Fast Burger: Five Guys

We don't eat a lot of fast food, so I was hesitant to try Five Guys. I'd read the reviews on Zagat, though, so we decided to give it a go. Immediately upon entering, you'll notice bags of potatoes stacked around the place. A large whiteboard announces the location where the potatoes were grown. We've been to Five Guys twice now and our first potatoes were from Idaho and the most recent visit gave us potatoes from Washington. In both cases, they turned into yummy fries.

When we ordered our burgers the first time, we both ordered regular cheeseburgers, Jeff added bacon to his. You're then asked what toppings you want and there's a huge list of free toppings: the typical lettuce, tomato, onion, pickles are obvious ones. But there's also fried onions, sauteed mushrooms, A-1 Steak sauce, BBQ sauce, and many more. I went with lettuce, pickles, ketchup, mushrooms and fried onions. Jeff got all those and a few more.

We also ordered a regular-size fries to share and a soda. We were given a number and went to await our burgers. What we got was a bag of hot, freshly-made food that weighed a ton. We removed two burgers, each with a number stuck on it so we could easily find the right burger. The rest of the bag was full of fries. We're talking enough fries to feed about 6 people. They were hot and crisp and not too greasy.

Upon unwrapping the burger, we realized that regular is two patties! I could barely get my hands around it, let alone my mouth. But it was tasty (and more than a little sloppy.) You could tell the ingredients used were fresh - lettuce was still crisp, onions crisp tender, and mushrooms just right.

On our second visit, I went with a single patty burger and was still stuffed. And we opted for Cajun fries instead of regular. Spicy and full of flavor, they're a great change from regular fries.

Five Guys is not a place I'd go to frequently, simply because burgers and fries aren't the healthiest option, but when I'm in the mood for a burger, it'll be one of my first choices. Visit their website to find one near you.