Where: 5 Guys Burgers & Fries - Nanuet, NY
What: Cheeseburger
Build: 2 - 3.3 ounce, 80/20 ground chuck - high quality ground beef containing only Steer and Heifer meat (at least that's what their website states). Raw onion, pickles, 2 slices American cheese, lettuce.
Comment: I have no idea why it's taken me so long to write a blog about 5 Guys, after all, for me, they are the one burger joint that stands out in my mind for being the first to kick-off the whole "slow food" burger craze that is currently sweeping our nation. I will continue to take advantage of these fierce burger wars until things settle down and the weaker of the chains falls into receivership and the strongest will go on to become the new rulers of the burger world. I'm still unclear as to how this is going to play out, especially when it comes to the original "fast food" guys; will they be able to keep their heads above water with all their mystery meat ingredients? Or will they be forced into making some major menu changes including switching to higher quality meat selections? Again, I don't know, and I don't care, I'm just having a great time sampling some great burgers from joints that are popping up all over the NY Tri-State area. Which leads me to another question people are asking of me more and more lately... "Why are you rating so many burgers with 9's and 10's?" Hmmmmmm. Isn't it obvious? The burger wars are in full swing across the country and with each new joint comes stiffer competition which means we don't have to be slaves to whatever Mickey D's and BK has to offer anymore. I'm also receiving more suggestions for restaurants with "great" burgers so that's also pushing recent burger ratings up. In fact, it's getting very difficult to go back to fast food burgers of any kind (*) after sampling some really good burgers like: Jake's Wayback Burgers, 5 Guys, Bobby Flay's, Bucu Burgers, East Coast Burgers, Shake Shack (just to name a few) and the East Coast still has yet to see the likes of true burger giants of the West Coast such as In-N-Out Burger. I maintain, I am not a snob, not to fast food or any other type of unnatural or chemically produced product and I will always try new things as the science of food evolves. This is not to say I don't understand the "all natural" preferences of some people, I get it, fresh, indigenous, "real" foods are great, but again, I'm no snob (Anthony Bourdain) when it comes to culinary experiments. As for American cheese, yeah, it's fake, but it has its place in the world. Nuff Said.
5 Guys continues to deliver a good tasting burger and believe me, I never thought I'd say that about a well-done burger, but 5 guys 80/20 patties push out just enough rendered fat to save the day. Another attraction for me is the simplicity of the menu, there are not 50 to 100 items, there are very few and it's the ease of decision making which I find refreshing. The burgers are always very tasty, never too salty (like Smashburger) and you can expect a consistent product no matter what location you walk into. 5 Guys is a great example of keeping it simple and of how "less" really can be more. 9/10
(*) White Castle remains in a class by itself.
Comment: I have no idea why it's taken me so long to write a blog about 5 Guys, after all, for me, they are the one burger joint that stands out in my mind for being the first to kick-off the whole "slow food" burger craze that is currently sweeping our nation. I will continue to take advantage of these fierce burger wars until things settle down and the weaker of the chains falls into receivership and the strongest will go on to become the new rulers of the burger world. I'm still unclear as to how this is going to play out, especially when it comes to the original "fast food" guys; will they be able to keep their heads above water with all their mystery meat ingredients? Or will they be forced into making some major menu changes including switching to higher quality meat selections? Again, I don't know, and I don't care, I'm just having a great time sampling some great burgers from joints that are popping up all over the NY Tri-State area. Which leads me to another question people are asking of me more and more lately... "Why are you rating so many burgers with 9's and 10's?" Hmmmmmm. Isn't it obvious? The burger wars are in full swing across the country and with each new joint comes stiffer competition which means we don't have to be slaves to whatever Mickey D's and BK has to offer anymore. I'm also receiving more suggestions for restaurants with "great" burgers so that's also pushing recent burger ratings up. In fact, it's getting very difficult to go back to fast food burgers of any kind (*) after sampling some really good burgers like: Jake's Wayback Burgers, 5 Guys, Bobby Flay's, Bucu Burgers, East Coast Burgers, Shake Shack (just to name a few) and the East Coast still has yet to see the likes of true burger giants of the West Coast such as In-N-Out Burger. I maintain, I am not a snob, not to fast food or any other type of unnatural or chemically produced product and I will always try new things as the science of food evolves. This is not to say I don't understand the "all natural" preferences of some people, I get it, fresh, indigenous, "real" foods are great, but again, I'm no snob (Anthony Bourdain) when it comes to culinary experiments. As for American cheese, yeah, it's fake, but it has its place in the world. Nuff Said.
5 Guys continues to deliver a good tasting burger and believe me, I never thought I'd say that about a well-done burger, but 5 guys 80/20 patties push out just enough rendered fat to save the day. Another attraction for me is the simplicity of the menu, there are not 50 to 100 items, there are very few and it's the ease of decision making which I find refreshing. The burgers are always very tasty, never too salty (like Smashburger) and you can expect a consistent product no matter what location you walk into. 5 Guys is a great example of keeping it simple and of how "less" really can be more. 9/10
(*) White Castle remains in a class by itself.
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