Originally Posted by
iahphx
While eating at In N Out with my son this weekend, the topic of Five Guys came up. Neither of us have ever tried it. We vowed to do so. I just looked at their menu, though: $6.79 for a cheeseburger and $3.79 for a regular fries. Yikes! That's 2x the price of In N Out. I guess we'll try it anyway, but it's going to have to be a heck of a fast food burger to be worth that.
Five Guys' normal burger is a double-patty burger, and the patties are noticeably thicker than In-N-Out's--3.3oz vs 2oz each.
Also, the regular fry is enough to split between 2-3 (or more) people. I haven't tried the new smaller fry size (previously, it was just "regular" and "large"), but I suspect it's still more than one person should eat (well, ignoring the fact that, technically, you should never eat fries).
To me, Five Guys' is more like a traditional, juicy diner burger than In-N-Out's. Both are good, but both satisfy different cravings. In-N-Out has a cleaner, fresher taste (unless you Animal Style-it), whereas Five Guys has a big, juicy flavor, especially if you doctor it up with lots of toppings (I usually get L/T/O plus green peppers, ketchup, A-1 sauce, and a little bit of hot sauce).
It's interesting that you bring up the price as being on the high side, though. Five Guys' walls are invariably plastered with clippings from newspapers both local and distant with claims that they've been voted best burger and mentioning how their burgers are so cheap and such a great value. Yet while I have no issue paying $6+ for a burger (likely a product of having grown up in Alaska, where Carl's Jr's "Six Dollar Burger," which was supposed to be as good as but cheaper than a burger you'd pay $6 for in a sit-down restaurant, was actually closer to $7), I've gone in with friends and family who have commented that the food is expensive. I suppose it is expensive if you're comparing it to McDonald's, Burger King, and other fast-food restaurants; it's a bit unfair to compare it to In-N-Out, with which its footprint doesn't really overlap very much (although that's changing) and which is sort of an aberration of great quality at a great price. Within its original footprint, though (primarily the Northeast/Mid-Atlantic), it occupies a definite middle ground between fast food and sit-down diners and is a clear step up--in both price and quality--from the former.
Originally Posted by
iahphx
I'm honestly surprised people will pay this much. In California, you can go to Carrows and get 2 for $20 complete prime rib meals (soup or salad, prime rib with potato & veggies, chocolate cake). Seems like a better deal, no?
Only if you can stomach the quantity-over-quality product that is served by Carrows.
