Five Guys reaches Pennsylvania

vsp · 05-09-2005, 11:23 AM

The best burger I've had in a while was at a new addition to Glen Mills, Five Guys Famous Burgers And Fries. Yeah, they're a chain, but when your chain's menu contains nothing but the following:

* Hamburger/Cheeseburger
* Hot Dog
* Grilled Cheese Sandwich
* Fries
* Soda

and you're in the process of adding 100+ locations, you're doing _something_ right.

The standard-issue cheeseburger is actually two patties, fresh-grilled well done, with American and your choice of toppings, big, juicy and messy. (Order the "Little" if you just want one.) A few nice touches make customer service pleasant: numbering burgers so that observant orderers know at a glance who in their party gets which, extra fries poured into every bag, peanuts in the shell in big containers for customers to munch on while they're waiting.

The decor is reasonably Spartan, but workable. Hours are until ten every night, even Sunday, making it an option when some other places have closed. My wife vouched for their hot dogs; I can vouch that the burgers are excellent, if potentially lethal in large quantities.

Cheeburger Cheeburger up in Frazer is also very nice and is a bit more full-featured (milkshakes, ice cream sodas and egg creams, eight kinds of cheese, wider menu, burgers up to 20 oz. before cooking), albeit a bit pricier.

Undertoad · 05-09-2005, 11:31 AM

I think Cheeburger Cheeburger does not compare favorably to Fuddruckers, who set the standard. Have you had Fuddruckers, and how does it compare in your book.

vsp · 05-09-2005, 11:45 AM

Fuddruckers is awesome, albeit pretty far out of my typical driving range (closest to me: Lancaster, out by the outlets and a 40ish-minute drive). I'll never turn down a Fuddburger, but Cheeburger is a reasonable and closer substitute until someone builds a Fudd's in the Philly burbs again. (The Fudd's in Springfield closed a decade ago.)

Fudd's is simply larger-scale; bigger toppings bars, more choices. Cheeburger is more of a strip-mall hole-in-the-wall chain than one that could sustain full-size standalone restaurants.

By that standard, Five Guys vs. Fuddruckers wouldn't really be an apples-to-apples comparison: Five Guys is straight-up fast food while Fudd's is a specialty restaurant experience. That said, Five Guys does the no-frills burger-and-fries thing REALLY goddamn well. They're more of a threat to Jimmy John's than Fudd's, if you know what I mean, though I doubt that people who've been going to Jimmy's since 1940 are going to abandon it easily.

xoxoxoBruce · 05-09-2005, 07:26 PM

Isn't there a Fuddruckers on Baltimore pike in Springfield?

vsp · 05-09-2005, 09:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by xoxoxoBruce

Isn't there a Fuddruckers on Baltimore pike in Springfield?

Not unless they built another one in the last decade, since that's how long it's been since the one there closed.

05-09-2005, 11:23 AM	#1
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	Five Guys reaches Pennsylvania The best burger I've had in a while was at a new addition to Glen Mills, Five Guys Famous Burgers And Fries. Yeah, they're a chain, but when your chain's menu contains nothing but the following: * Hamburger/Cheeseburger * Hot Dog * Grilled Cheese Sandwich * Fries * Soda and you're in the process of adding 100+ locations, you're doing _something_ right. The standard-issue cheeseburger is actually two patties, fresh-grilled well done, with American and your choice of toppings, big, juicy and messy. (Order the "Little" if you just want one.) A few nice touches make customer service pleasant: numbering burgers so that observant orderers know at a glance who in their party gets which, extra fries poured into every bag, peanuts in the shell in big containers for customers to munch on while they're waiting. The decor is reasonably Spartan, but workable. Hours are until ten every night, even Sunday, making it an option when some other places have closed. My wife vouched for their hot dogs; I can vouch that the burgers are excellent, if potentially lethal in large quantities. Cheeburger Cheeburger up in Frazer is also very nice and is a bit more full-featured (milkshakes, ice cream sodas and egg creams, eight kinds of cheese, wider menu, burgers up to 20 oz. before cooking), albeit a bit pricier.

05-09-2005, 11:45 AM	#3
vsp Syndrome of a Down Join Date: Jun 2001 Location: West Chester Posts: 1,367	Fuddruckers is awesome, albeit pretty far out of my typical driving range (closest to me: Lancaster, out by the outlets and a 40ish-minute drive). I'll never turn down a Fuddburger, but Cheeburger is a reasonable and closer substitute until someone builds a Fudd's in the Philly burbs again. (The Fudd's in Springfield closed a decade ago.) Fudd's is simply larger-scale; bigger toppings bars, more choices. Cheeburger is more of a strip-mall hole-in-the-wall chain than one that could sustain full-size standalone restaurants. By that standard, Five Guys vs. Fuddruckers wouldn't really be an apples-to-apples comparison: Five Guys is straight-up fast food while Fudd's is a specialty restaurant experience. That said, Five Guys does the no-frills burger-and-fries thing REALLY goddamn well. They're more of a threat to Jimmy John's than Fudd's, if you know what I mean, though I doubt that people who've been going to Jimmy's since 1940 are going to abandon it easily. Last edited by vsp; 05-09-2005 at 11:50 AM.

05-09-2005, 07:26 PM	#4
xoxoxoBruce The future is unwritten Join Date: Oct 2002 Posts: 71,105	Isn't there a Fuddruckers on Baltimore pike in Springfield? __________________ The descent of man ~ Nixon, Friedman, Reagan, Trump.

05-09-2005, 11:31 AM	#2
Undertoad Radical Centrist Join Date: Jan 2001 Location: Cottage of Prussia Posts: 31,423	I think Cheeburger Cheeburger does not compare favorably to Fuddruckers, who set the standard. Have you had Fuddruckers, and how does it compare in your book.

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