Tuesday, April 20, 2010

Five Guys Dissatisfies

I've never been a huge fan of fast food (minus the years I spent stuffing my face with it, circa 1999-2005), but in recent years, the thought alone of eating McDonald's, Burger King, Taco Bell, etc. revolts me. Perhaps it's from all the "real food" I've become accustomed to eating as a food writer, or simply the horror stories surrounding each fast food chain finally broke me.

Fast food, as we all know, tends to be unavoidable when traveling, though. Case in point: This weekend, I went to Long Island for my college roommate's bridal shower, and was hungry as soon as I hit Connecticut on my way home on Sunday. Not in the mood for artificial lunch meat from a deli or a petroleum-fueled hamburger from McDonald's, I decided on Five Guys.

I've been to Five Guys before, but, believe it or not, have not had their burgers or fries until yesterday. I've heard  rave reviews of how amazingly delicious their burgers are, and how Five Guys has the best fries on the planet.

I must admit, the fries were damn good - and tasted and resembled actual potatoes (each Five Guys' location also boasts what town/state they got their potatoes from that day in the restaurant). The little burger I ordered with cheese, pickles and tomatoes was also good, compared to anything I could order at McDonald's or Wendy's. But, alas, fast food is fast food, and the Five Guys burger still looked like a Mack truck drove over it...twice. The flavor was good, but the meat still tasted like a bland patty with burger-flavored spray all over it. Although I felt better about not ingesting the toxic waste that is in McDonald's meals, I don't think the $7 and change I spent on Five Guys was worth it. Plus, they give you way too many fries for a "small." This is why America's fat.

Next time, I'll just stop at a deli.

Side note: My apologies for not taking a personal photo of my Five Guys meal - I was famished, and basically sucked everything up like a vacuum. The meal didn't last more than 5 minutes, despite my overall disappointment with it.

What are your opinions on fast food?

2 comments:

  1. Fast food, in general, I don't care for.
    I do, however, LOVE 5 Guys... especially when I remember to Cajun my fries.

    Worth mentioning is the fact that their locations do not have freezers on-premises. Everything is decently fresh. Yes, the fries ARE real potatoes.

    My personal-favorite method to enjoying 5 guys is to go with a 1-small-fry-to-every-2-people ratio. I also make good use of the toppings. My personal favorite combo is to have both BBQ and Hot sauces applied. Mmm.

    Of course, it's hard to avoid feeling like a pig once everything has been ingested.

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  2. I must agree that the no freezers on premises is pretty nice - meals are made to order, despite their lackluster taste. But I do need to go back and try different topping variations, etc. - it's pretty cool that they give you a slew of toppings to choose from!

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