Each their own...what you think is great...sucks to others. I'm not a huge fan of 5 guys. burger is ok ,but to greasy!! Do enjoy thier fries!! Its not meant to be fast like Mcdonalds or burger king. Tipping is a personal preference. Many people tip at Starbucks--They dont do anything different than 5 guys--u still have to stand around and get ur drink when they have completed it.

Cynic, if you look there was a thread on Five Guys a few days ago.

We tried our 5 Guys too, and it was just another fast food place.

Cynic - you should write reviews for your local newspaper!

I never heard of them until these threads
Had a good $1 menue Cheeseburger and fries and their new frozen coffee at Wendy's today very good

I don't like their burger and fries, but my DH does. There is always a huge line, so others must love it too and it's not a cheap burger.

I like my bun toasted and they are willing to do that for you, but by the time it gets to me it's mushy. I'm used to In and Out burger where the burger is not wrapped in foil, thereby not steaming the contents. I dislike wilted lettuce on a hamburger, once it gets to that point, it's tasteless and slimy. Even though it's only wrapped in foil for a few minutes before I get it, for me it affects the contents. I do like that they offer grilled onions and bacon, but any other add on's only complicate the classic taste. I do love my burgers lol

The fries do taste like fresh cut potatoes, but they are greasy. I think the wow factor comes from the quantity.

There are a couple of mom/pop places that I am able to get what I consider a true burger and In and Out is pretty good option if the fries are hot.

I was watching a show on the Travel Channel about the best burgers in the U.S. They talked about The Butter Burger in Wisconsin. The toasted bun is smeared with 3 or so tablespoons of butter which then melts throughout the burger. Gobs of melted butter swimming on the plate, but apparently the best part is dipping everything in it. It both sickened and intrigued me. I kept looking for Paula Deen somewhere in that diner lol

I rather like 5 Guys myself

Cynic excellent review. Spot on with my experience(s) there. I went twice. Once for a burger and once for a hotdog. Never again. How can a split grilled hot dog be served luke warm when you are eating in? They managed it somehow.

I stopped for a burger to go at my favorite place today and the owner and I were discussing 5 Guys and other food paces in general while he was cooking my burger on his revolving charcoal grill.

Like me he is not a food snob. We enjoy trying all kinds of foods and it's about the food not the ambiance for us. He and I would both rather eat at McDonald's over 5 Guys. At least at McDonalds you don't expect high standards and you know what is in there.

He also lamented on how Taco Bell has changed so much over the years. I steered him toward a good alternative.

When my burger was done he asked how far I was going and if I wanted it boxed and wrapped separate from the nicely toasted bun so it wouldn't get soggy. I said I was just going to eat it outside but that's service!!! He gave me some extra sheets of wrap to hold it together.

Burger was $5.75 plus tax. Hand formed from beef ground on the premises. Jack cheese. Buttered toasted Sara Lee roll.
From the condiment bar I added old fashioned red relish,leaf lettuce fresh tomato and pineapple.

Five Guys? More expensive and would have been a wet mass of slop.

Cynic I'm right with you. Hubby and I tried ours ONCE and never went back. There must have been 10 people behind the counter and they still managed to mess up our order. The fries were half cooked, just enough to be limp and greasy and the burger wasn't even average in taste. I guess we weren't the only ones that didn't care for the place because it has since closed it's doors in our little community. I hate to see any place go out of business but can understand why this one is gone. Now my daughter says the one in her area is good.
Hubby and I prefer the good hand made burger from a little county market in our area. The meat is the size of the bun after its cooked, every thing is fresh and cooked to prefection with nice juicy meat.

I think their food would be better if it was just put on the tray ...not wrapped in foil and bagged. It STEAMS everything. Even if we do get take out at Mickey D's, I do NOT want the bag closed. Totally messes up the food.

I've eaten at several different fast food joints in my area. In my opinion, the best burgers are at Burger King and McDonald's. The best meat sandwich is sliced beef at Arby's. The fries vary. The ones fried in olesta are a little disagreeable to my system. I think the McDonald's tried olesta and changed to something else a couple of years ago. The burgers at Culver's could be tasty but they slather on too much butter. They are dripping with grease. The best meal at Culver's is the pot roast dinner. Everything else is quite ordinary.

Although Wendy's is trying, their burgers are the worst of the bunch. Many years ago I tried A Wendy's burger. it was served undercooked. That turned me off and I stayed away. Lately, their new try at the market enticed ne to try again. The burgers were cooked this time, but not very tasty and the price was higher than McDonald's. Wendy's is off my list.

I am expecting to see the price of meats and burgers shot up sometime next year due to this year's drough and crop failure. Right now, ranchers are thinning their herds so there is plenty of meat on the market, but that will end soon. This fall after harvest time, Wisconsin diary farmers will be facing a big decision: to stay or get out. A number of small operators are expected to quit due to the price of cattle food and low milk prices.

I don't think that the US public realizes what this year's drought has done to our food supply. It will affect the gross national product because the US will ship out less grain. This represents a drag on the balance of trade with the rest of the world.

Taste certainly is subjective but I have to suspect that the sheeple have become so ingrained with the belief that "fast food" (and for the record, I don't consider McDonalds or Burger King to be fast anymore) has to be bland and mediocre. Has the prepared frozen food diet of North Americans killed the desire or lowered the standards of expectation? I wonder. With the "open a can of mushroom soup", "add a packet of onion soup mix", "peel back the plastic and bake/microwave" type of, so-called "cooking" that so many people do these days one wants to cry for the tastebuds of people. No more sugar and spice and everything nice, it's Sugar and salt... it's everyone's fault.

I don't like that overpriced salt-lick that Arby's calls roast beef anymore. They used to have a cold turkey sandwich that was great. I did have a chicken salad wrap there a while back that was very good. And their curly fries are seasoned and far closer to "Cajun" than the "Cajun" (sugar frosted fries) at Five Disap Guys. To me, Subway has some decent sandwiches though I mourn the loss of Clark's Submarine Sandwich shops. I also like a McD's McChicken and the Monterey Ranch Chicken from Wendy's. I'll still head to a deli and pick up some meats, a decent bakery roll and make my own sandwich on occasion. Doesn't have to be fancy to be good.

I think I figured out why everything there is lukewarm. First, of course the burger is not cooked to the point it's piping hot and a thin patty loses heat quickly. That's understandable. But the fries. Thinking back they dump the fries into a (room temp) stainless steel container. (Food police require virtually everything to be stainless steel) Stainless is great for cooling food down. Then they take a stainless (naturally) scoop and scoop the fries into a small stainless container, presumably measuring the portion, then scooped into the paper cup which won't contribute to keeping them hot, then dumped into the bag over the burger that's been waiting on the counter. How *can* it come to you hot? LOL

Culver's is an interesting place. I tried to like it. I tried hard. They had a lot of possibilities too. But, while I like a bit of a crust on the burger, I don't like it burned. Blackened is for Prudhomme's catfish, not a fast food burger. And I usually like crinkle cut fries, but theirs has a metallic taste and I suspect it's a preservative but it still tastes like something that's been in the freezer too long. Guess I should give them another try. Maybe things have improved.

Taco Bell. Ah. First, I'm upset that the soft shell chicken taco is gone. Used to be 99¢, now not availble. And there is a taste in some of the things that doesn't agree with my tastebuds. I'll have to try different locations. Could be the one place. But I still miss the Zapata/Zantigo Taco Burrito from decades ago.

Many things affect pricing. When gasoline goes up, it costs more to haul to market. When propane goes up it costs more to dry the corn so the farmer faces moisture docking or spending more in drying to get a better price. However places like McDonalds or Burger King don't rely on the family farm for providing their meat (by-?)products. They contract with big operations so I doubt the $1 McDouble will go up because of one poor year in some areas. If prices go up there, it's more attributable to advertising costs, labor costs, R&D and bonuses and perks to the board members IMO.

Oh, and thanks maire_cate! :)

Here is a link that might be useful: Clara:

do you have a red robin?

Yes Red Robin is great place for burger and fries. Love their onion rings too.

June

ours is in the next town...about 10 miles away...not worth the drive...but I have eaten there once...It was ok...waaaay tooo much food...I want to try and IN AND OUT burger...

In And Out burgers are tasty but the single is a bit skimpy on the meat making it way too much bun. The double is much better but I find them a bit too much. But they are cheap enough so I just eat what I want.

I order them animal style but light on the dressing.

For me, a successful burger place offers a decent vegetarian option. It's not that difficult to do. It's not just the vegetarians but also the people who avoid red meat for whatever reason.

Usually when I order one, it's some limp soggy vegetable patty on a naked bun. The worst is when they throw the veggie burger on the same grill as the meat. That drives me nuts and I won't eat it if that happens. I usually ask first, and some places will cook it separately and some won't. Their prerogative, but I only spend my money at places that will.

I appreciate those places that accommodate different, reasonable eating habits and I consider being a vegetarian one of those considering how many of us there are. There's a place called The Counter here in Southern CA that is supposed to be good but I haven't tried it.

cynic, do try Burger Moes on West 7th close to downtown St. Paul. Great burgers!!

Cynic, you are spot on with this review.

Yes, they give you a ton of fries but they are so soggy I can't imagine why anyone would like them that way. Won't be going back.

Wendy's has a better burger and fries and you don't have to take out a 2nd mortgage to feed a family.

There is a Five Guys here in town right next to where I usually get my hair cut, that people had been raving about. Twice while trying to kill time until the hair cut, I went into Five Guys, waited in line for about 5 minutes, and got so turned off by the slow line, the peanut shells littering the grease-slickened floor, and the sign atop the menu declaring "All of our burgers are cooked to well-done" that I ended up leaving without ordering anything.

A third time I was determined to try the food, and was not at all impressed. The burger made up for the fact that it was overcooked by being very greasy, the bun was soggy and flavorless, the lettuce was wilted from being steamed while the burger was wrapped in foil. The fries were far, far too many, and way too salty, and were mushy and greasy, and they went from too hot to eat, to too cold and greasy, seemingly without ever passing through the "just right" temperature.

I went to a local hot-dog restaurant that seemed to be aiming for "like Five Guys, but with hot dogs instead of burgers" and their fries were some of the best I'd ever had. Maybe that's how Five Guys was when it first started out, and its merely that the local franchisee is not doing such a great job, but I'll certainly not be back.

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about the grease smell! Amazing with the fans going. Filters must have been plugged!

Red Robin isn't bad, I enjoy going there occasionally. Had a couple times they were lukewarm but the burgers were good and I like the steak fries. They're cooked properly. Haven't tried the onion rings, wish they had a smaller portion!

I've wanted to go try Shamrock's & The Nook. They have a good reputation but I understand they're usually packed. Couple 20 year old kids took the place over. I like to see them succeed. But the interesting thing is they brought back the original owner to teach them how to do it right. Smart kids!

Never heard of this joint/chain.

I went to one about 6 months ago when we were out of town (none local.) I was not impressed. We have a local sports bar & grille that does the BEST burgers at about the same price as 5 guys. And we get potato salad & cole slaw (both delicious) as options to fries (I don't eat fries.) I'm not a fan of franchises in general, but I gave 5 guys a try.