I had such a bad experience at the last Five Guys that I ate at I have avoided them for a long time. However I thought that in the interest of fairness I would try another site. I had a much better experience this time. I stopped in at this site today and ordered the cheeseburger "all the way" (but minus ketchup). This means it comes with all of the adds listed as such on the board, including pickle, lettuce, tomato, mustard, grilled onions, etc. You can also pick and choose each and every item to your taste. Being able to customize your burger is a big plus for me. And no ketchup, yay! Makes for a very tasty burger.
The good:
-Restaurant was clean and well air-conditioned on a hot day.
-The staff was very positive and engaging. Christian R. was my order taker and he was just a delightful bright star to deal with.
-Although each burger is cooked to order, the wait was not excessive.
-The burger this time came cooked perfectly, big thick and juicy with just a trace of pink inside, and not burned to a crisp, dry and blackened like my last experience at the other site.
-All elements of the burger were fresh.
-Iced tea was delicious and there is a selection of four flavors including unsweetened.
-They have hot dogs which I did not try-but might next time.
-Classic Rock was playing in the dining room.
The so-so:
-They don't peel the potatoes for their french fries. This is a culinary crime. However, in this case, about half of the fries in my order had no skin on them and were twice-cooked as advertised on the Five Guys website, so I was able to eat about half of them. They were slightly crispy on the outside and soft on the inside. This is how it is supposed to be done (as invented by the Belgians-not the French-years ago, and yes they completely peel their potatoes) and kudos for that. However, Five Guys, peel the damn potatoes first! When cooked with skins on, the taste is usually negatively affected and is a potential health hazard due to the presence of toxic Solanine in the skins. The 50% of the fries today were actually edible and almost tasty, which I attribute to frying in peanut oil as they advertise. I am not allergic to peanuts or their byproducts, but to those who have a peanut allergy, be advised.
The not so good:
-The burger is messy and falls apart no matter how you eat it. It comes to go wrapped in aluminum foil which is good to stop leakage, but they need to use a burger inner wrap like traditional burger places use to contain the parts and keep the burger together while eating.
-No drive thru.
-Opens at 11 AM, too late for most of my lunches. Open at 10 AM please.
-Pricey. I am not a big fan of flat griddled burgers like these and In-and-Out and McDonald's-I like them grilled over fire-The Habit produces a grilled, better tasting burger for the same price or less, and has french fries cooked the right way without skins. However for being flat griddled, this burger today was okay.
-No onion rings offered.
-No chicken or fish options.
I am surprised that Five Guys has such a following especially with all of their competition from The Habit and other venues who actually flame-grill their burgers and peel and fry their fries correctly. However, this is a good burger by itself although pricey.
Will I return, possibly, and it would be specifically for the great burger, but next time will order a dog in lieu of french fries. read more