Five Guys Burgers and Fries takes a stripped-down menu and raises burger and fries to an art form by keeping it simple. However, like any art you need an appreciation for the artist’s approach to the medium.
Like life, it’s the details that make a good burger. The thickness of the patty, the type of bun and even the placement of the cheese can change the burger-eating experience. Five Guys uses a pair of patties smashed thin and grilled with cheese slices sandwiched in between. The cheese in the middle is a pleasant touch, binding the patties together and adding a layer of richness. This is nice because cooking often dries out thin patties.
The buns are lightly toasted, though warmed would be a better word considering there is not much crunch to the bread. The soft buns are a bit squishy and can fall apart on occasion. Mostly they serve as a delivery system for the other ingredients, bringing little to the burger.
Once you get past shared burger traits of buns, meat and the possibility of cheese, you get to what sets them apart: the toppings. Five Guys doesn’t fluff up its menu like other burger joints by dressing up a patty with different toppings and calling it a new burger. Instead Five Guys gives you a choice of 17 different toppings to pile on your burger however you like. This list contains most anything you could want from lettuce and tomatoes to ketchup and mustard. Fancier options include grilled onions, mushrooms, BBQ sauce and hot-sauce. Bacon and cheese are the only toppings that change the price of the burger.
The fries, which come with salt or cajun seasoning, are cut thick with a slightly crisp outer shell and a soft interior. The best part about the fries is that they do not turn into grainy, cold sticks five minutes after you get them. The potatoes are fresh, and they go through so many of them per day that sacks of potatoes waiting for their big moment at the fryer make up part of the decor.
Potatoes are not the only food element used for decoration. Near the front of the restaurant, where the long line of customers wait to order, the floor is strewn with peanut shells. Boxes of roasted and salted peanuts line the wall to give customers something to munch on while they wait.
Despite the long lines, the service is reasonably fast for a joint that makes its burgers fresh to order. The open floor plan allows you to see the horde of staff behind the counter tending your burger. They work together quickly, calling out to each other as they turn and move, assembling burger after burger. At the end of the line, burgers and fries meet up and everything is shoved in a brown paper bag and someone calls your number. Despite a good amount of seating, everything at Five Guys comes ready to go.
While Five Guys may not replace your favorite burger spot, it’s a worthy addition to burger choices around SRJC and a great way to get a fast-food fix.