Photo By: @Omra-Sky
The debate over who makes the best hamburger is a heated one indeed. It's one that's always fascinated me. You see, where I live you're really only going to find the big national chains. There are no White Castles, In 'n Outs, or Whataburgers. And, up until a couple of years ago, there were no Five Guys, either.
The Five Guys is not really near my home, so I'd never been there before. But, since I was craving a cheese burger, I decided it was time to see if this burger lives up to the hype.
The restaurant is a part of a plaza, so it's look is uniform to the rest of the stores. Being fairly new, the place is clean and has a big open seating area. There was one person in line ahead of me which gave me time to take everything in. Lots of signs line the walls. Most bragging about various awards Five Guys has received. One sign let me know that they cook their fries in peanut oil. That sounds tasty. Another sign, a handwritten one, informs you of the source of the potatoes. Today's potatoes came from Saint Anthony, Idaho courtesy of Crapo Farms. Huh. That's an unfortunate name. I'm sure they're fine. 😐
My turn to order. A cheeseburger, all the way, no mushrooms. That's a cheeseburger with mayo, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, ketchup, and mustard. With that, I also ordered the smallest size fries(which was plenty) and a strawberry milkshake. Total cost: $14.44. I now understand why price is the number one complaint with Five Guys. I waited about 5-10 minutes for my food to cook.
Your food is handed to you in a brown paper bag that's already soaked through with peanut oil. The fries are salty and cooked to a nice crisp. The burger certainly passes the look test. The hamburger is fresh and juicy. The overall quality of the burger and toppings is good, but messy. The strawberry milkshake is what you'd expect a strawberry milkshake to be...delicious! They offer more than your standard shakes, too. Some of the choices were peanut butter, cherry, malted milk, oreo cookie, and banana.
Taste-wise, it reminded me very much of Wendy's cheeseburgers. I love Wendy's cheeseburgers. The thing is, Wendy's is a lot closer to my home, and I could have ordered a similar meal for $5-6 less. I don't regret going to Five Guys. I'm glad I tried it. Heck, I might even jump right into the next great burger debate. But, from now on, I think I'll just go to Wendy's to satisfy my cheeseburger cravings.