3.5 stars
Having just recently tried Five Guys burger in the Ronald Reagan airport in DC, I was stoked to find out that we were getting one in Mid City. I opted to wait a couple of weeks before I tried it out, as the lines were immense the 1st few days.
After 2 weeks, the place still had a busy lunch crowd upon arrival. However, once inside, even though the line was 15 people deep and the restaurant was packed, I was able to place my order in 5-6 minutes and my food arrived (placed on the counter) in approximately 10-12 minutes. Not too bad considering the place was jam packed. While we waited for our food, we helped ourselves to the endless supply of salted peanuts, which helped pass the time.
Out of ignorance, I made the mistake in DC of ordering a cheeseburger and didn't realize that it was double beef. So this time, I ordered a little hamburger (single beef) and opted for no bun (lettuce wrap), no cheese and no mayo. I know it sounds a little bland, but with the grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, green pepper and jalapeno peppers, it wasn't too shabby.
However, Five Guys should take a lesson from In-n-Out or Jimmy John's and learn the proper way to form a lettuce wrap. My wrap fell to pieces as soon as I picked it up and I had to resort to a knife and fork; which was a little weak as far as I am concerned. The good thing is that like Jimmy John's, any burger or hot dog can be had as a wrap. So for all you carb conscious folks, this is the way to go. On a side note, with all the different condiment options, their website claims that there are 250,000 possible ways to order a burger. Perhaps I'll test their knowledge and order one burger dressesd "every which way". My luck, they'll be up to the task and hit me up with a million dollar receipt. ;)
We also split an order of "little" cajun fries and there was enough fries at the bottom of the bag (their trademarked move) to fill us both. The cajun fries were perfectly seasoned, perfectly cooked and piping hot; and I highly recommend them.
Another cool feature is the Coca Cola Freesytle touchscreen dispenser, which features 125 different beverages. My favorite is the Coca Cola cherry vanilla Zero, which IMHO doesn't even taste like a diet soda. But I digress. It's just a really cool machine.
All in all, this is a good burger joint and I was surprised at how clean the place was (restrooms too) given how crowded it was. I plan on a return trip very soon. Perhaps they'll get that elusive half star (4 stars) and make me a true fan. read more