Friday, April 10, 2009

Restaurant Review - Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Tom & I love good french fries. Through the years we have tried many restaurants, just on a friend's recommendation about their fries. So naturally we were pretty stoked to hear that Five Guys had opened near our office & that they had hand-cut french fries.

You can't help but notice all the glowing reviews & news articles about the restaurant when you walk in. As a matter of fact, it was their main decor. There were probably 50 reviews, pics of other Five Guys restaurants, & testimonials on the walls. The main colors were red & white, & it basically looked like a burger joint--exactly as expected.

The sound system (Bose) was kicking out some excellent classic rock-not too loud, not too quiet either. Just the way I like it.

I ordered a cheeseburger, fries, & a soda. Tom ordered the exact same thing. They assigned us a number & we sat down to wait...and wait...and wait some more. It was 2:30pm when we got there & it wasn't crowded at all so we were a little surprised at how long it took to get our order ready but it wasn't an inordinate amount of time so we were ok about it.

When our food came out they set down a brown paper bag on the counter & called our number. That was a little surprising since we were eating in & most places give out trays but again, no big deal, probably some kind of burger joint theme or something. There were bulk boxes of roasted peanuts being sitting out & we noticed a couple of people chowing down. Interesting. This is certainly not something I've ever seen anywhere but at a steakhouse. Kind of nice I guess, if you're into roasted peanuts.

When we opened the bag we literally could not see the burgers in the bag at all--there were so many fries spilled out. So we split the bag open & laid it on the table & proceeded to eat one of our favorite meals--burgers & fries. The burgers were alot smaller than expected. Also, for some reason I was surprised that they were obviously fried. As a matter of fact they reminded me of the burgers my Mom used to make (probably the point). The lettuce & tomatoes were fresh, the bun was fine, the condiments were as ordered, but there was just nothing spectacular about the burger at all. Seriously, nothing at all except that it cost $4.99 just for the burger. The fries were definitely hand-cut, but they were so greasy that they literally soaked through the bag & on to the table before we were through eating. Yuck! The fries were $2.59 each (regular size).

Within 30 minutes of finishing the meal we were both feeling a little queasy. Don't get me wrong, I love love love a good meal of burger & fries & had high hopes for this place--especially after reading all the rave reviews posted on their walls. But considering the fact that our bill was $19.32 for only a so-so meal that left us a bit queasy afterwards, I won't go back. Not even if I'm really hungry.

The same meal at the diner down the road from my parents house would have cost about $11 & we would have had someone bring it to our table on a plate & probably make conversation & smile a little too.

Call me picky, whatever, just don't invite me to meet you there...

Here is their website.

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