How can anyone not like Five Guys’ fries?
Not my style, soggy with grease
In my experience they are crisp and not terribly greasy at all. And best of all, cut from fresh potatoes.
The 5 Guys in my town has wildly inconsistent fries. They can be soggy at times.
JD
Yeh it may vary by location but my experience has been soggy. Burgers I like though!
I’m from socal and never understood the devotion to In’N’Out. When growing up we would go because it was better than McDonald’s and BK but never really did it for me and the fries really suck. I prefer the Habit and 5 guys or the local greasy spoon. That said 9 out of the 10 burgers i eat are homemade.
I not infrequently stop by a 5 Guys on the way home and just get fries to go with whatever I’m having, as most of the time they are beautifully lightly crisp fried fresh potato goodness.
However, on the rare occasion that they are undercooked and soggy, they are awful. Those can be rescued to edible by a trip through a very hot oven, but they cost way too much for me to have to put in work just to get them not disgusting.
The problem is that fresh cut fries require attention to detail and have less margin for error than do frozen to which a good base crust was applied when they were parcooked at the factory. Of course, some chains avoid crispness issues by coating their fries with potato starch which are vile even when fresh from the oil (I’m looking at you creepy crown guy).
If I could I’d have a Double-Double Animal Style at In-n-Out and pair it with 5 Guys fries… though the secret to their fries is to NOT close the bag they come in. That seems to steam them and turn them soggy. For me the problem with 5 Guys burgers is that by the time I get the toppings I like their bun can’t handle the combination and falls apart too quickly. The Santa Barbara burger at The Habit comes on sourdough and solves the handling issue. Unlike others here I have no problems there and they have ONION RINGS (something I’d kill for at In-n-Out.
I’ve had all on the list and out of them, the only one I truly crave is a double-double animal style from In-N-Out (or a triple/triple if I’m really hungry). I can’t explain it, but that’s my reality. Maybe once in a while I have a Big Mac attack as well. The rest are just burgers. I don’t like Smashburger at all – I find the burgers to be very dry. My kids insist we go there though. I’d put that last.
For me, Culver’s is all about the cheese curds, not the custard.
I like Steak and Shake but typically the service is painfully slow. My kids have to trick my wife into going there because she won’t go willingly.
5 Guys refuses to cook medium or medium rare. In-n-Out meat is compressed by a steam roller and sucks. FatBurger’s King Burger is best.
Actually Fatburger is pretty damned good. I used to love them. They were my go to for a chili cheeseburger with a fried egg on top back in the go out drinking days of the 80s-90s.
My issue with them is how expensive they’ve become. Last time I went I think my burger was $8+. It’s not worth double the double-double.
As someone else said, why does Five Guys keep up, with that bun the disintegrates above toppings?
Just considered that I should add that I’ve experienced large swings in burger quality between Shake Shack locations. The ones I’ve been to in NYC have been much better than the ones I’ve tried further out.
Yes of course. I can think of a dozen places in metro Detroit that I would prefer over any of those on the list.
Yes of course. I can think of a dozen places in metro Detroit that I would prefer over any of those on the list.
You’ve been to every one on the list.
All but 6 and 9. Probably should have mentioned that.
How’d we wind up comparing local joints with chains in the 100+ to thousands of locations range? If you have hundreds of locations you’d better be selling a product that is pretty middle-of-the-road and usually pretty inexpensive. Usually not a very fair comparison.
I don’t, so for those few times, maybe every couple of months or so, I want a good hamburger, which isn’t to say $20 fancy (what does P.J. Clark’s charge?), but de minimus freshly ground, high-quality beef on a good bun (bonus points for house baked). Pretty much eliminates chain burger places. Doesn’t everyone have somewhere more or less local that offers that? If I do (Spelunkers in Front Royal and Melt Gourmet Cheeseburgers in Leesburg), I’d think everyone does.
I tried 5 Guys once and found the burger pedestrian; not bad in any sense, but “Is that it? That’s a burger people brag on?”. And I’m not anybody’s idea of a foodie, but I know from good.
All my local Fatburgers closed #sadface
I have enjoyed Smashburger the few times I have had it.
I must say, I didn’t get the In & Out thing at first but have grown to love it. My current orders are a Double Double w/ a whole raw onion (or sometimes a whole grilled onion), and K&M only. Or a 3X2 Protein style with the same additions. And In & Out fries are the best #Controversial The fries must be eaten immediately. I get the chili peppers on the side although you can have them put right onto the burger. They go great with the fries.
Jason
I wouldn’t eat a McDonald’s hamburger if you paid me! I haven’t eaten at a McDonalds “restaurant” in over 20 years and can easily see myself living out the remainder of my life keeping that trend alive.