Here we are in the Midwest visiting our daughter Cerrin. Ask anyone and they will tell you the Midwest is prime farm country and home to excellent beef, which is what it takes to make the best burgers. My preference is for locally grown and slaughtered beef which I then shape into patties with my hands and grill outdoors.
But I can go along with someone else fixing a good burger for me. Cerrin has been raving about a new burger place in town called Five Guys. So off we went to check it out. Nice cheerful interior. Clean and pleasant. The person at the counter had a huge smile and a cheerful manner.
The menu is strictly burgers, fries, hotdogs and drinks (coke products). You can have just about anything on your burger. In fact, they say there are 250,000 ways to have your burger. I didn’t do the math. I just order A-1, catsup, raw onions, tomatoes and lettuce. Here’s what my order looked like.
How did it taste? Very good. Very juicy – It was a 10 napkin burger. How did it compare to my own homemade? It didn’t have that grilled flavor but it still tasted like homegrown beef. I could tell it had been hand-patted as it was not that perfect round shape you get at the fast food places. As I read their information, they are proud of the fact they never use frozen beef and their french fries are from real Idaho potatoes.
I was on the phone to my daughter Candice in Portland, Oregon and before I could tell her about Five Guys, she was telling me about one near them! She said they wanted to try out the burgers because, if they were “good enough for Obama, we should try them.” What? Obama eats Five Guys burgers? It turns out he does! A tv crew was filming the president for a day and he had to make a burger run. They have it all on video and you can see it HERE. How does he like his burger? As you’ll see on the video, he likes cheese, jalapenos, tomatoes, mustard and lettuce. I think he likes a little punch with his beef. Good to know that about our president.
To see if you have a Five Guys near you, check their website HERE. There is one other place that makes burgers almost as good as mine. It’s on the west coast. Next time we’re there I’ll show you the In ‘N Out burger. Mmm. How do you like your burgers? Please don’t tell me you’re a vegetarian.
NORTHERN CALLIFORNIA
Wow, Five Guys is everywhere. We first discovered them when our son went off to college because the small town his school is in has one. We’ve moved since he started there and now we have a Five Guys near us too.
That looks like sooooo much fun. I’ve never heard of the Five Guys, but if I see a sign for one in my travels, I’ll check it out.
LOL!!! I just looked at their website and discovered there is a restaurant in the next town over! I’ll have to check them out.
In Milwaukee they specialize in Butter Burgers – burgers on which gets slathered a big chunk of butter. They’re other places in Wisconsin, but Milwaukeeans really pour on the butter, so that you’ll be all ready for your dessert of frozen custard!!!
Sounds so good. I also like In N’ OUT though I don’t have one very often. So good and so fattening.
Okay, for some reason I remembered the Obama/Five Guys connection, but assumed they weren’t that big of a chain. So, I checked the website and there is one 10 miles away and and a new one coming soon only 5 miles away! And now you’ve made me hungry! I’ve already had pizza today so burgers tonight are out of the question, but maybe this weekend.
I like In ‘N Out, but loved Fatburger when I was in LA.
I adore their burgers. I am so glad to know you all liked them too. I definitly want one soon.
Okay, just wondering – is that a poutine you have next to your burger? Poutine = french fries + fresh curds + gravy
Yes, Michael, those are definitely poutines. And very good ones at that. I’m actually a potato person and one of these days I’ll have to do a post on where to find the best fries, er, poutines.
Yes, we went and it was yummy! Kind of a drive for burgers, but perhaps that will keep us from eating them every week. I got my burger with cheese, ketchup, mustard, grilled onions & mushrooms, raw onions, pickles, lettuce and jalapenos. It was SUPER messy and wonderful. I admittedly got carried away with unlimited topping choices. The fries were tasty too. I wasn’t clear about the salted peanuts & throwing the shells on the floor. Anyone know the history of this? I found it a bit odd. I NEVER throw anything on the floor and especially wouldn’t expect someone else to pick it up. I have to say In ‘N Out is still my favorite, Fat Burger is good too (and I think they are a 24-hour spot).
Thanks for the delicious post!
We have a Five Guys near us too (NJ). I thought they were just around here — like some kind of local shop started by Five Guys. Apparently I am very wrong! The burgers were good … but I have to stay away or I’ll go crazy for them! And I’ve heard nothing but good things about In and Out burgers but we don’t have any near us that I know of. And my husband and I discovered White Castle hamburgers (those little ones?) and we just loved them…. their fries were good too but then they closed down. I envision you on the search for the perfect burger! : )
Yup – Five Guys is in New England. My folks introduced me to them in a strip mall location in CT and then they just opened one near us here outside of Boston. They are YUMMY. However, you can certainly adopt us and we will voraciously blog about the most awesome Margot burgers that you would feed us.
No one throws the shells on the floor in our area. I am going to go get one today for lunch