Five Guys Burgers and Fries

Huntsville, Madison County

This joint is not on the AL.com list of 22 Greasy Spoon Burger Joints in Alabama you have to visit before you die. 

Oh well, I hate to admit it, but some fast food restaurant chains actually deliver a decent product. And a few of those even play in the major league of greasy spoonism. The pinnacle of that sub-group is certainly occupied by Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a “casual eatery” that started in 1986 in Virginia. As of now, the franchise has spread to over 1000 locations in 47 states 6 Canadian provinces. It is the fastest growing restaurant chain in North America.

One of the big differences to other burger joints is that you can choose the ingredients yourself – the Five Guys claim that there are over 250000 different ways to order a burger at their restaurants. You can choose between a Hamburger, regular Cheeseburger, or Bacon Cheeseburger, and 15 different sauces and veggies as toppings, such as Ketchup, A-1 sauce, BBQ sauce, Lettuce, Tomato, Jalapenos, Grilled Onions, relish, grilled Mushrooms, and so on.

After some rather delicious trial and error, I eventually found my favorite combination – Bacon Cheeseburger with grilled Onions, Tomato, Pickles, Ketchup and BBQ Sauce.

Everything is made to order, and the meat is not frozen but fresh, and they grill it. The difference to any other industrial burger is noticeable – actually, there is not even a contest. The flavor is unbelievable, the meat is juicy and perfectly cooked, the veggies are crisp and fresh, and the bun is soft and yet firm. For me, that comes very close to being the ultimate burger. And as with all great burgers, eating this monster is a mess. It comes wrapped in aluminum foil and you better grab a handful of napkins when you receive it at the counter. You can have fries with it, which theoretically come in a Styrofoam cup. Actually, they usually put as twice as much fries in the bag than the cup holds. The fries are good, but not really spectacular. Well, I guess next to the burger nothing short of a naked supermodel would be spectacular.

The only let-down is the atmosphere of the building – Grand Central Station without the trains. Even with only a handful of tables occupied, there is a constant noise level to cope with. The ceiling is very high and there is absolutely nothing in the room which breaks the noise. The walls are adorned with some rather ugly signs that quote quotes from Newspapers that are praising the burgers. There are also sacks full of potatoes lying around, and some sacks with peanuts.

So do not expect any transcendent dining experience here. What you get is just the best burger of any fast food franchise around. Ahem, I mean casual eatery. Anyway, get a burger there. Now.