Invasion of the burger chains
 

I know there is a best burger thread out there, but it's old news and the links are dead. Here is a little ditty on five national chains that have recently come to Chicago.

You can look at the link for all the nutritional information, addresses, etc. I'll just summarize the Tribs' findings for each chain - and these are cheeseburgers:

Sonic Drive-In Grade: A-
Fatburger Grade C+

Meatheads Grade B


Five Guys Grade B+


The Counter Grade A-

http://www.chicagotribune.com/entert...7.story?page=1

I can has In and Out?

Sorry. Couldn't resist.

They rated Sonic over Five Guys!?!?!?!? :eek:


Sonic really isn't that good at all, IMO.

Not sure there's all that much difference between A- And B+, but the guy said he's also had Fatburgers better than the particular one he ate for this comparison. Five Guys and The Counter are actually in the city (Clybourn and Diversey, respectively), which is a good thing. Usually, these places end up in some far suburb.

True, I've also had Fatburger that was really good and some that were so-so. In LA, they were great, in Atlanta, I never go there because I've never had an even slightly above average burger at the location here.

In my opinion, Five Guys is miles ahead of Sonic. I would never in a million years even consider Sonic if a Five Guys was just around the corner. I only go to Sonic for their fruit smoothies. Those are great.

If you read the full review, he does note that he set his expectations based on the place. ie, he was rating Sonic as a fast food place, the rest as restaurants.

The Fatburger in Santa Monica is fantastic. Hope that the one in Orland Park can even come close.

I think it's owned by Kanye West IIRC.

IMHO the Fatburger in Orland is not very good.

Tried out 5 guys over the weekend after a movie at Webster Place. I thought the burger was pretty good. I had the Cajun fries. They were a bit spicier then I expected, but then, I wasn't expecting much. Tasty. They also gave all of us a ton of fries. The regular cup was about a 12 oz styrofoam cup. There were easily enough fries in the bag to fill the cup three times. Lesson: split the fries with someone :) Double bacon cheeseburger with regular fries/regular drink was about $11.

I have found that Five Guys away from DC/NOVA are not quite as good as the originals. And the prices in Chicago are signifcantly higher than elsewhere (my last one was $4.99 outside of Albany) for obvious reasons. I will have to try the Oak Park location once the weather gets better and I can find parking a short walk away. But I'll be back in Albany in three weeks, so I think I can hold out until then!

I like Sonic, but their burgers are not in that top class. I had Fatburger outside of Seattle last fall, and was not impressed at all.

I have not tried Meat Heads, I may have to do so next weekend.

I went and looked at their web site. They are a blatant rip-off of Five Guys, with a few very minor tweaks.

OTOH, I like Five Guys.... :)

I checked out your link and I agree. I hope the meatheads have a good lawyer.

Yep. The first time we went, we each got a regular burger and a regular fries. Neither of us made it halfway through our food. Now it's a little burger for each and a shared fries. Perfect.... and really yummy!

I'm in Chicago now. Wish there was a 5 Guys near my hotel. I could go for a burger but I'm sure there are tons of places around here to get one... I just don't want to get out in the cold. lol

went to 5 Guys last night. Burgers were great, the amount of fries they gave us was ridiculous. If I can't have In-N-Out, I'll take this. Epic Burger is next on the taste test, plus it's closer to home.

I had forgotten about the peanuts. The kids with us got a big treat out of dropping the shells on the floor, something their parents were horrified that they were allowed to do.

In the interest of furthering discourse on FT, I tried Meat Heads last night. In my mind, a great Five Guys location (mostly some of the NoVA locations) is a 9 on the quick-service-burger scale, and a so-so Five Guys location (suburban Albany NY) is a 6.5... then Meat Heads is a 5 at best.

Patties: Smaller than Five Guys. If I eat a regular at 5G, I'm stuffed. Here the patties were more like the size of an In-N-Out patty, and maybe a half ounce smaller than Culver's. And not much beef taste to them. If I am as hungry when I go to InO as I was last night, I get a 3x3 for $3.95, vs. $5.25 for Meat Heads.

Toppings: Excellent, the redeeming factor. I got ketchup, mayo, cheddar, grilled onions, and roasted red peppers. The toppings tasted great, which reminded me that the patties didn't really have taste.

Fries: Poor. The cajun fries were limp, and I had some sort of minor sinus/throat reaction to them - probably the peanut oil, although peanut oil usually doesn't trigger my allergies so I think it was also something about the spices. The portion size, however, is more appropriate to a single diner than 5G.

Soft Drinks: Single size (seemed like 24 oz) for $1.69. Refills implied but not explicitly allowed.

Ambiance: Better than 5G - still minimalistic, but in a more pleasant way.

All in all, strictly for burgers I would go to the Culver's around the corner on Rt 59 probably 2 out of 3 times instead of Meat Heads if the prices were the same. But at $5.25 for Meat Heads vs. probably $3.79 for a Culver's double cheddar.... I don't see myself ever returning.

Thanks for making this sacrifice for us! ;)

Seriously, thanks for the report. As a Culver's lover, this is good information. Unfortunately, they're not in the city. I do look forward to trying Five Guys and The Counter, which are.

Sonic is putting on a push; building one at 59 and Sterns Rd., Bartlett, and another I believe on Randall Rd. somewhere near I-90?

We might have to do a Chgo Burger Do, drive around all day sampling and post our analysis. It will be a big sacrifice, but we can do it for the greater good of the community.

I believe that in the original "Sonic thread," the article I quoted said that their plan is for 40-50 in the area. Whether that is still the case, I don't know.

Visited Five Guys yesterday. Good burger, with tons of toppings available (free) for a sloppy, but tasty mess. They fill a cup with fries and then dump a bunch more in your bag. A regular fries is more than enough for two people.

have you gone to Epic Burger ?


Mrs Sweet Willie & I are having Hamburger Tuesdays were each Tuesday we go to a new burger joint.

We went to Epic (corner of North Ave & Sheffield) this past Tuesday. Didn't think much of it. Burger itself is flat top grilled, very thin & flat, has meat crispies like a Steak N Shake burger does. Highlight of the burger was that they served grilled onions on it.

Agree with the Epic Burger assessment - went to the location on S State St in the South Loop for lunch the other day. I though it was expensive for what I got and it was far from anything special.