The Perfect Hamburger? Five Guys Give it a Go

I asked my little brother, who lives in Florida, where the best place to get burgers from was – he immediately replied with Five Guys. I hadn’t ever heard of them, and he hadn’t got round to trying them, so it was an eating experience that we had to put on our holiday to do […]

I asked my little brother, who lives in Florida, where the best place to get burgers from was – he immediately replied with Five Guys. I hadn’t ever heard of them, and he hadn’t got round to trying them, so it was an eating experience that we had to put on our holiday to do list. I checked the website and was happy to see that there was an outlet up at the Florida Mall, so lunch was planned for our big shopping trip!

I want to love burgers. I think the thing that stops me is a book that I read when I was young – The Perfect Hamburger, by Alexander McCall Smith, and ever since then burgers have not met my high expectations for deliciousness. This is how the book begins…

“Joe liked Hamburgers. He liked hamburgers that were crisp and delicious and that had one ring of onion on the top and one on the bottom. He liked hamburgers that had just a touch of ketchup and that were big enough to sink your teeth into, even if you finished up with a stream of juice running down to the end of your chin.”

Doesn’t it make burgers sound like the most amazing things in the world?! Well it did for me, and the rest of the book only builds on this. So this book, along with the hype from friends, family and pretty much everyone else, has raised my expectations to a level that no burger has ever been able to meet. Despite this, I had pretty high hopes for Five Guys.

Lets start with the fries…

Five guys fry their fries in peanut oil – they were crisp, tasty and delicious and there were loads of them – they even added an extra scoop as they bagged them up. I really liked the fact that they know which farm the potatoes are from, and tell you about it!

I watched intently as they put the burgers together.

I went for my burger with virtually all the toppings…

Two patties of juicy beef, gooey cheese, onions, mushrooms, ketchup, slightly toasted sesame bun… it was good. Really good. Due to my choice of toppings it became a little moist and messy but this didn’t take away from the meaty tasty goodness of the Five Guys burger. I did like it, a lot, but can’t say I loved it. I would  also say that Britain’s own Byron and Meatwagon burgers are better than this – and the Americans are supposed to be the experts!

Definitely worth a try if you visit the states and there is one nearby, although I’m sure that with their current rate of growth and popularity it shouldn’t be long until they try to conquer our little island!

If anyone can recommend any burgers that may satisfy my desire to taste the perfect hamburger then please drop me a comment!