If you really want to make the most out of your trip to Five Guys, you need to make sure
you don't mess up your order. Take note of these mistakes everyone makes when ordering
a burger at Five Guys so you can avoid making them yourself.
A big part of what makes Five Guys stand out from the competition is the almost unlimited
options for burger customization. Five Guys customers have more than 250,000 ways to top
a burger so it comes out just to their specifications. That gives you no excuse not to get creative
when it comes to designing your ideal burger.
The best part is, with few exceptions, all of the toppings you can choose from on the
menu are free. They range from the classics — ketchup, mustard, relish, onions — to
more unusual choices — hot sauce, grilled mushrooms, jalapeno peppers. While it might
be tempting to order the same thing every time you go to Five Guys, the smart cookies
take advantage of all the topping options you can't get anywhere else.
"I get it with mayo, extra hot sauce, and extra bacon."
"Extra hot sauce. Is that what I should try?"
"It's very, very good."
There are plenty of chain restaurants out there that offer secret menus with items that
don't appear on the normal menu, so those in the know can take advantage.
But the secret menu at Five Guys takes it to another level.
Perhaps the most famous item is the double-grilled cheeseburger. It's basically two rich, melty
grilled cheese sandwiches with a burger patty between them. There's plenty of cheese, and
all the extra toppings you could ever dream of. If that sounds like perhaps a bit too
much for your stomach to handle, there are plenty of other items to choose from, including
the patty melt and the burger bowl. Next time you stop in at Five Guys, be sure to expand your horizons.
The fries at Five Guys are super fresh. You may even see bags of potatoes around the store.
The chain doesn't use frozen, pre-sliced fries — they make them fresh in the store from
real potatoes: yes, the very ones in those bags. Fresh French fries just taste better,
which is already a reason to love Five Guys. But this chain takes its fry game to an even
higher level by loading customers up with a ton of potatoey goodness.
"A board shows where the spuds come from each day."
Five Guys will give you the standard scoop in a fry container, but they'll then put a
second scoop in your bag just so you feel like you're getting more. While most customers
are happy to get more of the good stuff, not everyone wants that many fries, nor the greasy
bag that goes hand-in-hand with all those extras.
In most cases, a small order is enough fries for two people to gorge themselves on, and
a large order can easily feed a table of four. Don't make the mistake of paying for everyone
in your party to get their own order of fries, or at least half of them will end up in the
trash. Don't want to waste? You can always ask the staff to leave out your extra scoop.
Lots of food connoisseurs won't eat beef unless it's red or pink in the middle. "Well done"
might as well be anathema to them. But don't dare to try to order a medium-rare burger
at a Five Guys, because they simply won't make it for you. The chain only sells well-done burgers, no exceptions.
This policy probably has to do with food safety. As delicious as a medium rare burger is, it's
not technically safe to eat. Unlike steak, burgers have to be cooked all the way through,
since the surface of the meat, where harmful bacteria can grow, is incorporated into the
whole burger during the grinding process. Five Guys is likely just covering its bases
and making sure its customers don't get sick. That said, even though the chain's burgers
are cooked through, they're still as juicy as can be.
Five Guys' full name is Five Guys Burgers and Fries. The restaurant tells you what it's
good at right there in its title. While many fast casual burger restaurants will offer
a ton of other food options, the same can't be said for Five Guys. Apart from the burgers,
milkshakes, and fries, you're not going to see much else on the menu. But they do have hot dogs.
Now, let's get this straight: We love hot dogs, and we are huge proponents of this classic
American treat. We would never badmouth the hot dog in general. But it should be done
well, and Five Guys' hot dogs don't really make the cut.
The bread is soggy, the meat is average, and the toppings? Not our favorite. Somehow, putting
a slice of American cheese on a normal, run-of-the-mill hot dog doesn't do much for it. Add to that
the fact that the hot dogs here are ridiculously expensive compared to the hot dogs you can
find at other fast food joints, and you'll see why it's something you should pass up
when you order from Five Guys. Just go with a burger.
Five Guys added hand spun milkshakes to its menu back in 2014. These aren't just your
basic milkshakes, either. If you want to take your classic vanilla milkshake up a notch,
you can also get flavors like coffee, salted caramel, and even bacon, which may sound strange,
but might just be the best item on the menu if you love a good sweet and salty mix.
Here's some bad news, though: You won't be able to find the milkshakes at every location.
The online menu stipulates that milkshakes are only available at participating locations
around the country. So, before going into your local Five Guys assuming you'll be walking
out with a milkshake, make sure your location carries them.
A lot of people wouldn't consider any burger joint to be an eco-friendly option, considering
how much beef production contributes to climate change. But Five Guys seems to double down
on its eco-unfriendliness. When you buy a meal there, it's going to come out as a to-go
order no matter what, even if you choose to dine in. That means it comes with the paper
bag, with extra napkins, and your burger will be wrapped up in foil. This policy creates
a lot of unnecessary waste, especially when you consider all the customers that just carry
all that packaging to a table a few feet away.
As you can imagine, this isn't a popular policy with many of Five Guys' customers. A Move
On petition was created to encourage the fast food chain to recycle and cut down on its
waste. Luckily, word has it that Five Guys is now studying how it can reduce waste in its stores.
Calling all influencers! If you want a signal boost, Five Guys might be the place to start.
The brand works with influencers, but it also shares pictures from everyday customers who
submit their photos. From the ability to submit your Five Guys photo to the company's website,
to your chance to participate in hashtag challenges on Instagram, the chain really goes above
and beyond when it comes to customer engagement.
So, the next time you're at a Five Guys enjoying your meal, don't forget to snap a picture
or two. Share it with the company online using the #fiveguysfans hashtag, and you may just
see yourself on the Five Guys social media pages.
Former U.S. President Barack Obama is no stranger to good food. State dinners under the Obama
administration often included veggies from the White House garden, and the former president
famously appeared on Anthony Bourdain's series Parts Unknown, in which the TV personality
took the then-president to a small, casual restaurant in Vietnam. Obama is known for
keeping his diet especially healthy, but that won't stop him from indulging in a burger from time to time.
Soon after becoming president in 2009, he stopped by a Washington Five Guys and ordered a regular cheeseburger.
"Let me get the jalapenos, and tomatoes...mustard."
Sounds like a pretty tasty combo. It was good enough to become its own secret menu item,
in fact. If you want to take a page out of Obama's book, make sure you order "The Presidential" the next time you go.
Until 2019, loyal Five Guys fans would almost certainly put a lack of delivery options on
a list of the worst things about the chain. While it's not usually too challenging to
visit a restaurant yourself and pick up your order, it's not always the ideal situation
when you're feeling lazy, you have a million other things to do, or there's some other
reason you'd prefer not to go into a restaurant.
Five Guys seemingly got wind of the frustration, because the company now offers delivery services.
You can now order Five Guys through a variety of apps, including Postmates and GrubHub.
Just place your order through the app and wait for your order to arrive at your door if you're within a location's delivery area.
If you suffer from an allergy to peanuts, you may want to avoid eating at Five Guys,
a restaurant very closely associated with that sometimes-dangerous food. Five Guys prides
itself on using peanut oil for all of its frying. While Food Allergy Research & Education
says that most people with peanut allergies can safely ingest peanut oil, it's best to check with your doctor if you're in doubt.
The oil isn't the only thing you have to worry about if you're concerned about your allergies
flaring up. You might also have to watch out for the milkshakes, which may contain a small
amount of peanuts. More important, though, is that most locations offer free peanuts
for guests to snack on while they're waiting for their food. This may not be a problem
if you don't grab one to try for yourself, but sometimes, customers scatter shells on
the floor, possibly exposing others to allergens. The entire store is more or less contaminated,
which should be a consideration for anyone with a very sensitive allergy. So folks with
peanut allergies should either take some extra precautions or pass up Five Guys in favor of another burger restaurant.
Burgers and fries are about as unpretentious as food can get. The coupling may not be fancy,
but it is delicious. Fast-food burger chains like McDonald's have boosted the narrative
of affordable American hamburger and fries considerably. Where else can you reliably order from a dollar menu?
But Five Guys hasn't quite adopted the same strategy. Five Guys is often downright expensive
for a burger joint, and many customers aren't having it. There's a good chance that this
is a big reason why Five Guys isn't expanding as fast as other burger chains across the
country. Yes, the quality of the food may be better than the stuff you'd find at a typical
fast food chain, but places like In-N-Out offer comparable quality for a lower price.
That said, Five Guys still has a loyal following, and there are no signs that these die-hard
fans are going anywhere anytime soon, even with the higher-than-average prices.
"I want it. Pay anything."
Everyone loves free stuff. Yes, Five Guys might be more expensive than much of the competition,
but that's all the more reason to maximize your dollar and get all the freebies you can.
There are two add-ons that you won't see on the free menu: bacon and extra cheese. That's
because they do charge for those items by changing your base order from a hamburger
to a cheeseburger or bacon cheeseburger — both of which are slightly more expensive. But
what they don't advertise is that once you're paying for these add-ons, you don't have to settle for the standard amount of either.
Taste of Home revealed that you can ask for extra bacon and/or cheese without paying a
single cent more than you would have otherwise. Will this Five Guys hack help you meet your
health and fitness goals? Probably not. But it will absolutely ensure that every burger
you order at the restaurant is ten times better.
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