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It seems like I've been doing a lot of burger tasting lately and that it always happens because I am in the neighborhood. Last night I was in Natomas to shop at Petsmart and remembered that the new Five Guys Burgers was open somewhere there. A quick check on my Droid and I navigated over to the corner of Truxel and Del Paso. I will admit I had about five minutes of frustration trying to locate it in the mess of stores in that complex. It really is, literally, tucked into the corner at Truxel and Del Paso. It's just that the signs weren't good enough as I circled through the whole complex searching for it.
For those of you who have never heard of Five Guys, it's Obama's place. As in, whenever you see President Obama venturing out of the White House in search of burgers, he's heading straight for Five Guys.
The joint keeps it pretty simple. There are burgers, fries, and hot dogs. The nice thing is that all the toppings are free. So you build your burger as you want. I also liked that they offered Cajun fries.
My order consisted of the cheeseburger with ketchup, mustard, onions, lettuce, and jalapenos. I ordered the smaller size of Cajun fries and a regular soda. It was pretty pricey - $11.06.
What I got was a bag with my burger on the bottom, and then an overflowing cup of fries. I mean, OVERFLOWING! It was a ridiculous amount for regular. In any other place it would be a large. But they were good! They were hot, not greasy, and covered in Cajun seasoning. My dilemma for next time, then, would be whether to order fries at all. If I'm by myself, it would be a total waste as I ended up throwing more than half of them away. I would definitely order them if with a friend or two to share.
The burger itself was good although not exceptional. It was a normal size burger and bun whereas I believe Smashburger's were larger bun/burger. I did like that the onions were chopped versus left in rings - it makes it easier to eat. The jalapenos are fresh, not pickled. I was a bit disappointed that my slice of cheese was apparently added right before bun because it was not nice and melty.
Some other things to note about the place... They have shelled peanuts to eat while you wait. There's a large box with paper bowls so that you can fish out a load of peanuts and sit, shell, and eat. There was also a sign posted with where the potatoes of the day came from. This day they were from some farm in Idaho.
I like that the place keeps things simple, I just wish the price was simpler too. It got #1 from Zagat's for burger chains while In & Out got #2. But In & Out is about half the price. Yes, they have their differences and I did enjoy Five Guys, but for myself, if faced with both restaurants sitting across the street from each other, I'd opt for the cheaper In & Out.
