5 Guys Burger and fries
“The best $5 Burger Around”, it says on the window outside. So
I decided to try yet another burger joint instead of El Pollo Loco, the
healthier choice. They hail from Washington
DC and grew westward. They have a nice background: family started and grown,
five sons etc. I walked in and it kind of smelled like In n Out except more
potato.
A five dollar burger? Who needs a five dollar burger? Nowhere does it say how big it is. Even Carl’s Jr.'s “six
dollar burger” isn’t $5 and it is too big for me to eat! Luckily their menu
carried a “little burger” and so I ordered that. It was still $3.79. It was
like a quarter pound burger – a regular burger. Any bigger and it’s just too much.
Their gimmick is that you can choose “toppings”. I thought
toppings were for pizza. Since when does a sandwich have “toppings”? I have
always thought of them as condiments. Anyway you can choose from the standard
or just say everything. They have barbeque sauce and grilled mushrooms, steak
sauce, jalapenos, hot sauce- things that one usually doesn’t find on a regular
burger. So instead of ordering western
BBQ cheese burger or a “Santa Fe” style or a “Texan longhorn” or whatever
trendy name other establishments might
to come up with, you just order a burger and tell them what you want on
it. Kind of like a Subway for burgers.
That certainly saves on coming up with names and the customer doesn’t
have to read an extensive menu. What they didn’t have is what stood out to me.
No Avocado, thousand island dressing or bacon. Those are the things I would add
to my burger in addition to the standard tomato lettuce and onion, mustard and
catsup.
Didn’t they notice all the Bob’s, Jim’s Andy’s etc
charbroiled burger joints around? Not to mention all the chains? California
does not need a burger joint from the east coast. We have plenty. All are good. Their building and their
website are adorned with reviews by food critics from publications from the
East Coast. That’s because East coast never knew how to make hamburgers! In-n-Out got it right and they still
rule! No one makes a burger
like In n Out and they don’t cost $5
either! Not even their double- double.
They also serve fresh French fries. When I got them they
were dark. First I thought they
were because the peel was left on –ok, I like peel, but it could have been the
Cajun seasoning – no you have to ask for that special. Maybe it was the peanut
oil. Anyway they will never be great fries. Many say you can’t beat In n Out fries. Some people swear by McDonald’s fries. Yes those are better than these. They
were good; I am not a fry connoisseur so I don’t care. I do know that I love
the little crispy tidbits you always get at the bottom of the In n Out fries, like a surprise at the
bottom of the haystack. We used to fight over those tasty morsels.
Here, in California they are just another burger joint. Good
luck.
They also serve hot dogs. $3.59 Seriously??!! I love me a good hot dog. But I haven’t
tried theirs. I’ll have to try it. But right now, I’m going to say it’s hard to
beat Costco’s $1.50 hot dog or Pink’s gourmet hot dogs or even the Los
Angeles sidewalk vendor
bacon-wrapped hot dogs with bell peppers and onions. And don’t forget the age old tried and
true Weiner schnitzel hot dogs. Simple but good. Not everything has to be so large. Did they not hear that
America is too fat? “Pacifc Coast
Hotdog” makes a good dog too. Local, not fancy just good grub with all the
trimmings. Again, good luck!
