If you call yourself a friend, than you know just how much I enjoy a good burger. That is why I was so thrilled to learn that Five Guys, a great burger chain that originated in the DC metropolitan area, was opening a location in Madison on State Street. Especially after reading about the famed burgers on my friend, Kelsey's blog, which she posted about after a recent trip to Baltimore. I salivated over her burger pictures for a month, and have been plotting a trip to the East coast ever since. But, now, I need only walk a few blocks to get my Five Guys fix.Five Guys is a fast food joint that specializes in, you guessed it, hamburgers and french fries. All of the food is cooked to order, and the patties are hand packed and never frozen. Five Guys was founded in 1986 in Arlington, Virgina, by Janie and Jerry Murrell and their five sons, the "five guys." What was in 2002 a family business with five locations in Northern Virginia, has rapidly expanded into a franchise of more than 200 locations along the East Coast, from Florida to Connecticut. Besides a restaurant in Missouri, the Madison location is now the most Western location of the chain. Additional locations are in the works for Minnesota, Kansas, Texas, Colorado, and California.
Five Guys has been voted #1 Burger by Washingtonian magazine for 7 years. They've also amassed a pile of other accolades, which they hang proudly from the red and white tiles that cover the walls of the Madison location. The burgers are divided into two classes, the "regular" burger, which consists of two beef patties, and the "little" burger, with only one patty. Both burgers are offered with American cheese and bacon, as well as an extensive selection of free toppings, like veggies and condiments. The fries are fresh-cut and fried in pure peanut oil. There are regular fries, or "Cajun" fries, which are tossed in Old Bay Seasoning. The menu also offers grilled cheese, hot dogs, and veggie sandwiches, as well as free shelled peanuts to eat while you wait.
On Saturday afternoon, I enjoyed a cheeseburger ($4.59) and shared a large fry ($3.79) with friends. The burger was great, and I ordered mine with fried onions and American cheese. The two patties were a little much for me, so I probably could get away with the Little Cheeseburger ($3.39) next time. The large order of fries miraculously contained more fries than I could consume in a month. They were stuffed into an extra large Styrofoam cup, and overflowed into a mountainous pile, which filled half of a large paper bag. I have never seen so many fries. I tried my best, but even with three people sharing, there were still enough fries left over to feed an army.
Love it, but as my mom always said, my eyes were bigger than my stomach. Yes mother, lesson learned. Next time I will order the "little" cheeseburger and regular fries. I am a little cheeseburger.
7 comments:
The one time I strayed (guiltily) from my month-long trial of Vegetarianism was at Five Guys in DC. It was worth it.
Looks like dad and I will have to check this place out when we get home.
"Finally" a decent burger? Isn't there a Fudruckers on State St. now too?
;) they are taking over the world. isn't it crazy how greased up the paper bag of fries is...
Danny, Fudruckers is so not a decent burger. Their location on State Street also recently went out of business. So apparently most Madisonians agree.
You could say Dotty's offers a decent burger, but it's not on State, and the place is nothing like it used to be in its glory days on Doty Street (before the Overture Center came in.) So, like I said, Finally...
Dotty's was key. It's a shame it had to move. And it lost more than it's location in the move.
I always thought Fudruckers was a solid enough fast-food burger. But I guess if it's gone already, I don't know squat.
No love for the Plaza-burger? :)
I call myself a burger girl, yet I've never had a Plaza Burger. You might have a point...need to get there and check it out.
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