If we're talking burgers, then the place to go is Double Dogs. Amazing. They will cook it less than well done ;)

Artemis, I always get the grilled chicken at Chick-fil-A. I’ve never tried the breaded chicken.

This warning is on usually every menu that will serve less than full done anything.

"Warning consuming raw or undercooked meat, poultry, seafood, shellfish, or eggs may increase your risk of food borne illness."

So just because a restaurant does or does not cook a burger rare or medium does not mean their meat is any better or worse than another.

I don't think you could get a rare burger from McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's or any fast food restaurant either.

I too was unimpressed with Five Guys. Went there once. Prob wont go back.

You are right Sherry that you cannot get a medium-rare burger from McDonald's, Burger King, or Wendy's, but those place don't try to pretend that their food is something special and rave-worthy and don't try to charge real restaurant prices for a overcooked fast-food burger. You are also right that their statement of "only well-done" doesn't mean their beef is any better or worse, but it suggests it to the irrational opinion-forming part of me.

I cannot remember the last time I've had a burger from McDonald's or Wendy's, its probably been years or even decades. I will go to Burger King, but even there I'll order it "plain", partly to avoid yellow mustard (yuck), but also to ensure a freshly prepared product.

More annoying to me than places that insist on "well-done only" are the places that ask how you would like the burger cooked, and then serve it well-done irrespective of what you request. One local place would do that every single time, even if I specifically stated "medium-rare, and if it comes out well-done, I'm going to send it back"

We go to Chick with our grandchildren because the employees are so accommodating. They. bring high chairs, placemats, etc. The kids can get a very nice fresh fruit assortment with their nuggets, and I get a delicious Market Salad. I eat LOTS of salads and the Market Salad has chicken and fresh fruits along with the greens. It works for us!

Just out of curiosity, does Chick Fil A serve hamburgers, or it is all chicken?

Rob333 and all, the peach shake sounds yummy. I won't have one, because I have to watch my calories and last thing I need is another source of high-calorie treats. Darn :-(

Because so many have commented on them, I'll vote "for" Five Guys. It's a step above a regular fast food burger because the patty is cooked right then. They have a wide selection of toppings and make it easy to specify which you want. And I often like their music, although its not a very imaginative mix of oldies.

Five guys is amazing. I went there on the way way home from California and got a super delicious bacon cheeseburger. I also got a large fry which was more like two large fries, because they put so much in the bag with the fries in it.

Nickel_kg, Chick Fil A only serves chicken. No beef!

thanks tennessee_swift, now I know :-)

Glad you had a good experience at Five Guys. I do have to remember their serving portion size when ordering. A 'small' single patty is plenty, and regular fries are enough for me and two or three other people!

People are welcome to do as they choose, but I suspect someone who eats a bacon cheeseburger at Five Guys has a very different standard of what's greasy than I have. Same is true about the earlier comment about grilled onions - they're greasy because of how they're made, drenched in oil on a grill.

May be greasy in YOUR culinary opinion, and with such high standards, plus knowledge of everything. AND your experience may be totally different to others.

My Five Guys burgers are not greasy, drenched in grease and I'm sticking to it.

Honestly, some people think they know everything!

If you read carefully, a number of people in this thread have agreed with me about how greasy they find the food at Five Guys. When they were new in my area, many people I know tried their few locations and had the same reaction.

Here's another comment you may not agree with, but that's fine. Birmingham has a good number of fine restaurants but Southern food preparation in general can be quite greasy. This is a widely held view, it's not just mine. If that's what you're used to, then another place with greasy food doesn't seem out of the ordinary.

Glenda, be strong. I said nothing personal about you, be polite and return the favor.

Nope Five Guy's is not greasy. Maybe they can't cook a burger in California. By the way Five Guy's is out of Virginia not Alabama.

Why don't you start your own thread Elmer. "Why I hate anything anyone else likes."

Wow. Are people entitled to have opinions based on THEIR OWN experiences?

I know that my meal from the Five Guys burgers that I went to was really underwhelming. I had expected a lot more.

Since I'm a vegetarian and haven't been in a fast food restaurant of any kind in 35 years, I have no comment about their food. But FIVE GUYs did a complete remodel beside my gym last month and if I DID go to fast food places, I'd be tempted by their appearance. It's so big and clean and minimalist looking. My place of choice is Panera where I 've eaten every Friday for the past ten years. I don't classify it as fast food because even though you order up front, someone serves you. It's the top "casual" eatery in the country and in all those years we never had a bad experience. Our particular one is supposedly the highest grossing one on the east coast.

I, for one, am happy Elmer brought up the political/religious standings of Chick Fil A. For some of us who support the LGBT community its difficult to let it pass without speaking up. And yes, the CEO of Chick DID speak out against the LGBT community and at that time gave millions to organizations that were anti-gay.

Both good and bad came from that. Many major cities would not issue permits for Chick Fil A to come into their cities. College campuses didnt want them either. But, Chick's profits continued because so many people felt Chicks 1st amendment rights were being violated. NOT because everyone was in agreement with their beliefs. Chick Fil A no longer donates to those anti-gay organizations.

I think its great they close on Sundays. And I also agree that the staff was a very friendly, energetic group. Dont know if that's still the case as I have not eaten one of those yummy sandwiches in 5 or 6 years.

I’ve never had a greasy burger at Five Guy’s. Keep in mind I was not the only one eating the large fry. The one I stopped at was in a very empty part of town and was very clean, and was relatively full because the next town wouldn’t be for another 30 or so miles.

Whenever I go to Five Guy’s I always get a lettuce ‘bun’ instead of a bread bun.

Sherry, I definitely agree with you.

I've only had the grilled cheese at 5 Guys and it wasn't very good. The fries were okay but too greasy - they completely soaked through the bag. My husband likes going there for the free peanuts!

About what's greasy and what isn't... if you arent used to eating a lot of fat most fast food places would be very greasy to you. I've always been heavy with the salt shaker. Several months ago I started cutting way back on salt. The other day I ate a potato chip for the first time in months. It was so salty I had to spit it out. Never in a million years did I think a potato chip would be inedible!

Sad that all some have to do is sit and change direction of threads to their liking. Maybe public lectures, get busy volunteering somewhere, and even EXERCISE is good for both the mind and body. Makes you strong!

I think ganging up on people and trying to censor them is sad too. If you don't agree with what someone posts, it's your choice to engage with them or not, or even to read their posts. I skip posts of certain people here, no big deal. Everyone is entitled to share their opinions.

Quoting myself, the comment was " I said nothing personal about you, be polite and return the favor."

This, for some, is a bridge too far. Can't and won't happen. Many people are intolerant in general and some react that way to anyone different from themselves or holding an opinion that differs from their own.

Chi, I agree with you, it is sad.

I have only been to two Five Guys and noticed something that might explain the greasiness. Whoever is working the grill can use as much oil as they think is necessary in cooking things. Same with amount of salt added to things. One of the ones sweeps the floors frequently when it is not a rush period. The other I would swear you would find months old peanut shells in the hidden spots.

Elmer, no where in this thread did you EVER say anything you liked. You did not post a chicken place you liked. You did not post a burger place you liked. The only thing you did was attack anyone else's opinion. It did not have to be fast food, you could have posted about any restaurant.

Leave it to you to take a fun, upbeat post and turn it into an argument. Have a nice day.

AMEN!

A lot of different people (nearly 10 of them) also said they don't like the restaurant for various reasons and didn't offer alternatives. Why aren't you calling them out too? Why is Elmer the only one being targeted? This kind of targeting feels very mean-spirited.

Thanks chi. You're right, of course.

Sherry, I don't regularly eat anything that's "fast food" when I'm not on a trip. My comments above are from mostly when travelling, as mentioned before.

If you want good fried chicken, find an Asian restaurant (often it's Korean ones) that features it.

The best fried chicken I've ever had, hands down, is prepared in kitchens supervised by the highly regarded chef Thomas Keller (famous for his restaurant French Laundry, among others). His Napa Valley restaurant Ad Hoc featured fried chicken as a rotating item. The chicken got so popular that he opened a counter in a shack at the back of the Ad Hoc parking lot that he calls Ad Hoc Addendum. It sells fried chicken every day. It's beyond description.

Ad Hoc is unconventional in many ways, one of which is there's just one entree item on the menu each day, prix fixe. The menu is announced in advance but it's a take it or leave it proposition, no substitutions and please come another time if that's not what you want tonight. The food is consistently excellent.

Lol this is fun to read especially because I’m waiting for my second flight in a row.

Haven't been to 5 Guys in a long time, and have only been a couple times. I don't remember what the food tasted like but I do remember they gave you tons of fries, way too much food for me. I don't remember peanuts at all or if it was greasy, but aren't burgers normally a little greasy? And fries? I eat out too much, which is why I try to eat healthier, Chick Fil A has grilled chicken nuggets, fresh fruit and salads. I also like Panera Bread, even though some of their stuff has a ton of salt in it. I usually get an apple instead of their hard-as-a-rock bread that comes with their meals but half the time they get it wrong and just throw in that stupid bread. The thing is so hard it tears your mouth to pieces.

This thread had me thinking, "I don't like any of those places." Used to like Panera salads, until their recent menu change.

I like MOD Pizza https://modpizza.com/

I went to 5 Guys once. I got a burger and fries to go. Got home, put the paper bag (in which the burger and fries were housed, in separate wrapping) on the counter and got myself a drink, napkin, etc. Went back and picked up the bag, and the bottom third of it, and the food, stayed on the counter because the grease had soaked the bag.

It was so totally gross, and I had to pick through grease to even find the food, that I gathered it up and threw it away and will never go back. Yuck.

I've never been to a Chick Fil A.

I like MOD too! We have one across the street. It's a nice way to indulge in relatively healthy pizza, at least how I build mine! Light cheese, no meat, lots of veggies.

I don't often go out to dinner, maybe once a month, but going out for lunch is nearly a daily event during the work week. I count myself fortunate in that there are about 30 restaurants within easy walking distance from work. If there were only fast-food places available, I'd likely just bring a lunch everyday. But in the four-block stretch of restaurants the only national chain was Qdoba, which I would go to about once a week, but which closed down a couple of weeks ago. My frequent haunts are a "greasy spoon" diner, a pizza-by-the-slice place, a "New York-style" deli, a Thai restaurant, either of two dumpling restaurants, with less frequent visits to about 10 others. In situations where none of the people I usually go to lunch with or when I'm in a hurry or when its raining hard and I forgot to bring an umbrella, I will go to the student union where there is a Chick-Fil-A, a Five Guys, a Subway and a Pizza Hut but given those four choices I almost always go to the Subway.

In fact just today, based on this thread, I almost went to Five Guys, but instead just skipped lunch entirely,

If I eat burgers I tend to prefer places that have condiment bars where you order your basic burger and add your own fixin's. We have several of those and my favorite one is in what some people call a relatively sketchy area. But they offer not only hand formed beef burgers but bison, ostrich, wild elk and boar burgers. They have an extensive condiment bar that includes traditional Red Relish. They flame grill their burger and it's not a chain. I am surrounded by chain fast food places.

For a regular fast food burger I like a little place across town that is run by a couple of ladies in a repurposed Old Foster Freeze. The menu is totally 50s/60s with everything from burgers and melts to shrimp baskets and deep fried burritos. They also do soft serve cones and sundaes. Super inexpensive and they will customize for you on request.

I'm another who doesn't care for most fast food, altho I've tried most over the years. I'd never buy chicken out because it cannot compare to what I fix. I agree that Five Guys is greasy and I dislike the steamed quality of the foil wrapped sandwich. I hate the limp fries, even tho I do like vinegar on my fries. McDonald fries are still good, but I think it's been a couple of years since I had some when driving cross country. When in CA, I did like In-N-Out, maybe once every couple of months, fries "well-done". Here we have Shake Shack and it's not nearly as good. Best burgers come from real restaurants, the local bar and grill and even diners. I do like Wawa sandwiches which are an order of magnitude better than Subway, And cheesesteak? It's good, maybe once every 6 months.

Sushi, please have the cheese fries and an ice cold coke with your next cheesesteak, if you want to do it really right :) This Jersey girl thought she would die when her well-meaning friend ordered them for her but then it turned out that it was heaven on a plate LOL. Haven't had another, guess that one (about 7 years ago) was enough. And I don't remember the name, but it was one of those 2 famous places in Philly, yummmm.

Too much cheese? Nah. Too much salt? Nah. Too much fat? Nah. Of course not, that's why you need the coke!

I also tend not to patronize many chain fast food restaurants. I just don't care much for their food. I do enjoy certain items from certain places......I am quite taken by McD's sausage mcmuffins but don't care much for their burgers and their fries taste like cardboard!! Burger King IMO is overall quite awful and I will avoid like the plague. Have only visited Wendy's on occasion for a chicken sandwich but object to square burgers just on principle :-)) I used to like KFC but they have changed over the years so visit rarely now and only order their Chicken Little sandwiches when I do.

There are a couple of local fast food establishments that do a good job but they have a very limited sales area so confined to just a city or part of the state. Otherwise, there any number of great burger bars or burger specializing restaurants that are technically 'fast food' but not members of any chain. I do like a good burger and fries and burgers are not something I fix at home so will visit one of then when the "burger urge" hits :-) One is across the street from a small neighborhood movie theatre my sister and I visit frequently, so we often do burgers and movie.

For me, the best burgers are in local restaurants and are charbroiled. I avoid chain restaurants when I can, for the same reasons as for fast food places. I've never eaten in one that was worth going back to.

I used to go to Philadelphia regularly and I've been to the two So. Philly cheesesteak places. It's something that should be high on a must do list for any first time visit to Philadelphia, along with seeing Constitution Hall, the Liberty Bell and the Rocky steps at the museum. I recall the places are near each other, maybe just down the street? It's something to do at least once, if your cardiologist thinks you can stand the saturated fat surge.

Actually, as good as Pat's and Gino's are, there are a bunch of other places around that routinely win "Best of Philly" lists over both. And I'll pass on cheese fries.

I believe it. Do the others have the same crowds and volume of business as those two?

Not that I've heard. Nothing wrong with those, just that there are plenty of other places to get a good sandwich.

I've been to Philly three times, but only once managed to get to a place that served cheesesteaks, and at that place (I don't recall its name) the cheesesteak wasn't very good. The best one I've ever had was from a sandwich counter in the back of somewhat sketchy convenience store here in town.

Bob, half the places in town make some version of cheesesteaks, even Wawa!

Dalessandro's. campo's, Jim's to name a few really good cheesesteaks shops in Philly.

Geno's & Pat's are ok, mostly a tourist draw.

that being said, there are SO many great restaurants and eateries in Philly, its a little overwhelming but in a VERY good way.

for the best hot sausage, Johnny Hots. all he does is sausage, its a little booth more or less. just fabulous. i get it with cheese whiz, and raw onions, OMG to die for.!!!

sushipup1, johnny hots is on or off of Columbus Blvd, i forget. DH usually goes and brings it home when he is working around there. please try it if u are ever in that area!! have u gone to any of the beer gardens this summer? we have been to few, so much fun!! try LaPeg, great view of the Ben Franklin bridge, (pic below) actually u are almost under it!! awesome at night!!

I'm up by Chestnut Hill and have little, if any, reason to go into the city save for the occasional doctor appointment at Penn or the dog's doc at Penn Vet. I'm the driver and I try to avoid traffic, and don't drive far at night. Dalessandro, now that's not far! There's a beer garden/brew pub in CH that's very close but the neighbors have been giving them grief for 'nuisance'. Still trying to figure out how anything in CH is a nuisance, all's so peaceful (some would say 'dead') around here.

i understand about driving at night, but we do it now while the weather is agreeable. not as much in the winter. we are in burbs, so it about a 30-45 min drive depending on traffic and where we are going in the city.

Dalessandro's is close to you, have u tried them??

yeah, CH is pretty quiet...manayunk is a nice night out! they have an ice cream stand on Main Street that sells bassett's!! yum!! good restaurants there also!!

Yes, this time of year is when I do drive more. We've had lunch in Manayunk a few times, I like the area. We have a little hole-in-the-wall place called Tommy D's that's awfully good. Have had Dalesandro's once, it was good. Tommy's is closer, but hey, I get that sort of sandwich only a couple of times a year. Right now, all this talk has me hungry for one. Maybe lunch next week.

Haha, we should meet for cheesesteaks :)

Sure!

I was extremely hungry a month ago and tried Chick Fil A. Staff and customers pleasant. My order seemed a long time in arriving. The chicken sandwich was wholesome looking and okay. Nothing special and short of flavor. I was eager to try their waffle fries, but found them lacking in both crispness and flavor.

I generally prefer my own cooking or patronize small, interesting restaurants. Take out house pho gives me two meal opportunities, and it's a local business. We have a very good local takeout or 4 tables Mexican restaurant run by honest to goodness Mexicans. The food at these places is always clean, fresh, inexpensive and delicious. Ditto with a seafood markets fish sandwich.

I try to support local enterprises and establishments that are socially inclusive and responsible. My understanding is that Panera donates a lot of its afternoon or dayold bread and baked goods to senior centers and pantries or soup kitchens.