Five Guys Burgers and Fries Carson
Each month, a group of friends gets together to try a different burger around LA. The gathering began a little over a year ago, when a friend from high school decided to work her way down a top ten list of LA burgers and invited her friends along for the ride. Last month, we went to Five Guys Burgers and Fries, making the trek all the way to Carson.
Prior to our visit, I had heard this place compared to In and Out. I can see why; there are similarities in the way the burgers are prepared and in the freshness and quality of the ingredients. However, I noticed several distinct differences between the two places:
- Five Guys has a much broader menu
- Five Guys offers 15 burger toppings
- Five Guys does not serve milk shakes
- Five Guys serves bacon!
Five guys sells two burger sizes, the little and the regular. I had not done any research prior to our visit, and so the names were a bit misleading. Thinking that a little burger would actually result in a little burger, I ordered the regular bacon cheeseburger which was a massive, two patty burger. A little would have been plenty, especially since I had ordered fries which is also a very generous serving. Unlike In and Out, there is no secret menu here. Instead, you can order from a list of 15 toppings without having to know the restaurant's special language. I had an "All the Way" burger, which includes ketchup, mustard, mayo, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, grilled onions, and grilled mushrooms.
The burger itself was cooked expertly and had great flavor. The bun held up nicely and it seemed as though every bit had the perfect distribution of flavors. One thing that stood out was the way they treated their bacon. At most places, if you order bacon on anything, bacon strips are placed on top of the meat. Here, the bacon is chopped. Overall, it's a subtle difference, but it really changes the burger because the result is that each bite has a piece of bacon. It's brilliant, I really don't get why more places don't do this.
When our group discusses burgers, we refer to them as "stand" or "gourmet" because it's unfair to compare a gourmet burger (such as 25 Degrees or The Counter), with a burger stand burger like Five Guys. Of the stands that we have been to, Five Guys has been my favorite. I would go back there in a heartbeat, although next time, I'd skip the fries and stick with just the burger. Regular bacon cheeseburger all the way, no fries. Heaven. Is this place better than In and Out? For sure.
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