Five Guys is pretty much a straight rip-off of In-N-Out Burger down to the red and white tile squares and fresh cut fries. They come pretty darn close with the burger, but fall short on everything else. There are no shakes, there’s no drive-thru, their fries don’t even come close to the quality of In-N-Out, but–and it is a huge BUT–there are no In-N-Out Burgers in Baton Rouge or anywhere else in Louisiana which makes my comparison pretty much moot. While Five Guys does make me miss In-N-Out, it fills the ooey-gooey fresh double beef patty burger slot well. There are so many good burgers all over town now that you can find one to fit your every mood. There are some I definitely still miss. The Library, Hopper’s, Bonaventure’s Landing at False River, and of course the one that all of us who knew it mourn daily, The Rail Burger at The Brass Rail on Highland. We don’t get to go back there, we don’t get to be sixteen again, and the closest In-N-Out is in Dallas.
Five Guys is very clean. The staff is very nice and turn your ticket really fast. They have free peanuts to snack on while you wait (remind anyone else of Ground Pati?) and even though they don’t offer shakes, they do have those movie house coke machines that let you dial up every soda Coca-cola makes.
And here’s the shot you’ve been waiting for: Up close and personal with a Five Guys cheeseburger.
For me the greatest shortcoming of Five Guys is that they only offer griddled onions to add to the burger, and I always order extra raw onion, even on the occasional Whopper. I need raw onion, but even without it, this is a damn good hamburger, just not the best in their class. They do try hard though. This message board for kids and anyone else to leave a note is a very nice touch.
