A Burger Too Far

By Neil G. Schloesser
Contributing Writer

Five Guys Burgers and Fries is a national chain, new to the area. They opened their first store on 45th St, down the block from Famous Dave’s. I went there near closing because all new restaurants are insufferably busy in their first few weeks, as every curiosity seeker (myself included) makes a pilgrimage to the holy NEW and I was hoping the crowds would be thin. Thankfully they were but there was a healthy stream of customers even at 9:30 pm.

The idea of Five Guys is simple, sell a few things and make them well. There are a handful of burgers, two types of fries that come in regular and large, grilled cheese and veggie sandwiches, and three types of hot dogs. The buns are made especially for them but big whoop, McDonald’s also gets its buns specially made.

The interior is like their menu, simple. It’s a throwback to the days of burger stands. It has a diner feel with red checkered patterns being the dominant theme. At eye level sit copies of all the numerous awards Five Guys has won. This being a chain restaurant, I saw this same setup when I visited Five Guys in Washington DC, maybe not the same articles but the same idea. There are also stacks and stacks of potatoes with a placard naming the location where the spuds originated. Cute. And they have free peanuts for your friends who are too cheap to order anything.

Ultimately the gimmicks will not matter if the food isn’t up to par. I ordered a little bacon cheeseburger which is one burger patty as opposed to two on the regular hamburger, a regular order of Cajun fries, and water. I got fried onions and some other stuff on top but the fried onions are the important thing. No one else in Fargo has fried onions as a burger topping (that I know of), so kudos to Five Guys. The toppings were free of charge. My total was $7.34.

I got my burger in a bag (they don’t do trays) and saw that I got three servings of fries. The young man filled my bag with Cajun fries. They were piping hot but good. The Cajun seasoning didn’t have a bite but it did have flavor. The burger was also good. There are similarities between this patty and Culver’s patty, I suspect because both are griddle-fried and similar in size and thickness. The bun was good, the fried onions were good, and the meat was fine, but it is very hard to dress up a fried piece of meat. A hamburger is necessarily limited by what it is.

The flavors mixed well and the ambience was neat, but it is still a burger and I am not driving from North Fargo for a burger. If you live in the area, you have a good burger joint, enjoy, but for the rest of us it’s just another color on the restaurant palette.

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If You Go

What: Five Guys Burgers
Where: 2877 45th St S
When: Every day, 11am-10pm
Info: 701.356.5489