The Five Guys around the corner just opened yesterday. I decided to stop in today for a burger and fries, and since I just had a Double Double (Animal Style) from IN-N-OUT a couple days ago, I figured it would be the perfect opportunity to compare the two.

First off, when I got to Five Guys, the line was out the friggin' door, but the line was moving fast, so it wasn't that big of a deal. I ordered a cheeseburger (two patties) with grilled onions, jalapenos, and A-1 Steak Sauce (because A-1 on a burger is awesome!) I also got a regular order of Cajun fries and a large iced tea. The total came out to $10.74...FOR A BURGER AND FRIES!!! eek

I waited about 25 minutes before my order was ready, and by this point I'm thinking "For 11 bucks, this better be as good as I remember..."

I grab my order, get home, and dig in. The first thing I notice is my order of fries. Thank goodness I got just a regular order, because there's clearly enough for two people! I can't even imagine how big the large order of fries are. The thing I remembered most about Five Guys were the fries, and they certainly didn't disappoint this time. The Cajun fries are suitably spicy, but not overpowering, and not too salty, either. The fries were better than I remembered, and certainly in a league of their own, as far as fast food french fries are concerned.

Now the burger. They loaded it with the topping I asked for, which is a plus, and it was dripping with melting cheese. When I said I wanted a cheeseburger, they gave me a cheeseburger! The burger itself was delicious, certainly as good as I remembered from the last time I had Five Guys (at least 5 years ago), but since that time...I have experienced IN-N-OUT, the mecca of fast food cheeseburgers, as far as I am concerned. And while the Five Guys burger is universally excellent, it doesn't quite hold up to IN-N-OUT's Double-Double. Both use fresh ground beef (never frozen), fresh ingredients, and they both make your burgers to order. But there's something missing from Five Guys (perhaps a little seasoning to the meat, a little salt and pepper can go a long way) that causes me to give the nod to IN-N-OUT.

Five Guys will certainly get my business again (they're right around the corner, and their fries can't be beat), but the most excellent burger in town (for me) is IN-N-OUT.

"Growing up my dad was like 'You have a great last name, Galifianakis. Galifianakis...begins with a gal...and ends with a kiss...' I'm like that's great dad, can we get it changed to 'Galifianafuck' please?" -- Zach Galifianakis