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


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13 hours ago, Destruya said:

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*. <_<

We did make it to Smashburger about a year ago. Burgers were very juicy. Sides were middlin'. The flash-fried carrots or whatever they are called were basically hot raw carrots. Not a good look.

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People my age or older will remember the McDonald's TV commercials from the late 1960s - the ones where the guy goes in and orders a hamburger, fries, and Coke ... and still (incredibly) gets change from his $1 dollar bill.

Well, times have changed, but they haven't changed *that* much, and maybe things aren't quite as bad as we think ...

I ordered a hamburger from Five Guys at Dulles, mustard only, and left the cashier a dollar tip (that wasn't an option at McDonald's in the 1960s - not sure when it came into being). No fries and no drink, but the sandwich does come with two patties - to my eyes, much smaller than they were at Five Guys twenty years ago (I wasn't intentionally trying to notice anything, but when I saw the first frozen patty plunked down upon the flattop, I couldn't help but notice its tiny dimensions - maybe compassionate companies really are beginning to care about super-sizing meals, and are doing their part to curb the mindless, caloric consumption of The American Consumer, who, for decades, fell prey to the marketing campaigns of "those other companies"), but how can I say for sure? And even though I specifically said "hamburger," I got a cheeseburger instead, with two pieces of an American cheese-like substance, the likes of which I haven't come across in quite a long time - perhaps even since the last time I went to McDonald's (*).

FiveGuys.JPG

Anyway, I got change from my $10 dollar bill.

3 cents change.

---

(*) I had a friend proofread this post just now, and she told me, "The only thing I'd change is that I would have said that McDonald's cheese is better."

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41 minutes ago, Toogs said:

You sure?  They have always claimed to not even have freezers.

Then I must be wrong - this was an airport location, and the patty looked like it had been stacked and divided by paper (you know those thin, white squares), but I cannot say with any certainty that it was frozen.

I can say for sure that the cheese was flat-out nasty! So gummy, and tasted like it was wrapped in plastic, and somebody forgot to remove the plastic.

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With the exception of the fries, I have never understood the Five Guys fascination.  Maybe just a bit better than McDonald's.  I had a burger last weekend at the new Shake Shack at MGM, that was a good burger.  What I remember most about it was the char.  

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29 minutes ago, Rieux said:

I was shocked, shocked, to find a Five Guys two story storefront on the Champs Elysees in Paris.  I thought it was over-rated when it was one storefront in Arlington and can't believe the expansion!

The original Five Guys location, in Westmont Shopping Center in South Arlington, now home to a Dave's Seafood & Subs (just to the left of that Boston Market):

Screenshot 2017-01-08 at 16.51.48.png

dave'sseafood&subs.png

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There is a Five Guys around the corner from me- extremely convenient.  I almost never go.  Don’t like it.

Just went.   It’s still lousy and expensive 

Not expensive expensive—expensive for the crap they serve.

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1 hour ago, DaveO said:

There is a Five Guys around the corner from me- extremely convenient.  I almost never go.  Don’t like it.

Just went.   It’s still lousy and expensive 

Not expensive expensive—expensive for the crap they serve.

I don't think I've ever seen a franchise where the quality varies so severely from meal to meal. 

To use the Dupont location as an example, I've had burgers and fries there that were dead ringers for the original location, and I've had meals there that have made me long for McDonalds. 

Frustrating. 

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On 1/8/2017 at 7:17 PM, Rieux said:

I was shocked, shocked, to find a Five Guys two story storefront on the Champs Elysees in Paris.  I thought it was over-rated when it was one storefront in Arlington and can't believe the expansion!

I was there a few weeks ago...had to document it. :)

And no, I didn't eat there.

IMG_1949.jpg.9c756ecdbcf18bc50b098e5a90426cc6.jpg

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I got back recently from Spain and was shocked to see a Five Guys in Madrid and in Barcelona.  Talk about feeling right at home (in a bad way).  Also plenty of Burger Kings scattered about.  Of course, I was all about the tapas so was not remotely interested in trying these burgers.  I have to say though that the  Egg McMuffins in China are much better than those at home.

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On 4/27/2019 at 3:29 AM, DaveO said:

There is a Five Guys around the corner from me- extremely convenient.  I almost never go.  Don’t like it.

Just went.   It’s still lousy and expensive 

Not expensive expensive—expensive for the crap they serve.

Why do you think it's so bad? The burgers taste good and the fries are plentiful and also real nice.

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8 hours ago, jasonc said:

Why do you think it's so bad? The burgers taste good and the fries are plentiful and also real nice.

In Arlington we’ve had HellBurger, then Ray’s had similar quality and nearby Citizen Burger are IMHO just as good.  The fries at Earl’s are crispier, better and as numerous at a similar price.  Five Guys has dryish little patties.  A burger fries and a soda at 5 Guys was about $13 and just inferior all around

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FG Fries are very variable from location to location.  One place I used to occasionally go to went from huge "regular" portions of long fresh fries to small "large" portions with lots of short pieces.  

Never liked their burgers, the patties are way overcooked and toppings are straight from Sysco.  I'd rather carb load at Potbelly's.  And of course no comparison to Ray's or Citizen.

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