I finally got around to trying a Five Guys burger.Short version: Burger's good; fries not so much. Although they gave us a LOT.
I got a cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and "grilled" mushrooms. Two patties, with decent beef flavor and texture, with a satisfying amount of cheese, lettuce, and tomato. The mushrooms were kind of buried, sadly, and I didn't really taste them. I think they might be better with less accompaniment, or possibly with a double order (will they do that? I should try asking next time)*. The patties were interestingly unevenly shaped, which led to a burger with a lot more character than I was expecting, although it was a little awkward to eat at times, with unexpected promontories and fissures in the beefular topology.
My wife got a bacon cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, and mayo, and declared it decent. The bacon wasn't outstanding, but it added the requisite salty/crunchy/smokiness.
The voluminous French Fries did appear to be hand-cut, as advertised, uncoated, and nicely potato-y. A little light on the salt, which I actually appreciated (it's much easier to add a bit more than otherwise), but they seemed to be single-fried, which isn't bad per se, but results in a less crispy fry. I like my fries very crispy. Next time, I might skip the fries entirely, or share an order with someone else.
And, of course, the free roasted peanuts were free. Hard to screw that up.
*They were probably griddled instead of grilled, but everyone uses that sense so I can't really hold it against them. On the other hand, they might have been steamed for all the character that they had. Limp, not very browned. Should have stayed on the griddle for a bit longer.
Haven't run into a chain burger that's really good. I did try the five guys here; about what you said. There are a couple of independent restaurants here that (according to my friend Doug, who still eats burgers) make a decent burger.
ReplyDeleteThe only burgers I really enjoy these days are the ones I grill myself. Nothing fancy, but fresh good quality meat (bison or organic beef by choice) done on a gas grill with a flame diffuser so it doesn't charcoal.
The Longhorn Steakhouse chain does a pretty good burger, if you're willing to sit down for a restaurant time-frame. There's an independent place in Greenfield, http://www.brickwallburger.com/, that's also a sit-down but basically does nothing but upscale burgers, and they're pretty good, too. They both take a little more time, though, and sometimes I really do kind of want a quicker experience.
DeleteI still have a bit of a tendency to either over- or under-cook them when I do them myself, which is annoying. So a reliable outside source is a useful commodity. And I have to admit, I've grown to prefer a griddled/pan-fried burger to a grilled one. Something about the way the crust forms, I think.
The classic slider.
ReplyDeleteThere's a reason why it slides....