Back in October, a few took issue with my reverence for the In-N-Out Double-Double. One reader mentioned Five Guys as being superior.
This evening finds me in Columbia, South Carolina. Among my first order of business here was tonight's trip to a nearby Five Guys. I had intended to make the trip with a friend, but when others got I were supposed to make the trek downtown by ourselves, though somehow we ended up with a group of eight accompanying us. This made me uncomfortable, since I was headed to Five Guys to try the burgers, while the rest followed along on the thought that I was recommending it.
Gratefully, though, I have high praise for Five Guys.
Five Guys offers two sizes of burgers: regular (two patties) and small (one patty). Their burger options include the chance to add bacon to a burger or cheeseburger. The decisions don't end there.
After ordering a cheeseburger, they asked "What do you want on it?" [I wasn't ready for this, nor for the long list of potential toppings to choose from. I went with what I know: Absolutely no mayonaisse, tomatoes, pickles, and lettuce.* I then waited, eating a few peanuts** while they filled my order.
The burger was good. Very good. [The fries were very average.] The interplay between the patties and cheese actually reminded me a great deal of the In-N-Out Double-Double; in fact, I'd be hard pressed to distinguish them.
Again, the burger was very good. BUT, I missed the special sauce In-N-Out puts on its burgers. Perhaps the tomatoes weren't as crisp. And...the meal cost nearly $2 more than a comparable In-N-Out meal. Shouldn't that mean the burger was supposed to be 25% better?
Bottom line: Very good burgers. I'll be back. Given a choice between Five Guys and In-N-Out, though, my taste buds and my wallett opt for In-N-Out.
* Perhaps, given more chance to process the potential toppings next time, my next Five Guys burger will taste even better.
** The floor was so clean, thouh, that I felt awkward about droping the peanut shells on the floor. I did it anyway.
3 comments:
Good for you. I didn't know that Five Guys was down there. It was originally only in the DC area.
I totally agree with you on the fries. They tout their fries and the fact that they're cooked in peanut oil, but they're often as not kind of soggy. (The good thing, though, is that if you order a small cup of fries, they'll fill the cup, and then dump an extra scoopful of fries on top of it when they put it in the bag for you.) And South Carolinians must care more about cleanliness than Washingtonians -- all our local Five Guys' floors are covered in peanut shells. That's my favorite part.
Recently my brother-in-law visited Las Angeles and his old mission stomping grounds. He ate IN-and-Out everyday he was there. Upon my request, be packed a double double and secret sauce on ice so that I may in some measure relish the burgery goodness that is I-N-O deliciousness. It took some ingenuity to resurrect the burger to near hot off the grill status and it was not near as good fresh, but for what it lacked in freshness it made up for in style and sauce.
Post a Comment