Five Guys - A Virginia Chain That Has Become The McDonald's Of The Fast-Casual Burger World

[DanCole42]

I'm just trying to figure out how, in terms of burgers, the terms "juicy" and "well-done" can be used in the same sentence......

In their defense, I've always taken the beef in Five Guys burgers to be mostly a delivery vehicle for crispy, greasy, caramelized char; they're not intended to be a beef showcase like the paddies at RHB.

[Anna Blume]

I'm just trying to figure out how, in terms of burgers, the terms "juicy" and "well-done" can be used in the same sentence......

I'm reading Marion Nestle right now. She writes about the various political sources of pressure behind labeling beef "80 % lean ground beef", thereby accentuating what appears to be the positive and glossing over what that means about fat content.

Ground beef that is 80% lean is actually "20% fat, by weight, and this fat makes up more than two-thirds of its calories. But beef is never really a low-fat food; even 95 percent lean ground beef has one-third of its calories from fat." ---What to Eat (New York: North Point Press, 2006): 145.

[DanielK]

I'm reading Marion Nestle right now. She writes about the various political sources of pressure behind labeling beef "80 % lean ground beef", thereby accentuating what appears to be the positive and glossing over what that means about fat content.

Ground beef that is 80% lean is actually "20% fat, by weight, and this fat makes up more than two-thirds of its calories. But beef is never really a low-fat food; even 95 percent lean ground beef has one-third of its calories from fat." ---What to Eat (New York: North Point Press, 2006): 145.

Most protein sources are, by themselves, not low-fat foods.

But, take a 5-6 oz. burger, add toppings, a bun, serve with an ear of lightly salted corn, green salad, and some fruit salad, and OVERALL that's a reasonably low-fat meal.

[dgreen]

Nor am I an expert on Five Guys, but it's been a long time since I've seen any Five Guys potatoes that come from anywhere other than Rigby, Idaho.

Friday night at the Courthouse Five Guys, the sign said Sugar City, Idaho.

[Mark Slater]

Friday night at the Courthouse Five Guys, the sign said Sugar City, Idaho.

Their fries don't travel; not even around the corner. Always limp with carryout.

[DanielK]

Their fries don't travel; not even around the corner. Always limp with carryout.

I've found that if you walk less than 5 minutes, and don't close the bag, they're not too bad.

[Mark Slater]

I've found that if you walk less than 5 minutes, and don't close the bag, they're not too bad.

I will test this theory in the near future.

[jparrott]

Their fries don't travel; not even around the corner. Always limp with carryout.

I've find that this varies with the store. The Gainesville store, every time I've gone there the fries have survived the 10 minute drive home no problem.

At the Centreville store, they didn't survive the trip to a table.

[edenman]

I've find that this varies with the store. The Gainesville store, every time I've gone there the fries have survived the 10 minute drive home no problem.

At the Centreville store, they didn't survive the trip to a table.

Hot Or Not: Five Guys Fry Oil Edition

[Anna Blume]

I'm just trying to figure out how, in terms of burgers, the terms "juicy" and "well-done" can be used in the same sentence......

Second post inspired by this comment: I agree.

Feeling in great need of grease and fast food w Columbia Heights being a good half-way point to meet a friend, I decided to try this chain for the first time. Regular burger w lettuce, mayo, grilled onions and mushrooms. Regular fries. I hadn't read any of the reviews in this thread.

Maybe because I told the cashier this was a first for me and it wasn't terribly busy, every space in my paper bag not taken up by the burger was filled w fries. Generous. Liked the skins on them, the cut, the degree of doneness, but even in the restaurant, they were not the piping hot, crisp things I've had at Burger Joint or even Johnny Rocket. Way too many for one person and when as hungry as I was, I usually eat everything on my plate. Really, quite okay and probably outstanding were they piping hot and crisp, but they weren't.

The juicy part of the burger must be the steam that collects when two enormous, hot slabs of beef are framed by wet condiments, soft, flimsy bun and then sealed in a wrapper. Agree w feedback that refers to miserly hand used to add the free toppings. Couldn't really taste either mushrooms or onions and McDonald's puts more lettuce on its burgers than I got.

And I am sorry, but why do you need two patties for a regular burger? I would have been happy paying a dollar less for half the meat.

[DanielK]

And I am sorry, but why do you need two patties for a regular burger? I would have been happy paying a dollar less for half the meat.

That's on the menu as a "Little Hamburger", and it probably is a dollar less.

[dgreen]

And I am sorry, but why do you need two patties for a regular burger? I would have been happy paying a dollar less for half the meat.

For me, one patty is nowhere near enough. It's tiny. It's more of a snack. I went to Elevation Burger the other day for the first time and thought their burgers, even the one with two patties, was too small. Same with Good Stuff Eatery. When I want a burger, it's generally because I'm in the mood for something filling. Tiny burgers are a disappointment.

[Mark Slater]

Second post inspired by this comment: I agree.

Feeling in great need of grease and fast food w Columbia Heights being a good half-way point to meet a friend, I decided to try this chain for the first time. Regular burger w lettuce, mayo, grilled onions and mushrooms. Regular fries. I hadn't read any of the reviews in this thread.

Maybe because I told the cashier this was a first for me and it wasn't terribly busy, every space in my paper bag not taken up by the burger was filled w fries. Generous. Liked the skins on them, the cut, the degree of doneness, but even in the restaurant, they were not the piping hot, crisp things I've had at Burger Joint or even Johnny Rocket. Way too many for one person and I when as hungry as I was, I usually eat everything on my plate. Really, quite okay and probably outstanding were they piping hot and crisp, but they weren't.

The juicy part of the burger must be the steam that collects when two enormous, hot slabs of beef are framed by wet condiments, soft, flimsy bun and then sealed in a wrapper. Agree w feedback that refers to miserly hand used to add the free toppings. Couldn't really taste either mushrooms or onions and McDonald's puts more lettuce on its burgers than I got.

And I am sorry, but why do you need two patties for a regular burger? I would have been happy paying a dollar less for half the meat.

I'll admit to going to 5 Guys occasionally. Always ask for extra ketchup or A-1. I never get the bacon because they deep fry it and it's too crispy, not bacony. I always skip the fries, as well.

[ema]

Maybe because I told the cashier this was a first for me and it wasn't terribly busy, every space in my paper bag not taken up by the burger was filled w fries.

When I go to 5 guys with husband, we share a small order of fries, and the most we can consume was maybe 2/3 of an order. This past weekend, we got lunch at 5 guys. The four of us each got a burger and shared one order of small fries, and we were finally almost able to finish the entire order.

[Lydia R]

This week's Nation's Restaurant News reported on the winning survey results garnered by Five Guys in the Quick Service Restaurant category.

LOUISVILLE , Colo. (Dec. 17, 2009) It takes a lot more than good food to stand out with quick-service customers, as Chick-fil-A and Five Guys Burgers and Fries recently proved. The two chains were the highest-scoring brands on a survey of favorite quick-service restaurants conducted by Louisville-based Market Force Information

<snip>

Five Guys, considered one of the leaders of the burgeoning “better burger” segment, recently received a new influx of growth capital, closing a $30 million credit facility with GE Capital Franchise Finance.

ETA: In the past 24 hours or so, Five Guys has been on a serious PR/Marketing tear. "Checkout" PlanetMoney's Shopping Center Competition and listen to the "Alex meets the burger king" entry. Also liked the way the satisfaction survey data was corrected for overall business size.

[kobrien]

Recent reports say this is the fastest growing restaurant chain in the country. How is this possible? Ordinary burger, sub-par fries, portions which are obscene. I hope the banks funding this growth have good guarantees. I predict Five Guys will fade given the excellent crop of new burger restaurants cropping up all over.

[Joshua Grinnell]

I find myself arguing on behalf of Five Guys because we go way back, to halcyon days of high school special trips when there were only two locations and I could only afford to get a soda after someone would spot me their empty styrofoam fry cup.

However, if they have stock, buy it. I'm blanking on the specific term, but what Five Guys is doing is pure consumer psychology, the creation of a semi-upscale upgrade. Poor people go to McDonalds/Buger King/Wendys in the consumer consciousness, so if you want a burger but don't want to feel like you're slumming, there's Five Guys to give you slightly higher quality for slightly higher price. The expansion might seem reckless if you're worried about their watering down the brand, but I imagine they're trying to pull a Starbucks- Americans like coffee, feel a little guilty about getting it from 7-11, so Starbucks offers the "upgrade" in price and quality. It's such a successful idea that your only hope is to completely saturate the individual markets before someone beats you to it. Americans like coffee and cheeseburgers. If I had the seed money, I'd start a slightly upscale version of KFC/Popeyes and watch the money come rolling in. Monetize a guilty pleasure, help the consumer feel like they're aspiring to something more upscale, and beat everyone else to the corner with it.

Now, this doesn't stop people like us who take our food and drink very seriously from saying, "well, I actually don't care for Starbucks coffee and the fries at Five Guys are greasy." I have Java Shack and Hellburger, but even if they wanted to (I really don't think they want to) these places couldn't pull off a multi-state expansion because the quality would suffer and quality matters there, the respective markets are already saturated, and in the current economic climate I'm not sure people are willing to make one more jump in price and quality to feel aspirational. So the Five Guys wave will keep rolling west until it hits the Great Wall of In-N-Out Burger and rolls back. Maybe then you'll see a Starbucks-style closing of redundant stores and consolidation, but not before some people get very rich off of melted cheese addictions.

So, my beloved Five Guys is dead. Long live zombie expansion Five Guys, though, whether we complain about it here or not.

/rant

[bettyjoan]

Funny - I had Five Guys for dinner last night, which is COMPLETELY out of character for me (first, because it's not my favorite place, and second, because I usually try to eat healthy during the week), but it was one of the tastiest Five Guys meals I've ever had. Perhaps I was just stressed and hungry, but it really hit the spot.

Five Guys generally disappoints me, but I find that the quality varies greatly depending on the location. So, while my Five Guys in Lawrenceville, GA, may be spot-on, the one at International Square in downtown DC may be struggling. I don't know how you avoid that in a massive chain/franchise operation.

[jiveturk21]

I have kept quiet long enough.

I have always liked Five Guys, at the original locations, you could get great burgers and fries for cheap prices. As they started to expand, the quality went down, which isn't to be unexpected. Unlike McDonald's or Subway or many other chains, Five Guys doesn't really believe so much in consistency or quality control. For instance, they get their ground beef in five pound packages, ask 10 owners how many burgers they get out of that package and you will get 10 different answers. In fact, ask one of the "five guys" how many burgers they get out of each package and you will probably get a blank stare.

When it comes down to it, the idea (burgers and fries for cheap) was a good one at the right time, but the execution (their expansion strategy) sucked. Go out there right now, walk into a Five Guys and ask the owner if they want to sell it to you, I am betting that at least 75% of them would LOVE to sell you their business, they are just praying for someone to take it off their hands.

From a corporate perspective, they are just counting money. At the franchisee level, people are just bleeding money. Just because you own five good burger shacks doesn't mean that you have any clue how to open 600+ stores in a short number of years.

[tbantug]

Like others here, I loved the Five Guys by Skyline and in Old Town Alexandria. Like others, I too have become disappointed at their rapid and seemingly uncontrollable expansion. And in crazy places, too. I have noticed the drop in quality, and have not been in a while, and I'm not sure I'd take any out of town guests there anytime soon. I used too, but now it's just not that good or special. I guess that's what happens when you expand with minimal quality control. My go to burger place is now Elevation Burger in Falls Church, but I hear they're starting to franchise, also. I hope they don't go down the same road...

[Bob Wells]

Like others here, I loved the Five Guys by Skyline and in Old Town Alexandria. Like others, I too have become disappointed at their rapid and seemingly uncontrollable expansion. And in crazy places, too. I have noticed the drop in quality, and have not been in a while, and I'm not sure I'd take any out of town guests there anytime soon. I used too, but now it's just not that good or special. I guess that's what happens when you expand with minimal quality control. My go to burger place is now Elevation Burger in Falls Church, but I hear they're starting to franchise, also. I hope they don't go down the same road...

Has anyone tried the Five Guys breakfast sandwiches? Some people at my office were talking about them. They sound like quite the guilty pleasure.

[RWBooneJr]

There is really no great value to this post, but a good friend from NYC was visiting me tonight and the first thing he asked was how close I was to the 5 guys. I'm thinking they've found an audience.

[New Foodie]

Has anyone tried the Five Guys breakfast sandwiches? Some people at my office were talking about them. They sound like quite the guilty pleasure.

I looked online but didn't see breakfast sandwiches listed on their online menu. What do these consist of? The typical bacon/sausage with egg and cheese? Do they serve them everywhere or just at airport locations? I'm curious now...

[johnb]

If anyone is interested, here is the 5 Guys story from the horse's mouth.

[Joshua Grinnell]

If anyone is interested, here is the 5 Guys story from the horse's mouth.

That was very interesting- he's completely right about soaking the fries (from past experience in a sub shop) but that does seem to clue the reader in that quality control went down with franchising, as the owner feared, because damn those fries have gotten greasier of late.

On the other hand, I will cheerfully eat at the first Five Guys in Abu Dhabi, maybe have a t-shirt printed that says "The Best Things Come from Arlington" with a picture on it of a Five Guys burger, Sandra Bullock, and the DARPA logo.

Hometown pride always trumps too-greasy fries.

[JeffC]

The fries were greasy more often than not when I had them at metro DC Five Guys, but I've been pleasantly surprised (or more accurately, a bit amazed) that the fries here in Myrtle Beach are so much better. The first time we got Five Guys after we moved, my wife declared herself uninterested the the fries--"too greasy"--but when she tried a couple of my humongous "regular" order, she dug in and ate about half of them.

Maybe they try harder down here--or maybe Five Guys just seems so much better in this food wasteland--but I've been quite happy with the meals we've gotten at FG since moving.

[mtpleasanteater]

I think there is a pretty wide range of quality at their various locations. The one on H street is much better than the one in Brooklyn Heights, but neither is great. I think almost all of them are franchises.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Just thought I would offer an observation. I tasted In-n-Out Burger last week in Las Vegas, and as many raves as I hear and read about this place, it's a few rungs beneath Five Guys on the quality ladder. I doubt that it's a sampling error either.

[Mark Slater]

5 Guys also makes pretty good grilled cheese sandwiches with their own special buns. I actually talked them into making me a patty melt recently: grilled cheese, tomato and bacon + burger. I liked it better than the regular burgers.

[DonRocks]

5 Guys also makes pretty good grilled cheese sandwiches with their own special buns. I actually talked them into making me a patty melt recently: grilled cheese, tomato and bacon + burger. I liked it better than the regular burgers.

Did you tell them you were the 2007 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Wine Service?

[Mark Slater]

Did you tell them you were the 2007 James Beard Award winner for Outstanding Wine Service?

Nope. In Arlington, I'm just the guy from Ray's.

[schulju]

Nope. In Arlington, I'm just the guy from Ray's.

Nope, In Arlington you're the 'Wine God'!!

[Kibbee Nayee]

Five Guys is up to 770 and counting, now taking on In-n-Out in California....

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-five-guys-20110408,0,7319175.story

I've tasted both, and despite the relative low quality of both (well above Wendy's but well below Ray's HB), I can honestly assert that Five Guys trounces In-n-Out. Good move by the business development staff at Five Guys to conclude that In-n-Out can be defeated on its home turf with a combination of well-done grease and fresh cut fries.

[Joe H]

Five Guys is up to 770 and counting, now taking on In-n-Out in California....

http://www.latimes.com/business/la-fi-five-guys-20110408,0,7319175.story

I've tasted both, and despite the relative low quality of both (well above Wendy's but well below Ray's HB), I can honestly assert that Five Guys trounces In-n-Out. Good move by the business development staff at Five Guys to conclude that In-n-Out can be defeated on its home turf with a combination of well-done grease and fresh cut fries.

Five Guys trounces In-n-Out? I don't think so... In-n-Out does now have competition but they are really two different markets. I may feel different if I lived on the West Coast but I absolutely love In-n-Out and go out of my way to stop off three or four times a year. Every time is special. I just don't think of Five Guys the same way. Of course I don't think Five Guys french fries compare to the Thrasher's on the lower end of the O. C. boardwalk either. Having said this In-n-Out's "animal fries" (with grilled onions, melted cheese and "spread") are equal to almost anything in Amsterdam or Brussels.

[Kibbee Nayee]

Five Guys trounces In-n-Out? I don't think so... In-n-Out does now have competition but they are really two different markets. I may feel different if I lived on the West Coast but I absolutely love In-n-Out and go out of my way to stop off three or four times a year. Every time is special. I just don't think of Five Guys the same way. Of course I don't think Five Guys french fries compare to the Thrasher's on the lower end of the O. C. boardwalk either. Having said this In-n-Out's "animal fries" (with grilled onions, melted cheese and "spread") are equal to almost anything in Amsterdam or Brussels.

My "sampling" is 20-something males who may not have discerning palates but who have tasted many burgers and fries from coast to coast. Their hands-down choice is Five Guys. My own lone experience with In-n-Out was in Las Vegas, and while the toppings were fresh, the patties were minimal. And that "spread" is some nightmarish packet of hydrogenated goop.

[astrid]

In-n-Out does an almost perfect rendition of a small fast food burger - soft spongy buns, nice "salad" portion, and just enough patty for a whiff of meat. It's been a couple years since I've eaten at one, but I think the double double is about $3, so it's pretty cheap too.

Five Guys has decent fries if you catch them straight out of the fryer, but I now find their burger to be basically inedible because there's just so much overcooked meat and the proportion is all wrong. If I wanted that much meat and grease, I'd rather spend a couple more dollars and go to Ray's, Palena, or PS 7.

Still, I wouldn't be surprised if Five Guy wins for most people. America is all about brobdingnagian portions and Five Guys definitely delivers on that count.

[The Hersch]

America is all about brobdingnagian portions and Five Guys definitely delivers on that count.

Indeed. I had my very first Five Guys experience last week in scenic Glen Allen VA. I was surprised when my order of "regular" fries turned out to be literally I'm-not-exaggerating two pounds of potatoes. Was this anomalous? They had put my wrapped burger at the bottom of the bag along with a paper cup of about 16-oz soft drink capacity filled with fries, and then completely filled the rest of the bag with fries. Is this just the way they do it? What if I had asked for "large" fries? A whole nother bag? The fries were ho-hum, and the burger was ill-proportioned as you say.

P.S. Oh, and Glen Allen isn't really scenic. It is, rather, an appalling wasteland.

[Destruya]

A "regular" fry is the cup filled, plus one full scoop extra dumped in. A "large" is two scoops.

Personally I find the practice exceptionally annoying as it generally ends up with me burning my fingers on scalding hot fry grease trying to get to my damned burger buried underneath.

Also, from what I've heard about In-and-Out, it's not so much the quality (which I've heard is always dependable if occasionally underwhelming), but the "memories" and the truly "have it your way" nature the place allows for a fast-food joint.

[jparrott]

Now offering "little fries." Use that info how you will.

[rockcreek]

Now offering "little fries." Use that info how you will.

"We have three sizes: wee, not-so-wee, and FRICKIN' HUGE!"

[DonRocks]

Now offering "little fries." Use that info how you will.

"We have three sizes: wee, not-so-wee, and FRICKIN' HUGE!"

"Oui" had gone deux years without a Five Guys post; then cake, carrot comes a-calling, casting his cacaphonic cojones and causing complete catastrophe.

[Chef Tom]

Beauregard location is closed. Permanently.

This link explains:  http://fiveguys.com/contact-us/skyline.aspx

[DonRocks]

Beauregard location is closed. Permanently.

This link explains:  http://fiveguys.com/contact-us/skyline.aspx

I feel a tinge of sadness reading this because I remember very well this, and the Glebe Road / Columbia Pike locations being the only ones in existence - this was the time when Brenner's Bakery was right next to the original location, and Five Guys was getting their buns from them.

My goodness, it wasn't *that* long ago.

[treznor]

That was 'our' Five Guys for a number of years as we lived about half a mile away. I still think the burgers and fries at that location is better that any of the new places, though haven't been to it in a number of years so don't know if they've maintained that difference. Sad indeed to hear that it closed.

[weezy]

Stopped at the Five Guys on LRT on the Annandale/Alexandria line tonight, ravenous, and got the grilled vegetable & cheese sandwich.  The flavors would have been good but the sandwich construction was abysmal and the whole thing completely fell apart and couldn't be put back together again -- because it wasn't a grilled sandwich.  They just plopped their previously grilled veg and a slice of cheese onto a cold bun  and slapped a couple of slices of cold cold cold tomato butt on it with enough lettuce for a side salad and wrapped it up.  As soon as I tried to pick it up and bite into it, all the innards went splat on the table/paper bag.  Terribly disappointing.  I still ate it -- mostly picking up bits of filling using the lettuce -- only because I was so hungry.  They need to seriously re-think the prep on that item.

[DonRocks]

Stopped at the Five Guys on LRT on the Annandale/Alexandria line tonight, ravenous, and got the grilled vegetable & cheese sandwich.  The flavors would have been good but the sandwich construction was abysmal and the whole thing completely fell apart and couldn't be put back together again -- because it wasn't a grilled sandwich.  They just plopped their previously grilled veg and a slice of cheese onto a cold bun  and slapped a couple of slices of cold cold cold tomato butt on it with enough lettuce for a side salad and wrapped it up.  As soon as I tried to pick it up and bite into it, all the innards went splat on the table/paper bag.  Terribly disappointing.  I still ate it -- mostly picking up bits of filling using the lettuce -- only because I was so hungry.  They need to seriously re-think the prep on that item.

Sadly, this was a good post.

[Bob Wells]

We hit the Five Guys in Gainesville before a movie on Sunday. I got a cheeseburger "all the way." Good flavor but it completely fell apart almost instantly. My daughter's little cheeseburger also fell apart quickly. My son got a double cheeseburger with no toppings at all (he is a purist) and it looked nice right to the last bite.

Reminder to self: Next time skip the lettuce and tomato, and possibly other stuff as well.

The fries were very good. One regular was enough for the four of us.

There's a SmashBurger right acros the street from the movies. We're going to try it next time. Anyone have SmashBurger experiences to share?

[Al Dente]

I took my 6 year-old daughter to Five Guys in Kensington last night. She loooooooves burgers so this was just the spot for her. For me, not so much. I remember a time when you needed several napkins to finish a Five Guys burger, but I barely needed a single one last night. It was so dry it was crumbling.

I'll likely go back because she loves it (the sacrifices we make), but I wonder if there's something else on their limited menu that I can enjoy.

Oh yeah, their drink dispenser cranks out "fruit juice" drinks with colors not found in nature.

[DonRocks]

23 minutes ago, ktmoomau said:

Not sure about other chains asking for temperature preferences.  Big Buns and BGR tend to be the go-to for quick serve or fast casual (whichever you prefer) burgers for me.  For some reason I thought Five Guys asked, but it has been a while since I have had Five Guys.  

Five Guys did when they first opened in Virginia, but they've cooked everything to well-done for the past ten years or longer.

[Destruya]

On 5/29/2014 at 10:10 AM, Bob Wells said:

There's a SmashBurger right across the street from the movies. We're going to try it next time. Anyone have SmashBurger experiences to share?

It's not bad, and they do a better job of seasoning their meat, but stick to your son's 'purist' philosophy.  Smashburgers' patties are generally juicier than Five Guys', but they can be even worse when it comes to overdoing it with toppings.

EDIT: Annnnnd I just noticed this post was from *2014*.