Saturday, June 13, 2009

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Several locations of the much lauded Five Guys hamburger chain have recently opened in Houston, and after reading more than enough glowing reviews from burger connoisseurs nationwide I finally decided to give them a try. The "regular" burger comes with two fresh, never frozen 100% American beef patties (however, they do offer a smaller version with only one if you're a wimp, or hate life) with a wide variety of toppings and condiments. Unfortunately, I found the burger was incredibly disappointing, although the toppings were fresh and liberally applied. I'm not saying it was bad, because it was decent, but it's nothing impressive or spectacular. It's honestly too hard to justify eating at Five Guys when there are a handful of other joints in Houston that offer a way better burger. The only draw for Five Guys are their fresh-cut Idaho french fries, which are incredible. So make a trip out to Five Guys sometime and order the "large" fries, with a small burger on the side.

RATING: 60%

10 comments:

laurie said...

I love Five Guys. I think the appeal is that the burgers have the price and convenience of fast food, but they taste much better than fast food. Maybe Houston has lots of that, but Brooklyn Heights sure doesn't. And damn, the cajun fries are good.

Chris said...

They're certainly better than any other chain's burgers, but there are definitely better burgers in NYC than Five Guys.

And for me any burger joint should be reasonably priced, fast and delicious. That's why it's ridiculous people choose to eat at a place like Burger King when they can eat something of higher quality for the same price. Frankly, Five Guys has built their entire chain on the kind of places serving hand-cut fries and fresh, never frozen beef. And now the larger chains like Wendy's are catching on.

And $8.65 for a burger and fries isn't necessarily a great deal. At least, not in Houston.

Chris said...

And while it might make more sense for you to go to Five Guys, I think your situation might be more of an anomaly than the norm.

My point is in the likely situation where there are several other places to choose from, Five Guys is incredibly underwhelming as a burger. Even without having to choose it's just not as great as I've been lead to believe.

laurie said...

There are definitely better burgers to be had in NYC, but this ones right in my neighborhood (no travel!), and it's cheap. And yeah, any dinner under $10 is cheap in NYC.

Chris said...

But damn, those fries are great. I've been thinking about them all day.

Chris said...

Hey Laurie, by the way, I was going to tell you about a Houston band you should catch if you get a chance. I think they're in New York in a few weeks.

It'll be worth the time, and I think you might like them. But what do I know.

http://www.myspace.com/thewildmoccasins

Bryan said...

In n Out Burger > Other Stuff

LoCo said...

I agree totally Chris! There's one in my parents' neighborhood and my dad thinks it's the best place on earth. I thought it was just whatever -- better than McDonald's obviously, but I never would have guessed the patties weren't frozen. But the fries and their dipping sauces -- yum. Laurie's right; if you don't want a $12 burger, this is not a bad option at all.

LoCo said...

Chris I haven't had a bagel yet.
I'm getting panicky.

Chris said...

Come on, Loco. It's time to step it up and stop kidding around.

I wish I could go to Katz for a pastrami sandwich right now. I wonder if I could order that?