Five Guys Burgers and Fries - February 8, 2010

Today's burger quest took our group to Five Guys Burgers and Fries located by the ice rink in the Galleria Mall. Five Guys has a very small menu focusing on burgers, single and double patty varieties, hot dogs and french fries, either Five Guys Style or Cajun style. Riding down the escalator, Five Guys is to the right and is brightly lit store with red and white tile and sacks of potatoes and boxes of peanuts scattered throughout the restaurant. The kitchen is open behind the cash registers and you can smell the fries and burgers cooking. Patrons line up and can read the menu which is posted on the wall behind the registers. After a short wait a friendly worker behind the register took my order for a bacon double cheeseburger with mayonnaise and grilled onions. One great thing about Five Guys is that they use only fresh beef that and patties are hand-formed. Other choices for burgers included lettuce, tomato, grilled mushrooms, relish, jalapenos, A-1 sauce, hot sauce, mustard and ketchup. We also ordered a large fry 5 Guys style for the table to split. I paid for my meal and was given a number to wait for my order. About ten minutes later my number was called and the following burger and fries came out of the paper bag:






Opening up the aluminum foil, I noticed that the cheese had melted nicely over the two beef patties which were sitting on a layer bacon, diced grilled onions and mayonnaise. The bun appeared to be a sesame seed bun but for some reason most of my sesame seeds had fallen off during cooking. I like the idea that buns are made fresh by contracted bakeries around the country but taking a bite I was met with a somewhat soggy bun which I think was due to the burger being wrapped in foil. The bun appeared to have been toasted before wrapping but the foil ended up taking away most of the crunch. The two hand formed patties were seasoned nicely and the bacon added a crispy crunch to each bite of the burger. The thin slices of American cheese melted well on the patties and oozed out of the sides of the burger but the cheese didn't add much to eat bite. Grilled onions were average flavored due to needing a little more seasoning while the mayonnaise was applied a little too generously but had a good flavor. The large order of fresh thick cut fries were enough to serve 3-4 people and were seasoned with a special seasoning that added a good flavor to the fries. I didn't like though how some of the fries were placed in a cup and then a large amount were dumped in the bag.


Overall I thought that Five Guys Burgers and Fries served an ok burger. Too much mayonnaise, flavorless cheese and a soggy bun ruined a flavorful juicy patty and crispy bacon. I think that Five Guys has a good concept and a great location for mall visitors but I don't think that I would make a special trip to the Galleria to eat another burger.


Ratings (1-25):


Bun - 15, toasted bun that turned soggy due to being wrapped in foil, missing sesame seeds


Meat - 19, nicely seasoned patty, crisp bacon in every bite


Appearance - 21, fresh handformed patties made for a great looking burger especially with the melting cheese oozing from between the patties


Taste - 19, patties were tasty but soggy bun and tasteless cheese brought down the burger


Overall - 74


Bonus pics of fully dressed burger and peanuts: