This month APU students were introduced to the wonder of Five Guys, a hamburger restaurant. Five Guys has become a major competitor against other great fast food restaurants like Chick-fil-A and In-N-Out. It continues to grow as a business and has become a favorite for many.
But how are their burgers, really?
From the first bite, the burger was delightful. Five Guys burgers have more juiciness compared to an In-N-Out burger, but without all the juice that actually drips off the burger, like an In-N-Out burger. Five Guys wraps their burgers in foil to keep them warm, and they provide an array of toppings.
“If I were to choose between Five Guys and In-N-Out I would probably choose Five Guys. I just like how their burgers taste overall, and [yeah] I know that’s kind of blasphemous to say,” Matthew Kenney, a senior applied exercise science major said.
The menu is pretty diverse, as they offer not only burgers but also hotdogs and sandwiches. They have everything from kosher style hotdogs to bacon cheese dogs, veggie sandwiches to BLT’s and various sizes of burgers, even portions for children.
When choosing from their many free toppings, they encourage you to pick as many as you would like. Mayo, lettuce, pickles and tomatoes are the most common ones, but they also have jalapeño and green peppers as well as BBQ, hot and even A1 sauce. You may choose their Five Guys Style fries, but they offer Cajun style as well.
One thing to highlight is their handspun milkshakes. Not a lot of fast food restaurants hand spin their shakes. They are usually just a mix that’s filled into a cup, like In-N-Out. Much like Chick-fil-A, Five Guys offers these unique handspun desserts for your pleasure. However, they have a larger variety of shakes than Chick-fil-A. Bacon, banana, cherries and coffee are all flavors of milkshakes they offer. Classic flavors like chocolate, Oreo and strawberry are of course available as well.
An interesting quirk that Five Guys has is offering free peanuts to any patron as an advertisement of the peanut oil they use to cook their food. A small box and a scoop is available as a snack for you to enjoy while you wait for your food.
They even allow you to drop the peanut shells on the floor at your leisure, and are not bothered at all to clean up.
For those that do not know, Five Guys has been a Washington D.C. favorite since 1986. Four Murrell brothers founded the chain, when given the option of either going to college or starting a business; they chose the latter, bringing us the deliciousness of Five Guys.
When asked if Five Guys would bring serious competition to Chick-fil-A or other businesses nearby, Keaney believed that while it would provide another food option, it wouldn’t make a huge difference.
“Chick-fil-A sells chicken so I go there for that, but if I want a good burger Five Guys is closer than In-N-Out so I’ll probably go there,” Keaney said.
The only major issue to look out for are the prices. A regular cheeseburger goes for $7.99, compared to In-N-Out’s cheeseburger, which is only $2.81.
Some would say the increase of price is worth it for a Five Guys burger, but that would be up to personal opinion.
If you’re looking for an overall great experience and are willing to pay a few extra bucks then Five Guys is the place for you.
They provide a great environment, nice employees and a delicious burger.