Five Guys hype

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LikeLinus

Lifer
Jul 25, 2001
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670
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Five Guys: The Cajun fries are good, meh on the rest. I can't eat gluten, so no bun for me, so my experience has been a lettuce-wrapped burger. The burgers are extremely bland. I also can't do dairy, so no cheese, so I'd imagine the bun & cheese are what makes the burgers good, since all of my friends love eating there but I could pass. BurgerFi has WAY better food, but they aren't very widespread yet.

LOL, sorry that's pretty funny.

Hey guys, the food sucks, but I couldn't eat any of it!
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,467
7,215
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My experience is very different. The time I had Smashburger it was the worst burger, bar none, that I've had. Well not quite, there was one time ordered a burger at a mom and pop restaurant and there was blood all over the plate and bun because they barely cooked the damn thing (and then the idiots send it back out on the same plate and blood soaked bun after cooking it).

That's a bummer, that's the first bad review of Smashburger I've read. Although it sounds more like a poor service issue than a food quality issue. I've never been to one, but I copy their technique for doing the majority of my burgers (3-minute burger-ball smash-fried at a high-temp in a cast-iron pan).

Part of my problem with eating burgers out is that I can make great ones at home. There are some places I do like eating burgers out at (BurgerFi, and an expanding CT/Mass chain called Plan B), but it only takes a few minutes to fire up a burger & get awesome results myself, so it's not something I get when I eat out very much.
 
Jun 18, 2000
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I am a big fan of Five Guys and Chipotle. Thankfully I don't have an irrational desire to hate everything people love.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,467
7,215
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LOL, sorry that's pretty funny.

Hey guys, the food sucks, but I couldn't eat any of it!

Well, yes and no. The core idea of Five Guys is their burger. Their burger has no flavor; that's the issue. I've been to 3 or 4 of the different Five Guys locations in my travels around Connecticut, several times each when I need a quick lunch, so it's been consistent across their stores. Most places sell a "low carb" burger, which is wrapped in lettuce, so it isn't an unusual thing to eat a gluten-free burger:

http://www.poormansatkins.com/blog/five-guys-burgers-lettuce-wrapped-burger-review

In their case, I think their bun is what makes the flavor come together, versus a place like BurgerFi (same exact concept, down to the peanut oil), which actually has a great-tasting burger patty regardless of not using a bun.
 

QueBert

Lifer
Jan 6, 2002
22,975
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I am a big fan of Five Guys and Chipotle. Thankfully I don't have an irrational desire to hate everything people love.

Based off some people liking something anything could be considered something people love. Both Five Guys and Chipotle pretty much have universal 3 - 3 1/2 star ratings on Yelp. With 10 of thousands of reviews for each. I wouldn't exactly call 3 1/2 stars a place people love.
 

Kaido

Elite Member & Kitchen Overlord
Feb 14, 2004
51,467
7,215
136
yep

I'll eat at either place. Its just food

I think the core metric for selecting a place to eat for most people is "it has food I don't have to cook myself" :biggrin:
 

SAWYER

Lifer
Apr 27, 2000
16,742
42
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If anyone is from Memphis or has had a Hughey's burger, those are damn good. I tried one last week and supposedly they are well known for their burgers and have a seasoning sold in stores
 

MarkXIX

Platinum Member
Jan 3, 2010
2,642
1
71
Calling 5 Guys crap is a bit much.

Calling them VERY over-rated on the other hand is right on target,

They're a mass market, greasy spoon type burger at best.

I'm a burger connoisseur too, but 5 Guys is just alright. I regretted ordering a "regular" order of fries though, would have been fine with an extra small order.
 

purbeast0

No Lifer
Sep 13, 2001
53,631
6,508
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its a fast food burger ffs wtf do you expect? never heard anyone "hype" five guys before. it's good for what it is though, and better than the other normal national chain places.
 

MrSquished

Lifer
Jan 14, 2013
26,067
24,395
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Five Guys isn't crap, but it sells bland fried burgers. Barely a step up from McDonald's IMO. Was quite disappointed after all the praise ATOT gave it. There's better burger joints out there. Even run of the mill Harvey's is better, and cheaper too. They flame grill theirs.

flame grilled means nothing. some of the best burgers are cooked on a flat-top r.e. shake shack.
 

LikeLinus

Lifer
Jul 25, 2001
11,518
670
126
Well, yes and no. The core idea of Five Guys is their burger. Their burger has no flavor; that's the issue. I've been to 3 or 4 of the different Five Guys locations in my travels around Connecticut, several times each when I need a quick lunch, so it's been consistent across their stores. Most places sell a "low carb" burger, which is wrapped in lettuce, so it isn't an unusual thing to eat a gluten-free burger:

http://www.poormansatkins.com/blog/five-guys-burgers-lettuce-wrapped-burger-review

In their case, I think their bun is what makes the flavor come together, versus a place like BurgerFi (same exact concept, down to the peanut oil), which actually has a great-tasting burger patty regardless of not using a bun.

I was teasing you, but honestly it's the ingredients that make it taste good. We get them "all the way" and they are pretty darn good. All of my co-workers like them and I've never really heard anything bad. They may be a tad greasy though. They give you a ton of fries and we usually share. Cajun is the way to go..
 
Jun 18, 2000
11,208
772
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Based off some people liking something anything could be considered something people love. Both Five Guys and Chipotle pretty much have universal 3 - 3 1/2 star ratings on Yelp. With 10 of thousands of reviews for each. I wouldn't exactly call 3 1/2 stars a place people love.

Their expansion and sales say otherwise. I couldn't give a shit about their yelp reviews. Every Chipotle I've ever been to is busy with a line to the door. If people don't love Chipotle they sure have a funny way of showing it. I don't eat at Five Guys that often but there is a lot more competition for cheap burgers.
 

Genx87

Lifer
Apr 8, 2002
41,091
513
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For what they are I think Five Guys is pretty good. It is a fast food joint. For the money I would eat Five Guys burgers over most other fast food chain restaurants.

If anybody is expecting a great burger from a fast food joint. I dont know what to tell them.
 

angminas

Diamond Member
Dec 17, 2006
3,331
26
91
Went there once. Took four months to get my order. Burger was pretty good, but about what I could get from Dairy Queen faster and cheaper. Fries were bland (even with Cajun seasoning), burnt, and expensive. I've never been back.
 

Fenixgoon

Lifer
Jun 30, 2003
33,278
12,840
136
Calling 5 Guys crap is a bit much.

Calling them VERY over-rated on the other hand is right on target,

i approve of this post.

5 guys is good, but it's nothing to write home about.

here in SoCal there's a place called Father's Office. they're very pretentious about their burgers - you can only order the burger, with no modifications. their burgers are good, but the best i've ever had were made by my brother with a little bit of rub and 1 slice of cheese. seriously, those burgers were to die for.
 

irishScott

Lifer
Oct 10, 2006
21,562
3
0
Five Guys isn't crap, but it sells bland fried burgers. Barely a step up from McDonald's IMO. Was quite disappointed after all the praise ATOT gave it. There's better burger joints out there. Even run of the mill Harvey's is better, and cheaper too. They flame grill theirs.

Fried? Uh, there's this thing called a grill that you can see them using behind the checkout counter...

You're welcome not to like them, but "barely a step up from McDonalds" is simply not true. They're the Panera Bread of burger joints. It's nothing that'll blow your mind but it's still tasty as hell.