Kenny Powers
Footballguy
I smash burgered a girl that was passed out, once.
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Five Guys thread, a 130+ page swordfight. (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter Evilgrin 72
- Start date
Kenny Powers
Footballguy
As far as the burger goes, that sounds tasty. A far as that pic of fries goes, :X ...That spread looks like prison slop. Whats in that stuff?!
Dought Man
Footballguy
Smashburger and Umami Burger have made Five Guys "just average" in my book. Smashburger is the new gold standard for these "2 notches above fast food" burger joints.
AcerFC
Footballguy
They just opened one a few minutes from work. Considering stopping in one day
Rick James
Footballguy
Are any of you guys in the Atlanta area? I've never tried In-N-Out, but there are a ton of really good "boutique" burger joints around town. Places like Farm Burger, Yeah! Burger, and Grindhouse Killer Burgers. The price point is definitely higher than In-N-Out (2 burgers, fries and drinks would run you about $25 at any of the above), but in terms of quality I'm interested to see how they compare.
Chaka
Footballguy
I am not a fan of fries Animal style. I prefer the fries well done (you have to ask for them that way) because it guarantees you are getting them fresh out of the oil and eat them right away. I find with most shoestring cut fries if you don't get them when their fresh out they get soggy and bland pretty quickly.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Stopped by Five Guys today for some research and more thoughtful analysis.
Around here, it's clearly the best QSR burger and fries combo you can get (the competition is very soft). I really, really like Five Guys, but there's always been something holding me from fully singing it's praises. Trying to pinpoint what that is.
As far as the burgers go, they are nice and fresh with a great variety to possible toppings.
One issue is that the burger is simply too narrow (a common problem with fresh, handmade patties).
I forgot to bring my tape measure to the restaurant, but I think we're looking at a 4" bun (maybe a tad less) and patties that don't reach the end. The patties are fairly thin, but you still get an overall burger that's fairly tall and narrow. You throw a bunch of toppings on and you have a burger that's a bit awkward to eat and doesn't maximize it's potential. Let's call it "burger ball syndrome".
They kind of mail it in on the bun altogether, really. It's almost like they just use grocery store-brand cheapo buns. They don't hold for a potential man-burger.
If they can find a way to widen that thing out and get better buns while keeping it fresh, they'd have a much better burger, imo.
The fries, of course, are where they shine.
Most restaurants, and pretty all QSR's, screw up fries out of laziness and/or stupidity. 5G's fries aren't perfect, but at least they do them correctly, which puts them ahead of most other places. They make them fresh, double-fried, thick, and very importantly, leave the damn skins on.
Still, they don't quite nail it.
Many are undercooked and very few have that perfect crispy outside, tender inside combo.
Part of the challenge with fresh potatoes getting them cooked consistently, getting them all crispy without overcooking some, but I feel like they could do better on that front.
They also don't have a happy medium with seasoning. The basic could use a touch more salt or other flavoring, while the cajun a bit too much seasoning.
Other random observations:
-I think the dumping the extra fries in the bag is a big part of their success. Customers obviously appreciate it when you over-deliver on what's expected.
-Big props for the malt vinegar. Most people/places don't think of malt vinegar at a burger joint, but it really is a nice touch.
-They suck at grilled onions. Those are diced, lightly sweated onions. Not grilled.
I'm picking nits though. They really do have great burgers and fries.
I haven't had In-n-Out in about 7 years, so really don't remember enough to compare. I remember loving it though.
Around here, it's clearly the best QSR burger and fries combo you can get (the competition is very soft). I really, really like Five Guys, but there's always been something holding me from fully singing it's praises. Trying to pinpoint what that is.
As far as the burgers go, they are nice and fresh with a great variety to possible toppings.
One issue is that the burger is simply too narrow (a common problem with fresh, handmade patties).
I forgot to bring my tape measure to the restaurant, but I think we're looking at a 4" bun (maybe a tad less) and patties that don't reach the end. The patties are fairly thin, but you still get an overall burger that's fairly tall and narrow. You throw a bunch of toppings on and you have a burger that's a bit awkward to eat and doesn't maximize it's potential. Let's call it "burger ball syndrome".
They kind of mail it in on the bun altogether, really. It's almost like they just use grocery store-brand cheapo buns. They don't hold for a potential man-burger.
If they can find a way to widen that thing out and get better buns while keeping it fresh, they'd have a much better burger, imo.
The fries, of course, are where they shine.
Most restaurants, and pretty all QSR's, screw up fries out of laziness and/or stupidity. 5G's fries aren't perfect, but at least they do them correctly, which puts them ahead of most other places. They make them fresh, double-fried, thick, and very importantly, leave the damn skins on.
Still, they don't quite nail it.
Many are undercooked and very few have that perfect crispy outside, tender inside combo.
Part of the challenge with fresh potatoes getting them cooked consistently, getting them all crispy without overcooking some, but I feel like they could do better on that front.
They also don't have a happy medium with seasoning. The basic could use a touch more salt or other flavoring, while the cajun a bit too much seasoning.
Other random observations:
-I think the dumping the extra fries in the bag is a big part of their success. Customers obviously appreciate it when you over-deliver on what's expected.
-Big props for the malt vinegar. Most people/places don't think of malt vinegar at a burger joint, but it really is a nice touch.
-They suck at grilled onions. Those are diced, lightly sweated onions. Not grilled.
I'm picking nits though. They really do have great burgers and fries.
I haven't had In-n-Out in about 7 years, so really don't remember enough to compare. I remember loving it though.
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BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
Im on my way to 5Guys now, wife wanted to have lunch there. Fine by me.
One
Not Allowed In Mexico
Heading here for lunch today for the 1st time. My current ranking is:
1: In N Out
2: Five Guys (Second by a sliver)
3: Willie's Burgers (SoCal Burger place)
4: The Squeeze Inn (Local Joint)
5: Habit Burger (Distsnt Third)
I'll let you know where Smashburger fits in.
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17seconds
root of all aliai
I'm starting to like Fatburger more than In-N-Out now.
The XXL burger is just fantastic. Pound of meat. It's greasy but fresh at the same time. When you get the single patty, the bread/toppings overpower the burger. It's like 1600 cals so I do it once a month at the most.
The XXL burger is just fantastic. Pound of meat. It's greasy but fresh at the same time. When you get the single patty, the bread/toppings overpower the burger. It's like 1600 cals so I do it once a month at the most.
EYLive
Footballguy
I think the spread is something similar to thousand island dressing. You can ask for extra spread and it looks like this. I don't know how people do it.
EYLive
Footballguy
Yup, good stuff. Unfortunately, I think their fries are CostCo type things, definitely not fresh as I saw the bags of frozen fries myself.
BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
I will paraphrase what two of the people working at the cashier stated to me, when I asked them about gettng them a bit crispier...
They cook them in way that makes more like Baked Potatoes. And that is what they are aiming for. And if they cook them any longer on the outside, the inside will invariably become very dry (potato skin -esque) before the outside actually gets more crispy. Ruining it.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Good work.Did mention anything else about their process?
I've always assumed that the soak in water, blanch in low-temp oil, cool, then fry, but today got me wondering if they use a different process.
Also, you didn't happen to measure the width of the bun while you were there, did you?
Nipsey
Footballguy
You ever hit up Timmy Nolan's over there?
BigSteelThrill
Footballguy
... I was too busy scarfing that some-of-a-biscuit down.
Sarnoff
Footballguy
Yeah, once in a while after work, not often for lunch. Not crazy about the service. Whichever waitress I get is always too damn slow.
Nipsey
Footballguy
Went there for Cuse-Wisconsin, had a blast. Friend works in Burbank and only way for him to see the opening tip was for a few of us to drive to him. Food was surprising good. I was there about 4 years ago after playing golf and the waitress we had was top 3 all-time hottest girl we ever saw. She was probably 20, never saw her after that day though. Hotter than Jessica Alba. So hot we were having trouble speaking while ordering.
Sarnoff
Footballguy
Last waitress I had there was easily pushing two bills and could barely waddle over to us in between sessions of shoveling corned beef into her fat face. I hate you.
Nipsey
Footballguy
We had a cute-ish little indie girl this time. She got a little slammed but once cuse hung on we didn't care.
Nipsey
Footballguy
C'mon, man.
The Commish
Footballguy
Yes...pretty good, but not anything uber special. My wife loves it though.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Yes.'shader said:
Chadstroma
Footballguy
Odd people out there.'meatwad1 said:
azgroover
Footballguy
Nuked fresh to order.
Chadstroma
Footballguy
We were able to make it to In N Out after flying in late Thursday. I have to say that having an In N Out reminded me how much I love their burgers. Though I still have tons of respect for Five Guys and truly like it- the burgers are not as close as I was thinking they are. I just love the In N Out burger.
My best guess: queso-sans-raisins burger?
pollardsvision
Footballguy
Quick Service Restaurant.I'm not sure of the exact classification though. I'm not sure if 5G's qualifies. It's probably considered a "fast casual" restaurant.
Queso Sans Raisin burger works too. I didn't detect any raisins in the burger.
Rayderr
Footballguy
Never had an issue with the burgers not reaching the end of the bun. On a side note, Ate there this week for the first time in quite a while as the closest 5Guys is in a direction I don't travel very often. The burgers did look smaller than I remember, but this may be because I've gotten use to burgers at other joints (Thurman's, Inferno, Graffitti)
Chaka
Footballguy
Something wrong with saying "fast food"?
pollardsvision
Footballguy
It's 5 letters and a space longer than QSR. I don't have a philosophical issue with using the term though. Didn't put much thought into it.
Chaka
Footballguy
FF is one letter shorter and I doubt anyone would have thought you meant French Fromage.
pollardsvision
Footballguy
I apologize for the inconvenience.I thought QSR would've been understood and at the time, I was thinking of QSR and fast food as different terms (though they mean the same thing).
I don't think of 5G's as fast food. Around here, they don't have a drive thru (though I think some do).
I wish I'd said "fast casual restaurant", but it slipped my mind in the moment.
How about this, "Of all the places around here, where you get your own drink refills, 5G's has the best burgers and fries"?
I didn't mean to create a stir. I just didn't know what QSR meant.
I'd definitely categorize Smash Burger, Five Guys, and In-N-Out all as fast food.
I'd definitely categorize Smash Burger, Five Guys, and In-N-Out all as fast food.
ivnabru
Footballguy
pollardsvision
Footballguy
I'm not certain of the proper classification, but if I have to get my fat ### out of the car, I don't think of it as fast food.Also, the price. It's over $18 for a reg. cheesburger, a little cheeseburger (for the ol' lady), 2 orders of fries, and 2 ice waters. For people wasting money on a fountain drink, you're talking about at a $22-23 meal for 2. Not crazy expensive, but more than what I normally think of from fast food. Heck, you can almost get a high quality meal at Olive Garden for that.Since I'm wasting time over-analyzing this, here are the wikipedia classifications:http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Types_of_restaurantsFast food/QSR: Fast food restaurants emphasize speed of service. Operations range from small-scale street vendors with carts to mega-corporations like McDonald's. Also known as a QSR or Quick Serve Restaurant.Fast casual:Fast casual restaurants do not offer table service, but may offer non-disposable plates and cutlery. The quality of food and prices tend to be higher than those of a conventional fast food restaurant but may be lower than casual dining.Casual dining:A casual dining restaurant is a restaurant that serves moderately-priced food in a casual atmosphere. Except for buffet-style restaurants, casual dining restaurants typically provide table service. Casual dining comprises a market segment between fast food establishments and fine dining restaurants. Casual dining restaurants usually have a full bar with separate bar staff, a larger beer menu and a limited wine menu. They are frequently, but not necessarily, part of a wider chain, particularly in the United States.Fine dining:Fine dining restaurants are full service restaurants with specific dedicated meal courses. Décor of such restaurants feature higher-quality materials, with an eye towards the "atmosphere" desired by the restauranteur, than restaurants featuring lower-quality materials and an eye away from the "atmosphere" desired by the restauranteur. The wait staff is usually highly trained and often wears more formal attire. Fine-dining restaurants are almost always small businesses and are generally either single-location operations or have just a few locations. Food portions are visually appealing. Fine dining restaurants have certain rules of dining which visitors are generally expected to follow.
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freakinback
Footballguy
oh god... not this again.
azgroover
Footballguy
Microwaves don't leave fresh grill marks.
I thought those were just some magical stamps pressed upon the patty.
General Malaise
Footballguy
TWO IN TEH DOOOR!!!
EYLive
Footballguy
What's an example of a fast casual? Supposedly, it's a cut above fast food.
Panera BreadPei WeiCorner Bakery
azgroover
Footballguy
Chipotle also comes to mind.
One
Not Allowed In Mexico
Loved my Smash Burger.
Got the BBQ Burger, I think I'm gonna try the Santa Fe and Mushroom burger next time. Their cheese is RALLY good, tastes like it could be Tillamook. Buns are great and fresh. I still prefer InNOut & Five Guys though.
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