next to the cash register and they provide rectangular paper food tray containers. It's a nice touch, because I really enjoy munching a few peanuts as I wait for my burger and fries.
Their specialty is burgers. Their standard Hamburger has 2 basic quarter pound meat patties and their "Little Hamburger" has a single quarter pound meat patty. Unfortunately, you don't get a choice about the doneness of the meat because the patties are too thin and are cooked through. They serve hot dogs which are cooked by slicing them in half, lengthwise and frying them on the flat cooktop. Their other specialty is their French Fries which come in 2 flavors, Five Guys Style which is just with salt and Cajun Style which is with a heavy dose of Cajun seasoning and salt. The basic menu is as follows:
Hamburger (2 quarter pound meat patties) $4.99
Cheeseburger (2 quarter pound meat patties) $5.59
Bacon Burger (2 quarter pound meat patties) $5.79
Bacon Cheeseburger (2 quarter pound meat patties) $6.39
Little Hamburger (1 quarter pound meat patties) $3.69
Little Cheeseburger (1 quarter pound meat patties) $4.29
Little Bacon Burger (1 quarter pound meat patties) $4.49
Little Bacon Cheeseburger (1 quarter pound meat patties) $5.09
Kosher Style Hot Dog $3.29
Cheese Dog $3.89
Bacon Dog $4.09
Bacon Cheese Dog $4.69
Veggie Sandwich $2.89
Cheese Veggie Sandwich $3.49
Grilled Cheese $3.49
Five Guys Style Fries & Cajun Style Fries
Regular Size Fries $2.79
Large Size Fries $4.29
Free Burger Toppings:
(In Black Print)
Mayo, Lettuce, Pickles, Tomatoes, Grilled Onions, Grilled Mushrooms, Ketchup, Mustard
(In Red Print)
Relish, Onions, Jalapeno Peppers, Green Peppers, A1 Steak Sauce, Bar-B-Q Sauce, Hot Sauce
What sets Five Guys apart from other burger stands is their free toppings. You can mix and match any and all the toppings. They make it a little easier on you by separating the toppings by popularity into 2 naturally complementary groups. One group is printed in "black ink" on the menu and the other group is printed in "red ink". It's much easier saying "give me all the black topping" than going through all the individual items. The "Black Toppings" seem to be the standard burger toppings and the "Red Toppings" seem to be the spicy and tangy toppings.
The Five Guys in El Segundo is located in the same strip mall as Rubio's, Malibu Fish Grill, Pizza Rev, Which Wich, and Sabra Beirut Mix. They have a good sized parking lot which gets pretty full during the lunch hour.
My usual lunch order is a Bacon burger with all the "black toppings" and Jalapeno Peppers. I'll also get a large order of Cajun Style fries to split. The large order of fries ostensibly comes in a large paper drink cup, but they actually give you almost twice that amount of fries and it just overflows into the brown paper sack. I'll just fold down the sides of the sack and eat the fries right out of the bag. The fries are only fried once so they are softer like In-N-Out fries rather than twice fried, crispy McDonald's fries. Five Guys cooks their fries longer than In-N-Out so they come out browner and in my opinion tastier. I also highly recommend their Cajun Spice. The Cajun Spice makes their fries much better and more interesting. I like their fries so much that when I get a sandwich at Which Wich or a Fish Taco from Rubio's, I'll get a side order of fries at Five Guys to go with my sandwich or taco.
In my opinion, the Five Guys Burger is not as tasty as an In-N-Out burger and it's more expensive. However, I do appreciate the ability to mix and match toppings. I also love their Cajun Style Fries. Five Guys has a lot to offer and I highly recommend them as a great place for basic burgers and fries. Peanuts too! read more