Mmmhmm. This is a tasty burger.
That memorable phrase was uttered by Samuel Jackson in the cult classic Pulp Fiction as he was chowing down on a Big Kahuna burger.
There’s a certain stigma for a restaurant having the title of “Best Burger” and rightfully so. Nothing beats a good burger. Nothing.
My mouth is watering now just thinking about it. Seriously… I’m actually drooling. Okay, I’m out of my burger trance….for now.
When I think of the “best burger”, there’s only one that comes to mind. Any guesses?
Let me give you one little hint:
Still not sure? Okay, maybe one more clue:
In case you haven’t figured it out yet, it’s no In-N-Out Burger. If you’ve never been to the blog (shame on you), then you don’t know about my completely healthy attraction obsession with the West Coast burger chain.
(How obsessed? Read this article where I share my undying love for In-N-Out.)
When people tell me that they don’t like In-N-Out, I take it personally as if they’re insulting my Filipino mother’s cooking – don’t mess with momma!
I don’t know why exactly. I just know I love it so much and can’t imagine why anybody else wouldn’t love it, too.
Have I mentioned how good it is yet?
Want to see my quick reaction video to Five Guys Vs. In-N-Out? If you have patience, keep scrolling down.
Table of Contents
Five Who?
A couple of years ago I kept hearing about this new burger chain that was a serious contender for best burger. Initially, I thought, “Yeah, right. In their dreams“.
But the talk didn’t go away. This “so-called best burger joint” is called Five Guys. Originating out of Virginia in 1986 this burger joint has blown up.
They now have over 1,700 locations in the U.S. Yes, they are invading In-N-Out’s backyard.
Let the battle begin.
Coming to Town
Five Guys opened a location in Fairview Heights (a suburb of St. Louis) and I should have been eager to try it just to see what it’s all about. But I couldn’t bring myself to do it as I felt like I was cheating on my wife. It just felt wrong.
My wife wanted to try it so she took our 3 kids in and ordered while I went next door and got Qdoba (Mexican fast food joint) and brought it inside Five Guys to eat. That was for you In-N-Out. I’ll show them 🙂
I never really knew if I would go back to Five Guys. I was content knowing that no one could dethrone In-N-Out in my mind.
Then I happened across the article on the Huffington Post that claimed to a survey by Zagat in 2010, that Five Guys had bested In-N-Out for “best fast food burger”. Recount I say!
If you dig a little deeper into the survey, you’ll see that the survey was not weighted for the number of locations and was more based on total reach. This is significant in that Five Guys has almost 3 times more locations.
Nonetheless, this was a wake-up call for me and I realized that I had avoided the inevitable for too long. It was time to try Five Guys.
My Visit to Five Guys
After a family trip to the St. Louis Zoo, the stage was set. I was finally to give this In-N-Out wannabe a chance to prove themselves.
Accompanied by my Canon Rebel and hefty appetite, I entered and photographed my experience.
Five Guys Colors
When I first entered a Five Guys restaurant, the first thing that struck me was the colors of red and white. Hmmm…wonder where I’ve seen that before. <cough>Copy cat<cough>.
There was a brief moment that I felt like it was a dream and that I had mistakenly walked into an In-N-Out and I was getting ready to sink my teeth into a juicy Double-Double. Unfortunately not.
Five Guys Menu
Other similarities are found on their menu. As you can see their main focus is fresh burgers and fries; although they do offer bacon cheeseburgers and “Little” versions of all the burgers.
Another noticeable difference was they offered hot dogs. While the cheese dog sounded tempting, I was here for one thing and one thing only: a burger.
Another difference is that they offer a Veggie sandwich and a grilled cheese. While In-N-Out doesn’t have this on its main menu, it can be found on its secret menu. Bet you didn’t know that did you? 😉
The biggest noticeable difference that caught my attention with the menu was the number of toppings that you could add to your burger – 15 in all. According to the Five Guys website, there are over 250,000 ways to order a burger at their place. Now that’s a lot of options.
Personally, I think it’s fluff. A burger is a burger. Meat, cheese and some ketchup will suffice. Now you add some In-N-Out secret sauce and you just added a little bit of heaven.
Five Guys Prices
One noticeable difference with Five Guys was their prices. I’m used to getting 3 cheeseburgers, fries, and shakes for less than ten bucks.
At Five Guys, a double cheeseburger, large fries, and a drink was almost $14. I don’t mind paying $7 for a good burger. Don’t mind a bit. I do think $4 and change for large fries is a bit much.
Get Your Peanuts
One coolness factor about Five Guys is that they give you free peanuts to munch on while you wait for your order. Surprisingly the floor was pretty clean with no peanut shells in sight.
Five Guys Propaganda
If there’s one thing about walking into a Five Guys restaurant, they are very proud of themselves. They have signs everywhere touting how great they are.
Now I’m not going to fault them for that…too bad. But the signs are everywhere. Take a look…
And some more…
And again…
They even had signs leading up to the bathroom. Seriously.
Many signs boast “Best Burger”. But it is true?
Let’s find out.
Five Guys Taste Test
After I received my order, it was finally time to sink my teeth and give Five Guys a true taste test. First up, the fries.
One neat thing about Five Guys fries is that you have the option to order regular fries or with Cajun seasoning. I had a chance to try both and much more enjoyed the Cajun seasoning.
Overall, though; I was very unimpressed with the fries. I even offered some to my three-year-old son who will eat McDonald’s fries like crack (seriously), but he took one bit and didn’t want them.
For my son to turn down french fries was just as surprising if you offered Charlie Sheen speed and he said no – it just doesn’t happen.
But it did.
Next up is the burger.
Five Guys Burgers
When I first took the foil-wrapped burger out of the brown paper bag, I wasn’t sure what to think. The presentation was very poor and reminded me of something that I would get at a carnival or something.
But you can’t taste the presentation, right? It’s time to eat.
Like tasting a fine wine for the first time, I first wanted to enjoy the aroma of the freshly unwrapped burger. See, I’m not going to lie. There’s part of me that wanted to really like this burger over In-N-Out.
Why, do you ask? Easy…it’s freaking closer to me and I can eat it more often! I only get the luxury of having In-N-Out maybe once a year and; frankly, that is not enough.
So with great anticipation, I sunk my teeth into my Five Guys double cheeseburger and, and, and…
…it’s a burger. Nothing special. Didn’t rock my world. Actually, not even close. All the hype. All the hoopla. At the end of the day, I had a $5 burger wrapped in foil that left me very unsatisfied.
Here’s my quick video reaction from the experience:
What was even funny about the experience was that the gal who took my order struck a conversation with me because I was taking pictures. She asked if I was a photographer – I guess for all the obsessive pictures I was taking 🙂
I told her that I was actually doing a blog post comparing Five Guys to In-N-Out. What she said next floored me…
She told me that she had a cousin who lives in California and loves to visit them so she can have In-N-Out because she loves them. She went on to tell me that she loved them even better than Five Guys referring to their burgers as, “Ok”.
Ha! Even one of their own knows the truth.
What do Others Say?
The whole experience left me bewildered so I decided to hit up some blogging friends on what they thought of the Five Guys vs. In-N-Out debate.
Here’s what some others had to say:
My boy Baker from Man Vs. Debt had this to say:
WOW – just today I had In and Out burger… (on my cheat day).
Just a Double Double – I was not impressed at all. Tomato was terrible and I had to take it off. Burger was o.k. but nothing special.
I have 5 guys in the south when we were going through – blew my mind. It was amazing.
The fries at In and Out were TERRIBLE. Neither Courtney, MILLIGAN, or I would eat them. A 3-year-old wouldn’t eat them. Think about that.
I didn’t have the shake either place – but I’d rate Five Guys a 9/10 – nearly perfect experience and taste.
In and Out was like a 5/10. Maybe slightly better than any other fast food joint.
Jeremy from Gen X Finance added:
Srsly. Some of the best burgers I’ve ever had were simply fresh ground beef with some salt and pepper. Kiss them with fire and there’s more flavor than any burger at any restaurant, chain or otherwise.
I’ve eaten a lot of burgers in my day, and my waistline can attest to that. But Five guys, Fudruckers, Fatburger, In N Out, or even the local hole in the wall that has admittedly decent burgers, nothing compares to a simple fresh homemade burger.
Doughroller offers:
The first Five Guys location is close to where we live here in Virginia. No place to sit. Just order your food and get out. One of the best burgers I’ve ever had. And the fries are incredible. We all have a favorites, but I’m surprised to hear such low opinions of Five Guys. Maybe I’m living in a cave, but nothing beats a Five Guys burger. And yes, I’ve had an In N Out burger. I thought it was fine, but nothing special.
Real Men Know Burgers
Wanting to get some more takes on the issue, I also hit up the Art of Manliness forums to see what other men thought about what the best burger was.
Here are some of the more memorable responses:
Just had In and Out for the first time a few weeks ago, felt it was highly overrated. Sure it was a good tasty burger, just not near worth the hype. Down here in Texas it is Whataburger, that is where it is at. Five Guys is a tasty burger, but I will still take Whataburger over it.
I agree, In-and-Out is overrated. Had it for the first time (it’s new here in Utah) about three months ago.
Carl’s Jr. Guacamole burger gets my vote for best fast food burger.
Double Double with Cheese has my heart.
Literally.
Five Guys IS overrated. Since it’s the only chain mentioned here that happens to be in business in Colorado. . .we’re kind of deprived on the fast food burger front. Guess I’ll cast my vote for Freddy’s.
In n Out is fricking good. I always get 2 cheeseburgers with grilled onions and animal style fries on the side. Best on So Cal
Other great burgers are Guacamole Bacon from carls Jr, Hawaiian from Islands (has teriyaki sauce & pineapple), and Poli Bacon Chessburger from Pink’s (bacon cheeseburger with a butterflied polish sausage).
I worry Gov. Brown will revoke my Cal. residency, but I don’t like In-n-Out. I really like Five Guys, and am very happy they have come to Cal.
It seems to me Fuddruckers should be mentioned in this conversation, though I still prefer Five Guys.
Ooooh in-n-out hands down. The cold tomato and lettuce mixes with the warm patty and melted cheese is like food art. Then you have the option to add as many patties as you want.(I have single-handedly devoured a 10×10) If you want to enjoy a food poem go to in-n-out.
In-N-Out on Facebook
Lastly, I thought it would be neat to see what In-N-Out fans thought of the Five Guys vs. In-N-Out comparison. I headed over the In-N-Out fan page on Facebook and took a poll of their 1.7 million fans.
In case you were curious, Five Guys only have 486,000. The exact number is 1,281,936 more In-N-Out fans than Five Guys… but who’s counting 🙂
Anyway, here’s a screenshot of what some of the In-N-Out loyalists had to say:
There were actually a ton more comments, but I could only include so many. If there’s one thing you can say about In-N-Out burger fans, they are extremely loyal.
In-N-Out – You Had Me at Hello
In-N-Out is “The Burger” and will always be in my humble opinion which just happens to be absolutely correct. Now they just need to open some locations in the Midwest.
Somebody likes to hear himself. Why must we wade through a novel-length preamble with tons of personal trivia just to get the bottom line? Take a writing class, please.
Or you could buy the burgers yourself and come to your own conclusion instead of feeling justified by leaving a witty, yet pointless, comment.
👏👏👏
After reading this, I’m certain the author cups his In-N-Out farts just to “waft the aroma” directly into his nasal cavity.
In N Out gets my vote! I live in NJ. I was introduced to In N Out in the 90’s when I had weekly meetings in San Diego. First place I’d go, when getting off the plane. Even before hitting the hotel.
Five Guys opened here about 10 years ago. Or something like that. Who’s counting,? I, like you, cannot bring myself to go there on a regular basis. And I don’t even HAVE an In N Out to visit instead. I’m so not impressed with Five Guys. Overpriced, overhyped and no big deal. I’ll go through the trouble of cooking my own than waste my time and taste buds on their burgers. In fact, I had a gift card given to me. It was for $25. I carried it around for 6 months before I used it. And I’ll never go back.
I have been eating In and Out burgers aince I was a senior in H.S. in So Cal (1965). The burgers then were phenominal!!! The menu was even more . Burgers, fries and lemonade were the favorites. Small family owned business that kepr franchises in the family. Still enjoying them 55 years down the road, still getting the occasional 3×3 lettice wrap just because I don’t want all that bun getting in rhe way all that yummy beef and cheese.
So I have never had an In and Out burger particularly because there is not a lot of locations in Houston. I have had a five guys burger and even though the presentation is a bit sloppy I do believe it is a good burger. However if you want to compare fast food burgers I believe that you sir if you ever get the chance to travel to Texas should try a Whataburger. Texans love whataburger and personally speaking I think that would put your precious In and Out burger to shame.
Maybe N & Out is a California thing, I absolutely love a double double no chz, grilled onions…and their fries are genius. I happen to enjoy Carl’s Jr. Next, but Five Guys to me is a nothing burger, nothing exceptional, I wouldnt drive across the street for one. In the other hand, a Carl’s Jr. Famous Star, Or Bacon Double no chz, hell yeah. Five Guys, I’m sorry BIG YAWN…
Personally I’d take The Habit burger grill over both of them another Cali favorite that started in Santa Barbara & is spreading fast. Another good mention is TK burgers also from So cal which is superior to both of them as well, but just below the habit for me
Food for thought…
Any comparison of in n out or five guys to regular fast food chains like bk are absurd. You are essentially getting farm to table food from innout and 5 guys. It’s like comparing a car to a truck.
Smashburger is better than either 5 Guys or In-n-Out.
5guys/In’n’out are both ok burgers. They’re nothing special though. They’re just……bland. Whataburger and the Vienna Beef Chicago Burgers are by far better. Hardee’s, Fuddruckers & Freddie’s are next. There’s my Top 5. Robin’s are better than IiO. And they’re too much money. BK and Culver’s are better too.
Such a sad story. But it’s yours. I on the other hand was super excited about in-n-out burger when it came to Texas. It was heavily endorsed by the great Dirk Nowinski as the best burger ever. How could it not be. So I walked in super excited. Looked at the menu like a kid looking at Christmas presents under the tree on Christmas eve. With awe and wonder. Excitedly i ordered my burger and without hesitation i took my first awe inspiring bite. The only problem is i was without awe. What is this i thought. Told everyone how disappointed i was in it. Then i was told. Did you order from the secret menu. Secret menu i thought. So you sale so so burgers to everyone else and save the best for those in the know. What is this? Kindergarten? So of course as stupid as I thought it was, I went back and ordered from the “secret menu” thinking, this must be what I was promised. But no. I’d rather have a McDonald’s double cheeseburger then this. Haven’t stepped back in one since. It wasn’t til much later that I was introduced to 5 guys. Now that’s a juicy burger. And I haven’t looked back since. Too each there own I guess. You enjoy your in-n-out I’ll stick with the 5 guys and fries.
In n out Burger beats 5 guys everytime. The only thing 5 guys have that is better is the condiments. In n out secret menu online is great.
People rave about 5 guys, but everytime I have had them here in the St Louis area they are really underwhelming. I’d much rather go to Rally’s or Hardee’s than 5 Guys. For chains, not had anything better than In-N-Out. I have had relatives pack double doubles in dry ice and ship them to me, and be tastier than 5 Guys.
Wow, someone from the Philippines with terrible taste in food. You’re a unicorn. In and out sucks.
I make better burger at home then either of these places!????jyst sayin there both over rated.
You’re delusional… in and out is good but 5 guys is better. The only real reason for liking in and out more is price and drive thru.
I have gone to In and Out, but not too much. When I was living in Carson City, Nevada, an In and Out opened up and everybody went crazy. I waited in the seemingly never ending line, got the burger and fries, and thought, “What’s the big deal?” It wasn’t bad (except for the fries-I didn’t like the fries-too skinny and very little flavor.) But the burgers, seem to be what I would cook at home, and they are very small. Why would I go out and buy what I can make at home? To me, eating out needs to be special. I need to have something better than what I can have at home.
A few weeks ago, a friend and I had lunch after church at Five Guys (for my first time) and their burgers, (and their fries) just wowed me! They were more expensive, it’s true, and the music was too loud to hear each other talk ( so we sat at the tables outside), but that was the best burger I’ve ever had (ranked closely with a burger my nephew made me a few months ago), hands down. I also found Five Guys employees to be a lot friendlier, which makes a big difference to me, as well.
Not that In and Out has unfriendly employees, but when business is emphasized more than customer service (which is becoming quite common nowadays), something is lost. I believe that’s one reason many restaurants/fast food places that used to be giants, are declining.
I support In and Out Burger because they are owned by Christians, and do good things, but when you ask which burger is better, I have to be honest, and there’s really no comparison, at least to me.
I was born and raised on the West Coast. I’ve traveled all over the lower 48 states as a truck driver/owner operator. Once, within 24 hours, I had a Five Guys experience and an In and Out Burger one too. In and Out was half the price of Five Guys and at least twice as good. Unfortunately, I live somewhere now that In and Out hasn’t reached, yet. They are expanding into Colorado next year, so I remain hopeful that I will soon have an In and Out Burger somewhat nearby. Long live the king!
I’ll take Culver’s!
I was born and raised in So. Cal with a In N Out 5 minutes from my front door, I always had to order the burger patties well done…
Butterburgers are Better Burgers!
Five Guys…..once was enough
My first trip to, In n’ Out, and I ordered the Double-double, fries, and a Neopolitan milkshake….the aroma of the burger made me pause to just enjoy that for a minute. Their food is always fresh, hot, and the Burgers are delicious. Here in, Tucson AZ, we have all of the mentioned franchises, and more; I will take In-n-Out over ANY of the others. What-a-Burger, like everything else from Texas, comes with lots of hype, but it didn’t come close to In-n-Out! Five Guys? I went with a friend a couple times, there’s no comparison when you add up the flavor, freshness, and friendliness of In-n-Out; also, you have to consider the cost of Five Guys, for me and my daughter, it costs just under 20$ and we shared the greasy fries. In-n-Out, impressed me right away. I also like the energy of the crews working there, they seem to enjoy it, and that makes a nice experience for the customers.
If you visit the In-N-Out Burger Fan site, you can see the full “(Not So) Secret Menu.”
If you visit on your mobile phone, it will be formatted for your device.
http://innoutburgerfan.com/secretmenu/
We moved from Charlotte (with 5 guys and no in and out) to AZ. AZ has both 5 guys and in and out, plus fat burger, heart attack burger and tons of others. I think they all do a good business with the 60K students at ASU.
But, I have to say I like In and Out because of the employees, food, prices and the little Bible verses on the end of the cups.
Some of the happiest employees in any corporation are In and Out. That says something. They are all cordial, clean cut and efficient.
Oh yeah, what in the world are animal style fries?
@ Hailley Animal style fries are smothered in grilled onions and the In-Out-Burger secret sauce.
In east tn we don’t have an in-n-out that I know of but we do have a five guys about an hour away from where I live. It’s awesome. I can’t say it’s the best because I have never had ino, but it is far better than burger king, McDonald’s or any other cheapie fast food chain. There burgers are not good. Bk is good but not anywhere near 5 guys. The rest are awful. Whataburger is ok, as is fudruckers. The best (that I have tasted) fast food is five guys, and best sit down burger came from a place in Florida called fudpuckers not fudruckers. This was a sit down restaurant with a live alligator farm and a show. Amazing burgers. They had these awesome sweetbread buns and pineapple coleslaw on the side. Complimented so well according to my dad. I however don’t like coleslaw so I don’t know but the burger kicked butt!!
The problem with comparing fast food is that they are never consistent even at their own location. Wendy’s food is different depending on what time of the day you go practically. Go close to lunch rushes and you’ve a good chance of getting the goods (hot crispy fries etc) but oftentimes you go and feel like you’ve licked a greasetrap. Likewise I’ve gone to five guys several times and while I’ve enjoyed each time there were definitely times when their burgers and fries were better than others. We don’t have in and out around here but I’ve read a bunch of these reviews and the descriptions of the burgers and services are rarely the same.
Both places have mediocre burgers that are slightly better than McDonalds, I don’t see how you people think they are that good.
And we don’t see how you think it’s not that good. Just differences in opinion, perhaps? 😉
In Idaho we don’t have In-n-out, but we have a look-alike “Burger Express” that was sued by In-n-out for looking so much like them inside & out.. 5 Guys is good when you get tired of having Burger King all the time, but BK is a better bang for buck… but I’ve heard good things about In-n-out so would like to taste sometime.
In-N-Out! I moved from LA to NYC a few years ago, and I miss In-N-Out, refuse to go to Five Guys… every time I visit LA, my first and last thing to do is to visit In-N-Out near LAX. Just thinking about it makes me drool now…
Jeff, your decision is right. As always. I just lost a tiny bit of trust for Baker lol. Kidding…sorta.
In-N-Out, Double Double, Animal Style! Nothing better!!
Agreed! I need one RIGHT NOW! 🙂
In Canada, we have neither In-n-Out or Five Guys… all I know is that my mom went to a funeral in Conneticut in February, had a Five Guys burger and started talking about how “if she were younger, she’d buy a franshise and bring them here”. And this is from a woman who almost always passes on burgers.
Best low price burger I have seen was the Burger King, buck double ($1.00) with the BK barbeque sauce and I would always ask for an onion ring (usually were given several for free) and it was like the old Burger King barbeque burger. No kidding, this was the best burger for the price. Also, the 5 Guy’s fries, while expensive are very good, cooked in Peanut Oil, worth mentioning as there are so many people with Peanut Alergies…it is well marked in the store, surprising me that you didn’t get a picture of that sign too.
Yes, 5 Guys was the big rave about a year ago. I finally went and tried a burger and I had the same reaction as you. What was everyone talking about? The burger was so small. Sure you could add several patties, but it still didn’t enhance the taste. I found it to be much more greasy than an In-N-Out burger. I didn’t even like their fries. Since In-N-Out is closest to me, I’d probably still go there. But I think a Fuddruckers burger tops both. And what I think tops all is a dive called Best Burger. There are 2 in the Bay Area of CA, but I have no idea if there are any others.
You haven’t had anything until you come to the East coast and try Swensons burgers… I assure you, it would take the cake!
I know some of you east coast (especially OHIOANS) would agree…!!!!