Yesterday was my birthday, and as birthdays go I got to make the family choice on where we went for dinner. You have to work pretty hard to find a bad meal around Austin, and the town is known for its wide variety of places to get your chomp on. Everything good and worth experiencing, from great Greek to serious Japanese to just about anything is within a 30 minute from wherever you are around town. Among all of the Austin area’s fantastic eateries, with its great Mexican food stops like El Arroyo and Mesa Rosa, and the steakhouses from one end of town to the other, there was only one place I wanted to go on my birthday: Five Guys Burgers and Fries.
Five Guys started out in Arlington, VA in 1986 and for years was a few-shop cult favorite in the DC area. They spread north to Baltimore when my family and I lived there, and from our first taste of the restaurant’s massive, juicy burgers and peanut-oil cooked fries, we were hooked. Now Five Guys is coast to coast, and America is a better place for it. Five Guys is more than a burger: It’s a big, gloppy, sloppy work of burger art.
There are other great burger joints, of course. Every town has a local shop that everyone there swears is the best. Towson, MD has a great one called Burger Bros. that comes close to the Five Guys experience. The Austin area has Mighty Fine, a local burger beast that isn’t to be missed when you’re in town. I’ve never had an In-N-Out so I can’t compare them head to head with the others, athough friends rave about them. That West Coast chain is making its way into Texas now so I’ll have one soon enough. I’ve had White Castle’s legendary minis, but as good as they are, they just don’t match the Five Guys meal. Whataburger and Sonic are great, but let’s be honest: Their burgers are not the hand-made masterpieces that Five Guys delivers.
Five Guys burgers bring something that no other burger I’ve ever had has duplicated, replicated or otherwise brought to bear. Maybe it’s the double meat. Maybe it’s the sloppy juiciness that makes them impossible to eat without making a bit of a mess. Maybe it’s the bag full of fresh-cut fries that come to you so hot you can barely touch them. Maybe it’s all of that and how it combines to make the Five Guys burger experience the best around.
I don’t know exactly what it is. I just know that a Five Guys burger fills your hands with the best burger on the planet. It commands your full attention. It satisfies every burger need. I usually take mine with mayo, bacon, cheese, the usual fixins plus grilled onions and jalapenos. The fries and the free peanuts serve as the perfect cohorts to the massive mountain of meat that a Five Guys burger is. Last night’s Five Guys foray was long over due and as great as the very first one I had all those years ago. So, you know, happy birthday to me!
If you head down south, try Checkers. Great fries, wonderful greaseburgers.
Next time try the burger at 2nd Bar and Kitchen off 2nd and Congress. Another one that blows 5 guys out of the water is Hopdoddy. I’m a burger junky, trust me on these. Happy birthday BP. I’ve enjoyed your blog immensely since coming to PJ.
My wife and I were impressed by Hopdoddy’s burgers. We were a little less impressed with the documentary “The Two Escobars”, which was playing on the restaurant’s TVs. But I suppose I can blame ESPN for that, rather than the sort of lefty slant which I’d expect at an Austin eatery. And I was very unimpressed with the root beer, which seemed to have 1/3 the normal amount of syrup in it.
Five Guys is good, but I prefer Smashburger.
Five guy is good fast food but smashing the burger on the grill leads to it leaching its juices. Give me burger from an Irish pub medium rare any day or better still fire up your own grill.
Five Guys? Overcooked well done greasy things? I’ll go to Islands, where I can get a burger MEDIUM, not some lawyer-mandated well done greasy garbage…
If you claim to have “The best Burger on the Planet”, and don’t cook it correctly, sorry, you lose. Unacceptable. I’d rather eat a hockey puck.
The best cheeseburger in the known universe is actually the Todd’s Burger, served only at Hooligan’s Saloon in Soldotna, Alaska. It’s not on the menu; you have to be there on a night when Todd is in the kitchen, and ask for it. We’re talking two big grilled patties, colby jack cheese and bacon – lots of bacon – on a sourdough roll. Trimmings to choice.
It’s even better after a long day of hauling big salmon out of the Kenai River, which is only steps away from Hooligan’s front door.
You’ve gotta be kidding. I gave Five Guys three tries, thinking I was ordering wrong toppings or from a wrong store. No, I wasn’t. IMO any combination of condiments or toppings or anywhere you get one, it’s a greasy, sloppy mess that tastes like it’s fried on a filthy griddle.
“…it’s a greasy, sloppy mess that tastes like it’s fried on a filthy griddle.”
You say that as if it were a bad thing. That’s what a REAL hamburger is. If that wasn’t what you wanted, get something else.
A REAL burger is cooked no more than medium. Well done and greasy is for places who use sub-par garbage quality meat to people who haven’t learned what a real burger is yet. (note: sarcasm, not an attack on anybody. except Five Guys.)
“tastes like it’s fried on a filthy griddle.”
Feature, not a bug
I think this is a matter of where you grew up and what you’re used to. As a child, my mother used to take me to a (now sadly defunct) lunch counter in Bixby Knolls (a neighborhood in Long Beach near where we lived) called Russell’s. You’d get a burger there, and hash browns with onions and cheese on them. Russell didn’t have a deepfryer to do fries in, so he had to make do. Unfortunately, they’ve been gone for about 20 years now.
But there is a place in Pasadena called Pie ‘N Burger that was started by one of the cooks at Russell’s, back in the early ’60′s. Pie ‘N Burger is legendary enough that on one occasion, on the CBS TV series “Numb3rs”, one of the characters had an argument with a friend over which was better for burgers, Pie ‘N Burger or In-N-Out. For me, that’s an easy argument: when I’m in Pasadena, I go to Pie ‘N Burger if I can. I live cross town in Van Nuys, though, and the local In-N-Out is about a mile away.
As to Five Guys, I went to one at Dulles when I was in DC last time. It was good, I’ll grant you. Their menu is very conventional by fast food standards, with lots of different options, chicken sandwiches and the like. In-N-Out is relentlessly old-school (weird for California, I know) in that they *never* repeat *never* vary or add to their menu. It’s been the same for decades, and I can pretty much recite it: Hamburger, Cheeserburger, Double-Double, Fries, sodas, Shakes, and Coffee. There are variations, but they’re variations on the theme: you can order the fries “animal style” for instance: they know to put dressing and cheese on them and then put them under the hotlamp for a minute (to melt the cheese). You can order a “Neapolitan” shake, which means they mix the chocolate, strawberry, and vanilla shakes into one cup. They’ve never had eggrolls, tacos, chicken sandwiches, anything like that. The only dietary concessions they’ll make are “protein style” burgers, where they make essentially a wrap of the burger’s meat and cheese, with lettuce holding it together, and the “cheese sandwich,” which is a burger without the meat.
I wouldn’t say Five Guys was as good as In-N-Out, but then again I’ve only had the Five Guys one time, and I’ve had In-N-Out hundreds, perhaps thousands of times. I didn’t grow up with them (they were a very small company with only a few stores up through the mid to late ’70s) but I’ve grown very used to them.
I don’t know about growing up with it: I grew up with ‘Apple Pan’ burgers (on Pico Blvd near Westwood) in WLA…I didn’t like them as a kid, or an adult.
I love In-N-Out (Double-Double, animal, protein style) and wish they had more family members who would travel more. Sadly, I have to travel to the Western half of the country, but I plan our trips around their stores.
A ‘Five Guys’ is literally days away from opening nearby…I’ll give them a try, but their choice of peanut oil for frying will keep my wife away (peanut allergies) so they can’t be that good…..
pie n burger. shut that vermin infested place down. it’s a joke how over priced they are for what they serve, and the miserable environment. sure, a tradition, but the owner doesn’t keep the place that way for sake of nostalgia–he just doesn’t want to put in another dime before selling it off in a real estate deal one day.
I just clicked through the link you provided to Five Guys website and read their menu, and frankly it’s smaller than what I remember from that trip to DC. Either I was in another place, or some of their franchises vary the menu some. In any case, there’s supposedly one going in in Northridge (not that far from me; closer than Pie ‘N Burger anyway) so I may get to experiment at some point, in the interests of science.
My wife insists the menu was small, and my memory sucks. That’s probably it.
Yeah, if you think you ordered chicken at a Five Guys, you’re kind of delusional; sorry. Big burgers, bigger burgers, hot dogs, big fries and bigger fries (2 orders are enough for the 10 of us), malt vinegar for the fries. The kids are wowed by the new drink machine.
The burger is good, but the killer app at Five Guys is the fries.
Oh yes… Oh very yes. I’m a particular fan of their Cajun Fries.
Really? I thought the burger was good, but overpriced, while the fries were soggy and mostly inedible.
I looked at the Five Guys website, and it turns out that they have a location very close to me. I’ve never noticed it before, so it may be new. Thanks! I’ll have to check it out.
I haven’t been to any of the other places mentioned in the article. There are no In-N-Outs in my state, but I know they have an almost fanatical loyalty among their aficionados. A Sonic just opened up near me, but I haven’t been there yet. It looks to be a drive-in, and the weather has been fiendishly hot here for the past month or so. I’d rather eat indoors right now.
I’d like to put in a word for Jake’s Wayback Burger, which also opened up near me recently. They’re mostly in the Northeast but seem to be spreading out. They claim to recreate the taste of small local burger joints of the past, and indeed their burgers remind me of a place I used to go to years ago when I was a kid, which was owned by Bobby Shantz, the former major league pitcher. And yes, he did work behind the counter.
Grilled onions on a burger? You’ve got to be kidding. Maybe in France.
A half inch slice of raw onion is heaven. Every second of cooking the onions is one second of destruction.
No thanks.
You had me thinking I’ll have to try Five Guys. Now I’m not so sure.
Tom…
Five Guys has raw onions. It is truly a place you can have it ‘your way’.
Where most places charge for what would be considered add-ons…grilled onions, jalapenos, BBQ sauce, etc., 5 Guys don’t charge.
My Houston location is pretty decent and what I consider a good value compared to some of our other burger places…Pappas Burgers and Becks Prime.
My only complaint….I hate how they smash down the bun when they wrap the burger. Grrrrr.
Still…give them a go and make your own opinion.
You can get either raw or grilled onions on a 5 guys burger. 5 guys is heaven on a bun.
I haven’t eaten Five Guys in a little while (living in the north of Denver, closest I’m aware of is south of the city) but as I recall you should be able to get raw onions on there too, if you want. They have A LOT of choices for toppings.
You don’t have to get them grilled. Just an option.
Overrated…clap..clap..clap! Overrated…clap..clap..clap! Their fries, on the other hand, are some of the best.
I’ve only been to Five Guys once, but my impression was that In-N-Out is much better. Frankly, I wasn’t too wild about Five Guys. I thought it was decent, but it hardly lived up to the hype.
Amen Kurt. Thought Fives Guys was overrated and waaay to greasy especially the fires. Love In-n-Out.
Exactly right. To title it: “…the Best Burger on the Planet” without having tasted an In-and-Out is foolish, since Five Guys doesn’t compare. And the qualifier “Chain Restaurant” Burger is necessary, because every city worth living in has a local burger joint that rocks harder.
There’s a place in Detroit that goes back to the thirties…called Marcus Hamburgers…the original shop is in the six mile and Conant area…now ghetto.
They have a newer place in Sterling Heights at Ryan Rd. and 12 Mile.
They deep fry hamburgers in a long rectangular shape and serve in a hot dog bun. Onions are optional. Order with extra onions and put on ketchup…to die for.
Everytime I am back in Detroit (nobody lives there anymore) I stop at the Sterling Hts location. To die for.
5 Guys is maybe 4th or 5th-best in town. I like Elevation, Mighty Fine, & Ski Shores (though I’ve not been back much since they went to table service) much better. Hill-Bert’s used to be spectacular, but I’ve also not been there much in the past 5 years.
You’re absolutely delusional. Even in its birth region, the DC Metro area, it’s not even a top 5 burger.
At it’s best, it’s a tastier, slightly better version of mcdonalds.
But in reality, a well-done, fatty burger without a good sear, with bland and overcooked meat, and the mediocrity of American cheese can only hope to aspire to be a *decent* version of a fast-food-style burger. But even then, the fast-food style burger has to be done perfectly to compete for the world’s best burger (and it’s handicapped by being thin, well-done, and having american cheese only).
The best widespread representative of that style — with better quality beef, much less grease, a better sear, and much more flavor, is In’n'Out, certainly not 5 guys. Smashburger is also a good representative, again, better than 5 guys. And if you want to go high-end, Shake Shack is perhaps the exemplar of that style.
But even in DC, it’s worth going to Ray’s HellBurger for quality meat, quality cheese, cooked properly.
Let’s not get crazy here! For fast food joints, you’re right, Five Guys is the best; unless you consider Fudruckers fast food.
Also, try Burger Tex. I used to go there pretty regular when I lived in Austin. Guadalupe and 30th.
If you ever get to Dallas, try the burgers at Twisted Root. Much better than Five Guys.
Also, “Mighty Fine Burgers” in Round Rock has a very tasty burger, too.
Five Guys is good, but it’s crazy-expensive. I spent as much there for a burger, fries, and drink as I would going to a sit-down restaurant. Good stuff (though way too hot when I got it), but not worth the cost.
That, and I prefer Carl’s Jr., or In-n-Out even (I never got the hype for that one, and their fries aren’t so good).
Not in Syracuse, NY – overcooked, dry and basically tasteless. Let’s forget about the overcooked and overseasoned chili fries while we are at it. Any of the big 3 fast food burgers are better here, not to mention Tully’s, Red Robin, Chili’s… I’ve not had worse burgers locally. Maybe we’ve got a dud, but it was bad and I won’t be back.
Smashburger (I’ve been to 2 locations in Lexington,KY) is much better.
One can only assume the writer of this article has only ever eaten McDonald’s or Burger King by which to comparatively proclaim Five Guys the best burger on the planet. I’d be ashamed, as an American, as a foodie, as a grownup, to have my name on this byline.
You’re out of your mind. 5 Guys is terrible.
#1 Tommy’s
#2 In-n-Out
#3 The burger at Peter Luger
I wouldn’t say they have the best burgers, as I’m sure if you spent a ridiculous amount of time and money you could end up with a better burger, but as far a value is concerned, Five Guys is hands down the best. They get extra points for always serving in a brown bag, too. I never have to decide ahead of time if I’l eat in or take out. And all potatoes are grown locally! (I live in SE Idaho).
Sorry, wrong.
Yes 5 guys has a good burger, but In n’ Out is the best.
Speaking as a Socal I put them to the test, and while 5 Guys is good it is waaay overpriced. For their 10 dollar combo you get 2 combos at In n’ Out.
As stated above by another SoCal poster, Pie and Burger is right up there when it comes to a sit down diner style burger.
5 Guys is pretty good, if pricey. For the ultimate, it’s Lunchbox Laboratory in Seattle. Fresh meat, ground daily. Chuck, Prime Rib, or Dork (Duck and Pork). Phenomenal selection of house-made sauces, cheeses, sides. If you want to simulate a Big Mac, you can. $18 got me a burger, fries and shake I will never forget.
Nope. The Apple Pan in West L.A. has some of the best burgers in the world. In-n-Out is hard to beat; and there’s always Cassell’s on 6th Street (if they’re still around).
In-n-Out and Culver’s is tops in my book.
Five Guys? Meh. Overpriced and oversalted.
Cheeburger Cheeburger gets my vote, no better onion rings to be found too!
You have that right. He only prefers 5 Guys because he hasn’t been to a Cheeburger yet…
We’ve enjoyed both Five Guys and In and Out burgers this year, but our new favorite burger is American Style Kobe Beef Burgers from Trader Joe’s freezer aisle, cooked on either a Foreman electric or Weber propane grill. We also like Chick fil-A.
I went to a Five Guys at noon on a Friday. It took 27 minutes to get my order. When I told the guy how long it took he just looked at me. As far as I can tell, they have no system. I’d rather have a Whataburger. And In-and-Out needs to go to Belgium to learn how to cook french fries.
Best currently is at Shake Shack. Runner up is In-n-Out (I’ve flown to vegas specifically for it at times). Five guys comes in a solid third– amusingly, not so much for the burgers, which are good, but for the fries, which are indeed the best on the planet.
None of you have mentioned whether burgers are char broiled or not, a prerequisite for me. And good doesn’t mean volume, it means taste, so who’s got the best taste.
Side dishes don’t rate a burger either for obvious reasons.
So what’s the best TASTING burger with the best VALUE?
Taster.
Meh. They’re okay. For a truly fine burger joint, I’m partial to Epic Burger in Chicago http://epicburger.com/.
PS – you’re going to talk about burgers in Austin and not mention Hut’s or Fran’s?
Nope. I’ve tried Five Guys twice since they opened shop in Salt Lake, they’re good but way overpriced.
Best burger in Salt Lake is Crown Burger.
The WSH declared the Ghetto Burger from Anne’s Snack Bar in Atlanta the best hamburger in America:
http://online.wsj.com/public/article/SB117348069193432668-3Vp_rYqpZJRILUpFrHCpe4FFjVk_20080312.html?mod=tff_main_tff_top
Being a habitual purveyor of the establishment I agree. The rest of you just don’t know….
Have to give the nod to Tommy’s, followed closely by In-N-out. Double chili cheese! The Chili dog isn’t bad either, order extra grease.
My friends raved about five guys and I have tried it twice, both times the burger was mediocre and it took them forever to make it.
For the chains I prefer the Carl’s Jr’s that still char-broil (avoid the Hardee’s-style Carl’s in TX, they are ghastly). In-n-Out is OK but it’s only about on par with whattaburger or the old Burger Chefs.
The Grinder in East L.A. made a great burger, so did Yummy Burger in Inglewood but are they even still around?
The best burger on the planet is Knollwood Burger (‘World’s Best’) in Yorba Linda CA on Imperial at the 91 Fwy (it was there when the 91 was Santa Ana Canyon Rd and it was just as good back then). Best beer selection too!
Myighty Fine is OK but is far surpassed by the Andice Store in Andice, TX. One single patty burger basket is enough for two grown men. Wasn’t that impressed with Five Guys; maybe they were having a bad day. Haven’t tried In-N-Out.
For all you vegetarians reading this, Soup Plantation makes a nice salad.
Fer Crist sakes, there’s got to be one in evry crowd.
Sesames in North Charleston SC. makes their own bread, grinds their own beef, makes their own mustard, ketchup, mayo and all other fixings. Top burger? We’ll never know; the judge would die before trying all the possibilities.
5 Guys, In-n-Out, Smashburger – all good burgers, but the buns SUCK. I want just one joint where the bun will survive holding all that hot, juicy goodness past the first two bites without being reduced to messy little rags.
Sorry guys, I MAKE THE BEST BURGERS on the planet. Come by sometime for Sour cream burgers, Pecan-crusted burgers, and my special Swiss cheese barbeque burgers.
Oh yeah, The fries at Five Guys are unique, they are as greasy as they are tasteless.
You guys need to buy barbecues and learn how to grill. Those greasy spoon “hamburgers” suddenly won’t seem so good.
Sergio’s Mexican (!!!???!!!) Restaurant in Elko, NV. Simply nothing like it, ever, anywhere. A hundred napkins isn’t enough.
Byran Preston couldn’t be more correct.
I love Burger Bros. and I’m glad they got a shout out. I really do think their burgers are a little better than five guys and like the family business atmosphere. If only parking in Towson were better.
I just have to say, this is the best comment thread ever. So many new burger joints to try thanks to all these recommendations, I don’t even know where to start.
Those of us fortunate to experience the better-run outposts of the defunct King’s Food Host regional chain had a good standard circa 1975-77. Fremont, NE was the best (and far superior to its neighboring US 30 King’s in Columbus). The meat had flecks of coarse black pepper in it at Fremont, and had that “gooze” when the melted cheese hit the liquid of the meat.
Now, if Five Guys could revert to beef lard for their fries?
Among “fast-food” chains, I definitely think it comes down to ‘In-and-Out’ and ‘Five Guys’. My memory of the In-and-Out “Double-Double” is of a wondrous burger…but I haven’t had one since 2004. I’ve got a ‘Five Guys’ about half-a-mile from me.
I’ve had ‘em all, and I also exhort that Pie ‘N Burger in Pasadena has the finest hamburger around and that In-N-Out is far superior to Five Guys (at least the one at McPherson Square.)
This is exactly correct. five Guys IS the best… until you’ve tried an In-N-Out.
They opened a Five Guys a few miles away and I’ve eaten there a couple of times. I agree with most of the above comments: over-cooked, over-fatty, over-priced, over-everything. Fuddruckers is pretty much the only chain place, including “sit-down” restaurants, where I’ve been able to ask for a medium rare burger and *get* a medium rare burger.
Once upon a time, the best burger came from Red’s Giant Hamburg, on the west side of Springfield, MO, on old Route 66. Red claimed to have invented the drive up window–he opened back in the late ’40s or early ’50s, I think. He nailed up a white board with hand lettered menu, with a bare light bulb and army surplus intercom speaker on top. You could sit inside, but the burgers tasted better if they came through the drive up window. Red ground his own beef and cut his own crinkle cut fries, which were tossed loose in an empty buns box, with the burgers wrapped in paper on top. He had free root beer, which came in cups featuring a Marilyn Monroe/Jayne Mansfield type blonde ice skating, wearing a skimpy fur trimmed outfit. That was pure sex to a six year old sitting in the back seat. Red closed the place back in the mid ’80s, it was big news when it happened. If you search Red’s Giant Hamburg all sorts of stuff comes up, there’s even a Wikipedia page, and a music video.
I see these lists where people from the media announce that the best burgers on earth are at some hoity place like Daniel Boulud, or in some major coastal city, and I just think: dude, you don’t even know what a burger is.
Would you look for the best lobster roll in North Dakota? Of course not. So why are you looking for the best burger in seafood country instead of where they raise cattle?
So that’s point number one. Look for great burgers in cattle country. Kansas, Indiana, Oklahoma, Texas… not an infallible rule, because I never had a good burger in Wyoming, for instance. And Los Angeles is a great burger town, even though they’ve never seen a cow there, because it’s full of Okies. But you get the general idea.
Go to a place like Wichita and I swear, you can have a great burger every day of the week. I know this because I just about did this last week. You could take a burger vacation to Wichita, and feel good about it. (And I spent the first 24 years of my life there, so believe me, I understand the downside of spending time there. But the burgers are definitely the up side.)
But it doesn’t have to be Wichita. Just roam the midwest, let your instincts guide you. Eat where there’s neon, drive-up service, signs for the high school football team. Try to see the burgers cooking, and if there’s a guy rolling them into balls, eat there, and if they have the frozen hockey puck burgers, don’t.
The 5 Best Burgers in Wichita, Kansas:
1. Walt’s on Tyler
2. T.J.’s
3. Bionic Burger
4. Bomber Burger
5. Livingston’s Diner
5 More Great Midwestern Burgers:
1. Edzo’s, Evanston IL
2. Swenson’s, Akron OH and area
3. Schoop’s, Hammond IN and area
4. The Hut, Austin TX
5. Nite Owl, Milwaukee WI
How can you mention Wichita…..and not mention NuWay Burgers?
If you think 5 Guys is the best burger you’ve ever had, I really truly feel sorry for you. It MIGHT make the top 20 in fast-food genre, but “best burger”??– no way Jose, not even close to the parking lot of the ball park.
As a SoCal native living in NoVa, I’ve had plenty of good burgers at both the high end and fast-food variety. For pure fast food, I’ll take Carls Jr over Wendys over BK / McDonalds. For not-quite-fast food, I put In-N-Out above Fosters above Five Guys, with Sonic and the rest far behind. If you truly want the best burger in the world, there are tons of $10 restaurant-quality burgers out there from Ted’s Montana Grill to Ray’s Hellburger and right on down the list, and I really wouldn’t know how to rank them because for me a burger should not cost more than $5 or $6 (depending on where you are in the country).
As for the author of this post, I am saddened that you live in Austin, TX and cannot find a better burger than Five Guys. Seriously, I understand nostalgia and comfort food, but for the truly best quality burger in Austin (let alone the entire planet), there are plenty of top options and the greaseball offerings at Five Guys are not one of them.
For a chain restaurant, In’N'Out is by far the best. Five Guys is weak and expensive. For a more local chain, Burgerville in Oregon and Washington flat out smoke Five Guys and are cheaper (Tillamook Cheddar and pepper bacon help with that).
Heck, Jack in the Box makes a better burger than Five Guys.
I remember having a burger at a small town Texas burger joint on a family move across country back in the late ’60s. Huge, and maybe the best burger I ever tasted. I wonder if any of that old burger spirit still lives in small towns like that.
Everyone has their favorite style and their favorite joint…their are stark differences in “what is a good burger” That said, the original Five Guys stores were very good under any scoring system. I can’t speak for the franchises or the franchisees fidelity to the formula, but for a semi-national chain it should be pretty good anywhere you go, compared to the alternatives. Maybe it’s not Apple Pan or Pie n Burger, but I wouldn’t move back to LA if you fellated me on the hour. Haters, please!
Five Guys is pretty good, though I like Fuddruckers more. It’s got In-n-Out beat by a country mile.
I’ve not had the opportunity to try Five Guys, yet. I’d love to see how they compare to my favorite- a double cheeseburger with a side of onion rings from Whataburger.
I like a lot of the choices here (5 Guys, Smashburger, In ‘n’ Out are all good imo) but for any of you who make your way to Hawaii, there is a place called Kua Aina somewhat near downtown, in the Ward shopping area if I remember correctly. Go early so you can get avocado, since they run out pretty quick on a daily basis. Awesome burgers there.
Dyer’s Burgers in Memphis. They fry them in a vat of grease. Literally. The grease is years old – they never completely empty it, just take a little out when the vat gets too full. A double with cheese is just this side of heaven, albeit somewhat greasy. Just like a burger should be.
You mean to tell me that you LIVE in Austin and you are actually willing to say in public that a chain place is better than Dirty’s? The words “get your head examined” come to mind.
At any rate, Ann’s Snack Bar in Atlanta has the best burger in America, and Miss Ann can prove it:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB117348069193432668-email.html
I’ve nothing against 5 Guys — the fries alone are worth the trip — but the best burger on the planet comes from Kua Aina in Hale Ewa on Oahu. There are other branches of this very small change, but that particular location is magical. It’s cash only, but worth it, and you can walk to Matsumoto’s for shave ice for desert.
Blake’s Lotaburger in N.M
Fuddrucker’s
Ina nd Out Burger.
5 guys sucks. The burgers are small, tasteless, and dry. The fries are marginal. I don’t know where the heck you’re eating but it ain’t 5 Guys. We’ll never bother wasting our time there again.
Ahh…. you just haven’t eaten a good burger in a while.
Don’t get me wrong, 5 Guys makes a decent burger. It’s pretty good in a fast food sort of way. It reminds me of Wendy’s ‘Hot and Juicy’ back 30 odd years ago when Wendy’s was pretty good. It’s even made much the same way, minus the square cut meat. High fat meat patties are fried and then pressed down to insure fast cooking. Toppings are usually pretty good, but for me they lack variaty. They have one cheese and avacado isn’t an option. So, toppings are kinda meh, although recently they’ve started asking if you want your green peppers grilled. Also their burger to bun ratio is a little whacked, and the bun itself is crap. They get this tower of burger but it usually starts falling apart near the end.
However, 5 Guys really is just trying to replicate the classic diner burger, and if you’ve got a few good diners around you should be able to find one that does it better.
I totally agree with Bryan Preston about Five Guys. The french fries are massive overkill though; I’ve never managed to eat half of a small serving, and I just don’t order them anymore. But 2 thumbs up for the burgers.
You have got to be kidding. 5 Guys has to rank as one of the worst burgers on the planet…
If In n Out ever adds flame grilled, cheddar and medium rare to the “secret” menu, they’ll have something. Their burgers, and Five Guys too are great…but for the meat and cheese. Girdled with American “cheese” may be traditional , but, well , I guess I just dont like traditional burgers.
Well, this post and its comments certainly has proved the enduring validity of the old rule:
De gustibus non disputandum est!
There are many places that custom-make good burgers. There are even chains that do a reasonable facsimile of custom-making good burgers, and some of them have been mentioned above (Beck’s Prime, Fuddruckers).
But I subscribe to the Universal Utility Principle of Hamburgers, which holds that the “best” hamburger at any given moment is not the theoretical best that might be obtained were I to drive dozens of miles outside my way (much less three+ hours from Houston to Austin), but the best I can obtain conveniently and quickly now. As a practical matter, that’s likely to mean a franchise or chain burger.
I’m willing to see how In-and-Out does in Texas, but as you point out, they’re just beginning to penetrate this market. For now, though, Texas-born and -based What-a-burger remains my and my family’s favorite by a wide margin. And yes, every one of their burgers is fresh-cooked to order when it’s actually ordered.
Stalin’s line about tanks — that quantity has a quality all its own — only applies in part to burgers, but when I’m traveling the Lone Star State or even just that part of it that comprises Harris County, I’m usually at least vaguely on the look-out for What-a-Burger’s familiar orange-roofed A-frames.
Sorry dude, no burger that can’t be ordered medium rare is the best burger on the planet. Five Guys makes a very good chain-restaurant burger, and their concept of all toppings included is good – but it’s hardly the best burger on the planet. They do have good fries if you like natural cut fries.
I’ve eaten 5 Guys burgers perhaps half a dozen times, and they’ve been mediocre at best, and without flavor. I’ve not had one in three years at least. The best burger is at the 21 Club in NYC, which I’ve had once, but which was probably the very best burger I’ve had.
Those places are good, but this is the best…
http://www.habitburger.com/
Happy birthday, btw.
Well, I do not like any of these burger joints. For one, none of these has a good veggie burger. Worse, if they have one, they use the same grill as the meat. I am perfectly willing to pay a lot more than a meat burger. I just want a great veggie burger. Why is so hard for these burger joints to forget people like me. WE WILL PAY MORE. NB: Remember to use a separate grill.
I. Am. Banging. My. Forehead. On. The. Desk.
Yeah, the problem with Italian restaurants is that they don’t make dim sum, and the problem with kosher restaurants is that they don’t serve pork.
There are no good burger places in the US anymore, because the only good burger is medium rare.
Try Booches in Columbia, MO.
https://www.facebook.com/group.php?gid=43413726672
Fuddruckers is great, nobody makes a better burger as far as I am concerned. 5 Guys is OK, if you like expensive and overcooked. I do love Whattaburger, but being in New England I don’t get them much! In N Out was OK but I thought overrated and I didn’t like the fries. I love Red Robin, but kind of expensive for what it is.
Actual best-in-world burgers (commercial division), in order: In-N-Out, 5 Guys, Hut’s.
BUT:
In-N-Out’s fries are the worst on the planet. 5 Guys’ fries are a little better, but not by much. Actually, most American fries are crappy. Too bad you have to go to street vendors in Amsterdam or Brussels to get the good stuff.
I love 5 Guys as a place. But In-n-Out has the best burgers. 5 is second. Still very good, better than a big MaC and much better than Karls
For a chain Five Guys with the Cajun fries is pretty darned good.
Of course you can get kobe burgers made by virgins that are better, but of the chain places I’ve tried they rank pretty much at the top.
If you’re in Austin, don’t forget an Austin original, the real star of “Dazed and Confused”. Top Notch, on Burnet Road.
It’s not a bad burger. But I’ve got a Mom-and-Pop that makes ‘em look like a joke, and I take Five Guys fans there regularly to prove it. VERY few of the chains really can live up to the hype.
Squishy effete Bobo RINO that I am, I’ll take the burger at the Left Bank in San Jose’s Santana Row, with a mojito, on the patio in the summertime.
Hold the arugula, though.
You’re in Austin and you want a burger and you don’t go to Fran’s or Dan’s?
Five Guys, bleh. And I’m not impressed with their fries. Not with Mighty Fine’s either…
Five Guys was once, and could be again, the best franchised burger joint. I can pinpoint the time and the cause of its downfall. The five brothers who run the chain wrote a good rulebook for their outlets — fresh individually shaped patties cooked to order, French fried potatoes cut fresh daily and double-friend in peanut oil, a severely limited menu but many toppings choices. But on one of my visits to the original outlet in Arlington, a couple years prior to Five Guys’ franchising, one of the brothers was the shift manager, and he had obviously been severely scarred by the punishing whips of the Virginia Department of Health, or whoever enforced the state’s rule that burgers had to be terminally overcooked. He practically demanded a signed legal release before he would allow me to have a medium-rare burger, and he wouldn’t permit the kitchen to release a rare burger. That’s when things went bad. Individual Five Guys cooks and franchises still know how to treat a burger, but those who follow the restaurant’s rules too strictly serve cinder patties.
As for price — Five Guys burgers are priced a couple dollars more than McDonalds or Burger King and a couple dollars less than Ray’s Hell Burgers (which still makes Ray’s a tremendous bargain for its quality). But most burgers in upscale restaurants in DC are between fifteen and twenty dollars, which makes Five Guys seems quite reasonable in comparison.
Waffle House has an Angus Burger for $1 I have the cook smother the onions and smash the bun on to the patty Not bad for $1. He got confused and put onions on top also. One of the best burger in Memphis is Dyer’s. The burger floats in grease
and is picked out with a spatula on one side and the bud ( inhand ) on the other side. The key is some of the juice is now soaked into the bun.It has a unique taste. A dry bun and dry patty is not good. We also have Alex’s Tavern where they cook a burger mixed with Greek seasoning in an old fashion black skillet. You can smoke a cigar while you eat and hear the best old time rock music on the juke box , I mean the good old days stuff. The 5 guys hot dog is better than the hamburger. I get it with grilled onions.
Only one mention of Culver’s in 87 comments? Shocking.
Butter burgers accompanied by fried cheese curds. Definitely the benchmark. And I was raised on Whataburger, lived a block and a half from what I believe was the original Five Guys on Columbia Pike, and spend enough time in the Southland to have had my share of In-N-Out Double Doubles, Animal style. Wisconsin’s finest export is Culver’s, and a Wisconsin company that is thriving deserves our support, people!
Home Run Burgers in Louisville, KY. I have not been to Five Guys since.
Their overpriced burgers are a sloppy mess with no taste. The fries are overcooked and inedible. They don’t even have a damn tray to eat from. I’ll never go there again.
In years of travel, I’ve eaten burgers in at least 30 states…but call Los Angeles home. And arguing among burger joints (and high-end burger places) that are not chains is non-productive, since 99.99% of people will never go to enough to make reasonable comparisons between them.
Five Guys & In-N-Out both seem to generate their passionate followers, but I’d say that they are weak regional/national chain burgers that don’t hold a candle to the better local chains…I think it is fair to argue that Carl’s Jr. makes a better burger than either.
For Southern California, the best local chains are either The Habit (spreading from Santa Barbara) or Fat Burger (a LA area based chain that’s slowly pushing national franchising). For Northern California (East Bay Area), Nation’s Giant Hamburgers is the standard. And if one is a fan specifically of chili burgers, the Original Tommy’s (Southern CA & Las Vegas) is the place that sets the standard.
Tried 5 Guys, they’re not bad but certainly not the best I’ve had. For fast food burgers in the Central North Carolina area try Cook Out. The burgers taste like a burger cooked on the grill in the back yard. And the Carolina style burger (mustard, chili, onion) is the way to go. Get the fries with the Cajun seasoning on them.
If you’re ever in Westcliffe, CO try Chappy’s. BEST burger I’ve EVER had!!!
The title of this article excited me because a Five Guys is about to open up in our town. But when the author said that Sonic is great, I immediately discounted his culinary creds. Of the fast-food burgers, Carl’s Jr is still the best (assuming that you believe that the meat is the key to a great burger) because of it’s rich char-broiled flavor. I find In-n-Out burgers to be bland but the rest of my family loves ‘em.
Good ol’ Carl’s Jr. Their Famous Star is still a fine, inexpensive bolus of hunger abatement.
The York Bar in York, Montana and any of the several Brass Ring pubs in Palm Beach County, Florida each nick 5-Guys…
Differences:
5-Guys has peanuts to eat and throw shells on the floor while you wait.
Brass Ring puts a bag of ice in your beer pitcher.
The York Bar is up a beautiful canyon in the heart of a mountain range.
Similarities:
The burgers are cooked on griddles.
Final score: The burgers are just a bit better at the places which serve beer. Maybe it’s the beef, maybe the beer.
You said Sonic is great. I’ve never experienced “great” from Sonic, although I fancy me some fried cheese sticks (very) occasionally. What hamburger-sandwich offering should I choose to experience the Sonic greatness?
BUNK, pure BUNK! — the headliner marketing spin is a sore attempt at selling the reader on a greasy overpriced scamwich. I’ve tried to eat their burgers both times it was an excruciating wait followed by a ‘gawd – let’s pitch these and leave’.
Whataburger, Sonic, and Jack will blow the wiseguys into the dog bowls at the nearest trailer park; heck even MacDonalds produces a far superior burger.
There’s not a talking point in the author’s diatribe that will garner more than few percentage points of support from the hamburger eating masses.
Yeah! get yourself right down there and grab one ‘em thirteen dollar specials…you’ll see
Say, it’s a post on hamburgers. Relax a little.
hmmm … press:120/80 pulse:56 … ?
We had our first five guys burgers this summer in Philadelphia while on vacation. even though traditionally everything’s bigger and better here in Texas I have to say they were about the best burgers and fries we have ever had. We are anxiously awaiting the opening of a new Five Guys about 10 miles from us. Prices were reasonable and we liked how you had it made exactly how you wanted it.