Burgers and fries, that's about it.

When you do something well, why do anything else, right? While I don't buy into that school of thought, the people over at Five Guys Burgers and Fries certainly do, and they have made it their mantra. What they do is burgers and fries, and nothing else. Well almost nothing else; you can also order a hot dog with or without cheese or bacon, or cheese and bacon. Okay, so this place isn't serving up a healthy dose of good for you, but damn if they don't do burgers and fries really well; that is, they only cook their burgers well done. It's their policy and they don't stray from it, but they believe that by cooking their burgers well done every time, they are ensuring a consistent product and in their eyes, the juiciest, tastiest burger they can make.

Here's a little history list on the franchise before I get to the good stuff. The first Five Guys opened in Arlington, VA back in 1986 and growth at the beginning was slow. Over the next 15 years, five more Five Guys opened in the Washington, DC area. While they worked on perfecting their burgers they also began developing a cult following. Since then, Five Guys has opened over 450 franchises in 30 states and claims that there are over 250,000 ways to order one of their burgers. Only fresh ground beef is used, never frozen, and all of their french fries are hand cut daily from hundreds of pounds of fresh potatoes that can be seen in sacks taking up space around the restaurant. Sounds a little like In 'N Out Burger, without the drive-through.

With over 250,000 burger combinations, ordering is actually quite simple. You have the hamburger and the cheeseburger, with or without bacon. It is important to note that both the hamburger and cheeseburger on the menu come with two burger patties; if you want a single, order the little hamburger or the little cheeseburger, also available with or without bacon. Once you have your basic burger order, it's time to go crazy with the toppings. You have your choice of mayo, relish, onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, jalapenos, green peppers, A-1 sauce, bar-b-q sauce, and hot sauce. Add a regular fries (big) or a large fries (huge) in either Five Guys style (salt and pepper blend) or Cajun style.

On my visit to Five Guys with J, we were unaware of the regular (double) vs. little (single) size so we both ordered regular burgers; mine with cheese, lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions, ketchup and mustard, and J's with lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions and ketchup - no cheese. We also split a regular fries, which is actually quite large. Yes, this burger was good and the fries were crispy and well seasoned. However I am not much of a fast food guy so this greasy burger left me feeling sluggish after; we're talking serious food coma.

Yes, the veggies were fresh, the burger was juicy, and the fries were good, but the caloric count of my meal based on the nutritional information found on Five Guys web site was nearly 1300 calories! What a gut bomb. I'm not a calorie counter, never have been, never will be. I also don't watch what I eat too closely. I exercise regularly, I'm relatively fit, and I eat what I want within reason. But I usually stick to healthy foods that are either good for me or make me feel good; and this meal was neither. I'm not saying Five Guys isn't good, quite the contrary, Five Guys is quite good at what they do. If you like these fast food style burgers then you are not going to find anyone within 10 miles of a Five Guys that does what they do better.

I say go to Five Guys, order a burger (a little burger if you do have a big appetite) and some fries and form your own opinion. At the very least you'll probably have a pretty darn good meal for short change.

Oh yeah, one more thing. All burgers are made to order so while you're waiting, enjoy some free peanuts, they're pretty good.

Stand ... and Eat

After reading Frank Bruni's Double Burger post a couple weeks ago, I was looking forward to eating a burger of my own while in New York this past weekend. While J was working, I would have plenty of time to go on a little burger tasting tour. As it turns out, I only made one stop on my tour.

I considered my options and decided to go to Stand. The restaurant was not very busy, although for 3 o'clock in the afternoon there were quite a few people there. The center of the restaurant was filled with picnic table-like tables and cushioned benches, I was comfortable and looking forward to my burger. If you like to lean back in a chair while dining, ask to be seated along one of the walls, their are chairs at these tables.

I decided to go with the classic burger (red onion, lettuce, tomato, sliced pickle, homemade ketchup, dijon mustard) with cheddar, a small order of French fries (at my servers suggestion that they are better than the shoestring fries) and a vanilla shake, a $6 vanilla shake. I know, crazy. While I was waiting for my burger, I looked around and saw the burger salad being enjoyed at the table next to me. It looked good. The salad itself looked a lot like a grown-up coleslaw and what made it a burger salad was the three small burgers lined up neatly, perpendicular to the rim of the large white salad bowl.

My vanilla shake arrived a few minutes before my burger and fries, I resisted the urge to drink it all down before my food arrived. It was $6, I wanted to make it last! My classic burger with cheddar and small plate of French fries finally arrived. The homemade ketchup served with the classic burger didn't cut the mustard though. As Frank pointed out in his review, there is no ketchup better than Heinz when it comes to a burger and fries. I couldn't really detect the homemade ketchup on the burger but it tasted more like a marinara when I tried it with the fries. My burger was cooked more to a medium rare temperature than the medium I asked for, but I didn't care, it was good. The bun was grilled nicely but probably could have been sliced a little closer to the middle. The bottom half of the bun began to deteriorate as I passed the halfway mark on the burger. I finished the last few bites of the burger holding it upside down. The bottom line on this burger is that was very good. Not great, not the best burger I've ever had, but it was very good. Worth the $10 I guess.

The French fries were also good, very crispy like I like my fries, and seasoned well. I do think that they needed to changed the oil in their fry-o-lator though. The fries were good and crispy but they tasted a little like they were cooked in old oil. The small plate of fries that I ordered would also have been plenty for two or three people to share.

Finally, the $6 vanilla shake. It was good and thick, really thick, the best $6 shake I've ever had. Well, it's the only $6 shake I've ever had, but it was good. Definitely a challenge to suck the shake through the very big straw.

I enjoyed my experience at Stand very much. The fries were good, the classic burger was very good, and the $6 vanilla shake was very good. What wasn't good was my $21 bill for a burger, fries and a shake! I'll try brgr next time I'm in the city, it reminds me of The Counter out in Santa Monica, CA.

Stand
24 East 12th Street (5th & Univ.)
New York, NY 10003
(212) 488-5900
(212) 488-5906 (fax)