Watch out, In-N-Out, Five Guys also knows what a hamburgers' all about.
It's natural to compare Five Guys to In-N-Out. While they originated on opposite coasts, both feature made to order hamburgers and fanatical followings.
I grew up waiting in long drive thru lines for In-N-Out. Part of the whole mystique was that they had lines and lines of people waiting for their product. Few meals are as satisfying as a Double-Double and fries. In-N-Out burgers can have a pile of succulent grilled onions buried in cheese, topping two well seasoned beef patties, all inside perfectly toasted buns with thousand island spread. The lettuce and tomatoes always crisp and fresh.
I love In-N-Out as much as any warm blooded Californian, but there are detractors. The meat patties are small in the age of third pound patties. The sauce can sometimes sog the meat. And the fries, while great when done right, are often soggy and limp. My wife and dad will eat In-N-Out, but they don't choose it.
Enter Five Guys. Like Fatburger, there are a dizzing array of free toppings: grilled onions, grilled mushrooms are among the many you won't see elsewhere. You get peanuts in the shell to munch on while waiting.
The meat we had was well seasoned and cooked: a slight char on the outside, juicy on the inside with just a slight hint of pink. More importantly, there's a lot more meat in the patties. Beef flavor was well developed. "cheeseburger" means two big patties at Five Guys, and means one smaller patty at In-N-Out. Advantage: Five Guys.
Toppings: many more choices, but the lettuce and tomato were a little sloppy, and thin. Not the cool crispness I'm used to. Grilled onions were good, but I miss that thousand spread. The aluminum foil wrapping carries heat longer, but sogs the lettuce and bread quickly. Advantage: wash. In-N-Out for freshness, but Five Guys for variety.
Bread: A larger bun for the larger patties, gently toasted. But In-N-Out has toasted buns down to a science. Advantage: In-N-Out
Atmosphere: they sign goofy songs like Cold Stone and Cafe Rio. Appreciated, but doesn't count for me.
Fries: Both use fresh potatoes. In-n-out does shoestrings. Five Guys are beefier steak fry cuts. Ours were Cajun seasoned and fluffy. In-N-Outs look better, but the double fry of five guys got it right: Slight crunch on the outside, fluffy baked potato texture on the inside. As with the meat, the fries were incredibly generous in portions. Everyone's got a different preference for fries, but IMO, Advantage: Five guys.
Cost: We were out $14 for two, with just one order of fries and no sodas. In-N-Out is clearly cheaper. Advantage: In-N-Out
Value: probably a dead heat. you pay more, you get more.
Car-eating: In-N-Out would be relatively easier to eat in the car. They even give you a cardboard box to eat out of. Aluminum foil is just not conducive. Both have high drip-risk; you eat either at your own peril while driving.
Locations: In-n-out has a 50 year head start in Southern California. In-N-out is 10 minutes from my house, the nearest five guys is 30. And the one in Orange isn't even a drive-thru. Advantage: In-N-Out
Overall: Don't run me out of town, but Five Guys (narrowly) wins my vote for best fast food burger. Not an In-N-Out Killer, but a solid alternative for most, and a better choice for many...especially if you're really hungry. Location will keep me eating at In-N-out more. The Habit gives both chains a real hard run for their money. The Mrs, never an In-N-Out fan, overwhelmingly prefers Five Guys. read more