I no longer hate them

Their site says they are coming soon (with 2 stores) to Chicago.

And I'm looking forward to visiting the single Southern CA location but it's an 80 mile RT in nasty, nasty traffic. Planning it tentatively for Monday.

But if I get there and the fries are soggy...........

Sign me up for the NYC one!

This is a YMMV thing. I ask for them frequently when I travel to other stores. Sometimes they're fine with it. Every once in a while, if a store is brand new, they'll tell you no. But definitely worth asking.

Just returned from my first visit to a Five Guys location....the single store in Southern CA located in Carson, CA.

Bottom line, I'm impressed.

I've been in the restaurant supply business my entire career and have eaten at a LOT of restaurants of varying types over the last 40 years. And I'm a HUGE hamburger fan.

We ordered the regular double patty cheeseburgers and I'd have to give them an 8 ½ to 9 on a 1-10 scale. Might not have been the best burger I've ever had anywhere but it ranks darn near the top. Great beefy flavor and texture for which one would never ask this question.

I was very impressed with the freshness of the bun....it didn't fall apart like so many do when loaded up with toppings and condiments. And I happen to like sesame seed buns too.

I ordered mine with jalapenos and was pleasantly surprised to see they were fresh jalapeno slices.

I also liked the ordering process which was quick and efficient. After ordering we grabbed some fresh peanuts and whiled away the ten minutes os so waiting for the burgers by shucking peanuts.

The french fries were good but not great. I'd rate them a 7 ½. I liked the fact that they were cooked in peanut oil and that they were obviously fresh cut from unpeeled potatoes. And the flavor was good. The only reason for giving them a lower mark was that they were a bit soggy and were broken into some pretty small pieces.

Only thing I didn't like? I'd swear the chairs were stolen from an elementary school classroom. Small, uncomfortable wooden chairs. But, hey, if that's all I can think of to complain about.....

Oh yeah, one more thing. The fellow who was obviously the manager opened the door for us when we arrived. He also did it for a few other folks when things slowed down. Otherwise he was working the 2nd cash register. And he did come by and ask us how we liked everything as did the assistant manager. That's very unusual, IMO, for this type of restaurant.

Well worth the 3 hour round trip although I may wait to eat at Five Guys again when they open their Cerritos, CA location closer to my house.

I'm a huge FG fan for three reasons:

They are the closest "fast" fry to a true double-fried Belgian fry.

They provide a product that is zero BS and executed well *each* *and* *every* *time*, else they will a) admit it b) apologize c) recompensate you (I eat there 1x a week if at all possible, once early on they forgot my father-in-law's order. Manager gave me his business card, and a "free meal" card, and said if I ever have another problem again, call him anytime. It could have been an answering service in Bangalore, but that level of personal service was exceptional).

Aside from the (factual) self advertising, the store is done inexpensively and to reduce cost. The efficiency in the franchise gets me all hot and bothered -- aside from the simple plastic and sticker signs, and the cups, there are no waste-of-money duratrans, inexpensive industry standard tile, well laid out, and overall a process that is committed to fresh, inexpensive food done right the first time. The paper bags, the styro cups, hand cut chips, hand made patties -- all are commitments to a "drive out the excess cost at all areas and focus on product and delivery" model that should make any business nerd weep.

It's like someone took all upsides of franchising (solid brand with a winning concept) and threw out the bull (wasteful marketing gimmicks and pointless "experience" concepts) and actually delivered for once.

If I didn't spend all of my time on the road doing other things, FG is actually a franchise concept I would heavily consider moving to. I'm that hooked. Everyone who visits me in Richmond gets a visit to the one nearest my office, from co-workers, family, friends, to business associates. Heck, we had a celebratory lunch after closing a very large transaction at FG!

Cheers,

-Andrew

Mark,

Don't forget you have Fatburger over here in JC one the corner of Columbus & Washington.

I know it is not In-N-Out (not much is) but I think it is better than Five Guys.

- HF

I don't know about NYC but there is one in Levittown, NY on Hempstead Turnpike.

HarleyCat and everyone... at this time there are THREE Five Guys eateries in Manhattan..

From the Five Guys website (because as a Journalism major attribution is very important )


Location: LaGuardia Street
496 LaGuardia Street, New York, NY 10010
(This is the one in Greenwich Village)

43 W 55TH Street, New York, NY 10019

296 Bleecker Street, New York, NY 10014
(This is the one by Christopher Street on the corner across from Bleecker Street pizza which according to Food Network is the best pizza in NYC.)

Oh one more thing about Five GUys: their "gear" (clothes/t-shirts) are OK but In and Out comes up with some very nice back shirt designs and a new shirt yearly. I also got as a birthday gift an In and Out Aloha Shirt (which I believe they don't make anymore.)

GOing OT: some have wanted a Five Guys get together. Well post it on COMMUNITY (and if you can come to HOboken I can jiggle my work schedule and stop in.)

I'll make the trek from my office on 48th & Park to the one on 55th once or twice a month. I like their food, but won't trudge up their on a regular basis. I always enjoy the one at DCA, though. Makes the Shuttle flight that much better.

I like Five Guys, but just not quite as good as In-N-Out for just meat, cheese, onion, bun. The problems I have with Five Guys are:

1. I am allergic to peanuts. Peanut oil, I can handle in small quantities.
2. The single order of fries feeds three. I am one. This causes a value inefficiency, especially since I should not eat that much peanut oil in one sitting. So I end up not ordering fries.

But I like Five Guys far better than Fatburger and Culvers, which are in the second tier of quick service burgers. I do worry about their national expansion, and whether it will dilute the quality of the product the way expansion destroyed Corner Bakery.

Hoboken FLyer... I know of the Fatburger you speak of and I go a few times a year when I know I can't get to In and Out for months. It's good and I have never been disappointed.

I should try both Fat and Five back to back and see who is tops.

is that a Hoboken thing... burger joint hopping?

Growing up in SoCal in my teens I lived at In-n-Out. Five guys is the closest I've found to the burger of my youth.

I typically go for a loaded jr burger and skip the fries when I'm on the road. Great value and better than any other quick food burger on the east coast.

We recently headed to Newport RI and saw a highway sign for the fiveguys in Mystic CT. Stopped in on a Sunday afternoon, and the store looked like the beirut airport terminal during an evac. Total bedlam, people crammed all over the place and not a seat in site. We ordered and within 2 more minutes, the line was out the door. The kid at the register said it has been that way everyday since they opened. Food was out in less than 10 minutes and prepared perfectly.

That fiveguy is making money hand over fist. ^

How does Five Guys compare to Goodburger? There's one like right up the street from my apartment and I like their burgers.