Well, at least in terms of a really fresh and homemade taste for the price, Five Guys Burgers is the best one yet! And sorry, but it does blow away the In-and-Out burgers and fries BY FAR.Why? The patties are cooked well done but still retain some serious juice and you can taste the chargrilled flavors with each bite. Even with my bacon cheeseburger, you can taste the meat and the cheese and the delicious bacon individual, while most previous burgers make it one big meshed flavor.
Now, within a one week span, I've had the opportunity to have a burger up in Portland, OR (during a record heat wave - OY!) and down in Carson, CA. Now, while the tastes are the same, the Portland quality was tops! The patty was just a bit thicker and shaped better and the service was like a friendly automated assembly line. Carson was a bit of a letdown since the workers there had that same blase look like all L.A. workers do where they couldn't care less about being at work and have no concept of customer service. (And don't get me started on how people who flip burgers shouldn't have to like their jobs - part of the job is to be there and do it well. That is why people hate people all the time because everyone is so miserable with their lives and can't seem to have any pride in their work. But I digress...)
What's even crazier? I had the Little Bacon Cheeseburger up in OR so I wanted to get a regular size in Carson since I knew I could probably handle it. Um, yeah, I was told that the regulars mean TWO patties. So I declined, but really, TWO patties and for under six bucks? Plus, they have a list of condiments you can get for free - you just tell them what you want. You can get the grilled onions AND grilled mushrooms for free! Just remember, if you want the works, you've got to say you want it "all the way."When you walk in, it's kind of a throwback to the '80's in which the floors are black and white tiles and the rest of the color scheme is white and red. Their signs are large and simple in those three colors as well. They have a list of honors they've received from reviews such as Zagats and various magazines. And their fries are from fresh potatoes - to which they tell you where the potatoes are from that day (Quincy, WA).
Even nicer - they have boxes of roasted peanuts by the door as you walk in. (BTW - if you're allergic to peanuts, you're sh*t out of luck!!) You can just help yourself to scoops full of peanuts, if you can find room in your stomach after your burger and fries. The sodas are also self-serve but I've never seen a fast food joint offer such a range of choices: the usual Coke and diet but you got your Barq's, sweetened Nestea, lemonade and a side dispenser of unsweetened iced tea. Nice stuff all in all!
Anyhoo, it's funny because each Five Guys Burger was then topped off with a skip over to IKEA and their $1 soft serve cones. Again, the one in Portland was shaped well and a generous size, while the Carson one was half-assed, smaller, and leaning over. Sigh. However, I was too full of happy hamburger bliss to care that much.
Sidenote: Did you know IKEA no longer provides ANY shopping bags at the registers? You are expected to bring your own, not use any, or I'd imagine their real goal is for you to buy their signature shopper bags. Greedy but clever bastards. Naturally, we didn't buy any bags. HA.
Anyway, get out to a Five Guys Burger when you can. Local So. Cal. seems to have it just in Carson and Cerritos. (To which our friends JA and KT are damn lucky for being right in Cerritos! grrr...) And my KRS is even luckier being up in Portland for getting their burgers but also the better quality and service!
Oh well, at least she knows my next visit means a trip to Pizzicato AND Five Guys!
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