Five Guys Burgers and Fries

This week has been long and exhausting for both Daryn and I. By the time Thursday rolled around, we were our brains were fried, and the last thing we wanted to do was make dinner, so when Daryn picked me up from school we decided to make it date night and went out for dinner. After way too much deliberation (you know those days when you just want to eat something really, really good, but you're not really sure what that is?), we headed to the mall food court. Since we couldn't decide on anything, we figured a variety would be our best bet. Luckily, Daryn realized that we were right by our favorite burger joint: Five Guys Burgers and Fries.

Five Guys started in Washington D.C. in 1986. Jerry and Janie Murrell told their sons that they needed to either go to college or start a business. I wonder if they knew what a success taking the second choice would be. They started franchising in 2003 and now have over 1,000 restaurants with 1,500 under development.

Some interesting facts about Five Guys:

• There are over 250,000 ways to order your burger
• They only use fresh ground beef
• There aren't any freezers, only coolers, so nothing is ever frozen
• They use peanut oil (And you can eat as many peanuts as your little heart desires while you wait for your order)

The menu at Five Guys is pretty simple

1. Burgers
1. Cheese
2. Bacon
3. Regular
4. Little (I get the little, because the regular is a pretty good size)
2. Fries
1. Five Guys Style
2. Cajun (We get the Cajun, because it's deliciously seasoned fried goodness)

They also have hotdogs and sandwiches, but we've never tried either, so I can't really say much about them. Maybe we'll branch out and try them sometime... but we're pretty content with our burgers.

They have tons of toppings: ketchup, mustard, mayo, bbq sauce, mushrooms, onions, pickles, tomatoes, lettuce, etc. And if you order extra bacon, you won't get charged more. No matter how much you want. So you could order 30 pieces of bacon to go on top of your burger and it wouldn't cost you another cent. You can take that to the bank. 

So, let's break it down! We will rate three things: atmosphere, customer service, and, of course, the food on a scale of 1-3 (1 being worse than mediocre, 3 being perfection)

• Atmosphere: Five Guys is a super relaxed, casual environment. It's bright, white, and red all over. There are peanut shells all over the floor and boxes of Idaho potatoes in the center of the restaurant. Although it's not really "clean", the atmosphere fits the restaurant perfectly. Besides, your face ends up messier than the floor by the time you're done eating your burger anyways. We give Five Guys' Atmosphere a 2 (only because it isn't really that clean - but let me be clear, it isn't a problem, so no need to call the health department)

• Customer Service: We haven't ever had a problem with being greeted, having someone take our order, or our food coming out in a reasonable time. The employees are friendly and cheerful. Daryn mentioned that they might get charged with child labor, because some of the employees look like they're 12 and can't yell the order numbers loud enough, but they're all really nice! We give Five Guys' Customer Service a 3

• Food: Let's see, it's beefy, cheesy, saucy goodness on a bun. How could you possibly go wrong? I love hamburgers, but I don't love fast food burgers. When we were trying to decide were to eat, Daryn suggested In N Out, but I wasn't feeling it. Why, then, would I agree to a burger from Five Guys? The burgers are fresh and not any greasier than a burger needs to be. Not only that, but the Cajun fries are to die for. I'm a die-hard Idaho potato fan, and they make all their fries from these perfect spuds. We give Five Guys' a big ole' 3!