Wednesday, May 25, 2011

Burger battles

We tried Five Guys. I had noticed them springing up (are they originally an east coast thing?) but we aren't usually in places where we have to rely on fast food, so our intake has dwindled down to nothing. Driving to get food makes no sense to me when we live in a city with this much traffic. I'm not getting in the car for anything other than a really good meal and I'll usually whine a little if we have to cross Fairfax to get to it. I still have my favorite fast food places (I grew up in Orange County, you guys - I know a lot about drive thru), but we mostly only hit them up on road trips. Although they are opening a Chipotle just a three minute walk from our apartment and I'm already concerned about how I'm going to control myself.

On our extremely efficient Ikea trip the other weekend, we realized we needed to eat and I remembered that Angel had mentioned Five Guys last month and there happened to be one in the shopping center.

five guys
{five guys}

First of all, someone should warn people that this is a lot of food. We split a big burger (which appears to just be a normal burger but with two patties - shouldn't that be made clearer on the menu?) and regular fries and it was overwhelming. We didn't finish everything. The free peanuts were nice, the fries were good. But I'll still take In'N'Out over Five Guys. The buns and toppings were clearly inferior here, and that actually makes a bigger difference to me than the meat.*

If you are looking for a really awesome burger (as opposed to a good fast food version) I highly recommend Tavern's Niman Ranch burger. You can only get it on the bar menu, but it blows everything else out of the water and it comes with sliced pickles that are so good that it might be my life's goal to crack their recipe. Umami burger, Father's Office and Golden State are my other LA recommendations, with an honorable mention for 25 Degrees at the Roosevelt Hotel.


* I deleted and re-wrote that paragraph ten times. It goes too far into review territory, and I hate to think I'm spending this much energy talking about fast food. BUT, I spent that much energy thinking about it, so I guess you're getting it, unedited. If you'd rather have a short version, it would be "meh".


36 comments:

  1. I just wrote a post on this too! However I'm from virginia, where five guys was started, so I love it :) and yes, the little hamburger is the better choice since it's not as big and yes, they need to make that clearer. I'll have to try one of your recommendations if I'm ever in LA!

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  2. As an east coast reader, I totally have to go with Five Guys over In’N’Out :)
    Don’t get me wrong, whenever I travel within 20 miles of an In’N’Out I am sure to make a stop (animal style burger AND fries please). But it just doesn’t compare to the Five Guys (single burger only) and boardwalk fries.
    (Love your blog – makes me really really want to live in CA!)

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  3. Living in Cleveland, I have to say that I prefer Five Guys over any other burger joint around. BUT, I agree that it is incredibly inferior to In-N-Out. My husband and I have been to the west coast twice. The second time for our honeymoon when we ate In-N-Out four times in one week. Ridiculous? Probably. But we love it. We're not fast food people at all, it's just that good.

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  4. I just had a Father's Office burger for the first time, and I swear it changed my life! Absolutely delicious.

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  5. my complaint about five guys has been about the soggy buns. although i shouldn't say that all my experiences there have been bad, because i've eaten a few really good burgers there. i like to order the kid's size, it's a lot more manageable i.e., toppings stay intact, and i can actually get my mouth around it. i also prefer the regular fries to the cajun fries, which can be a little too much.
    http://beancakes.wordpress.com/

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  6. As someone who does live in Orange County (moving to LA in 6 months...sniff!!), I know my fast food well. Five Guys is good if you get the little burger, but heck yeah the fries are huge!!!!

    Am I the only person that wants a drive though Chipotle? That would be awesome... :)

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  7. A lot of people in Portland love Five Guys (it's fairly new around here) so we went to check it out a while back. For me, I was so freaked out by how packed it was and that people were throwing peanut shells all over the place, I didn't really enjoy the experience at all. Because of how much people raved about it, I was really expecting that burger to knock my socks off, but I think "meh" is the perfect way to describe it. (At least for me.)

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  8. Ya i've seen it crop up on other blogs too. Still being a OC resident I haven' seen any around here. So I'll stick to Chipotle and Chick-fi-la ;)

    - Sarah
    http://agirlintransit.blogspot.com/

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  9. Hmmmm, I live in Louisiana and we just had one pop up! I kinda want to check it out. I'm not sure how I feel about it though!

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  10. agreed!! we went and i was shocked the "regular" burger had two patties. um, no thanks.

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  11. Well, now I want to try tavern, since you just listed my three other favorite burger places (and I don't do fast food anymore out of laziness/wanting to spend my "going out" food on something extra-special, even if it's in and out).

    Also, it's 8:45am and I want a burger.

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  12. It's so funny to see where people's loyalty lies in these comments! Although I haven't had a burger in a while, I have to side with Five Guys as well. When I moved to LA, I was bummed after trying In'N'Out. Didn't seem any different to me than regular fast food burgers and fries (know that's blasphemy in CA). But let's face it, none of these places are that great - we just connect them to growing up or what we're used to.

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  13. My sister & brother-in-law made us try Five Guys last week while they were in town visiting, and my hubby & I felt like snobs afterward. I know they've got a loyal following, but we're not part of it. I'd take a home grilled burger over theirs any day of the week.

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  14. ohh i love burger reviews- now this just makes me crave in n' out even more!

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  15. I'm an East Coaster who's eaten my share of little burgers at Five Guys, but In-and-Out rules! In January we weren't in L.A. 15 minutes before my husband drove to an In-an-Out.

    I've read about the Tavern and Umami Burgers, next trip!

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  16. the first thing we do when we visit ca is to make a stop @ in-n-out for a double-double. it's the best 'fast food', we think.

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  17. When I visited CA the first thing I did upon landing was try In-N-Out Burger to see what all the fuss was about. I didn't think it was that great compared to Five Guys. Five Guys is so juicy, tastes like homemade on the grill. So as soon as I landed from my CA trip I had a Five Guys burger. No comparison. I'm not much for fries-they do give you A LOT- I'm all about the little cheeseburger. When I come back to LA this fall I'm on a mission to try all the burger places you recommended. I've heard good things about Umami and Father's Office.

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  18. FATHER'S OFFICE = YUM

    also a huge In-N-Out fan. obv.

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  19. When someone first took me Five Guys in DC I was outraged! Not that it was bad, just so undeserving of the hype. Totally agree...toppings make the burger. Avacado, jalapenos and bbq sauce are my jam. If you're ever in Austin check out Huts (http://www.hutsfrankandangies.com/)...not only my favorite burger joint but my hands-down favorite restaurant.

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  20. I recently decided that I just don't like In-n-Out as much as I thought I did -- I rarely go there now... And if I do, it's probably for a strawberry shake. (I don't like that funny, meaty, lingering aftertaste that I have for what feels like months after eating their burger.)

    However, my have burger is Counter Burger's veggie burger. With sweet potato fries on the side. Just sayin'.

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  21. i'm ridiculously far away, and so (sadly) can't try any of these, but I wanted to say that i applaud your thought in fast food! it deserves thought, because even trashy can be great - when done well.

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  22. five guys is totally meh. in n out is the superior choice. i hear shake shack on the east coast is the place to eat though.

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  23. I appreciate this post! I'm from Chicago but currently live on the East Coast and everyone raves 5 Guys over here...but I too would give it a "meh" review. I do love In-N-Out though and am anxiously waiting for one to open in the Midwest!

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  24. I prefer the burgers at in and out and the fries from five guys.

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  25. I think they started in Virginina/DC and I can promise you from living there that the original Five Guys restaurants are SO much better than their offsprings popping up all over the country now (thought i was going to have a heart attack right after my first one). Something just did not translate when they started expanding because there is seriously something magical about those burgers and fries that I haven't come across in their Boston locations at all.

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  26. We have a lot of Five Guys in the Carolinas. I've never been there. Wait, I think I went once. That's my review.

    --Courtney

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  27. So different! Five Guys is a good fast burger that tastes somewhat handformed. Usually the toppings are pretty good in my opinion, though the bacon is a let down. In N Out is the best of the true fast food burgers.

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  28. when did five guys jump the coast? how did i miss that? as a firm believer in the cheeseburger i would say that five guys is really hit or miss. we've been to more than just a few and some are like crack and others are a massive disappointment. also every time we head back to asheville we end up at five guys with my parents and we ALL SPLIT A REGULAR SIZE FRY.

    in-n-out, on the other hand, is always delicious.

    father's office, also delicious.

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  29. First time I tasted Five Guys was in Atlanta, on my first ever trip to the US and I loooooved it! I am a big fan ever since. The fries-> I love and the burgers seem so homemade-> delicious! Plus: I love this red&white tiles decor!

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  30. i'm glad we came to the same conclusion!! ;-) i neeeed to try the burger at the Tavern, too! xo

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  31. @ Five Guys loyalists - I do agree that the actual patty is better than the one at In'n'Out. My main issue was that I didn't like the bun nearly as much and the lettuce was super limp. Sad.

    The fries I think I actually liked better at Five Guys, but partly because something about the In'N'Out fries makes me sick, without fail. It must be the oil they use? I don't know - they taste good, but I always have a terrible stomach ache afterwards.

    @ all LA people - YES, try Tavern. You won't be disappointed. They also have a really good (although pricey) menu of seasonal cocktails that change all the time. So good, almost never too sweet (my main complaint about any mixed drink).

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  32. I'm from Boston, and I'm personally crazy for Five Guys. Whenever I'm not in the mood to cook a Five Guys burger is the first thing I think of. Though I do love In'N'Out, there's not a single one near me so I've had very few burgers from there. Overall, I would say I like both places pretty much equally, and they definitely both have their strengths and weaknesses.

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  33. I didn't like Five Guys a whole lot either when I tried it. If you're in the California area, Habit Burger is really good. In'N'Out will always have my heart though.

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  34. Nice fries ! Check out my blog : http://nothinlasts.blogspot.com/

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  35. I'm from Orange County and live in Philly Metro...and everyone here always raves about Five Guys. I find in vastly inferior to In n Out. I even just went back for a visit and the first thing we had was In n Out and it was just as juicy and delish as I remebered...and I'm totally with you on the fresh toppings and the bun. Plus the fries are way superior. Five Guys to me tastes like a huge grease pile....sorry Five Guys lovers.

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  36. Five Guys is nothing compared to In-n-Out. BUT we don't have In-n-Out!!!!! So where does that leave us?! I find it's an effective hangover meal and even though I'm not a huge soda person for some reason I'll stop in there every once and awhile and just get a huge fountain soda. Weird. But delicious.

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