Five Guys

The latest installment in our "The economy is so bad I can't afford to eat out" series is Five Guys. With the recent opening of a new location in Five Points, I read a unfavorable review of the place on another Jacksonville-centric blog and felt compelled to chime in with my dissenting opinion.

Five Guys is a burger joint started in Arlington, VA back in 1986. Over the next 15 years they expanded to include five additional restaurants around the DC area. Not wanting to deprive the rest of the country, they started franchising across the nation in 2003 and now have over 300 locations.

Look, you're about to eat a burger and some fries. There's nothing intrinsically healthy about that but, if prepared properly and consumed in moderation, there's nothing necessarily unhealthy about it either. Herein lies the appeal of Five Guys. They're proud of their greasy burgers and fries but boast the following points in their stores and on their website:

• We use only fresh, never frozen, ground beef.


• There are no freezers in Five Guys locations, just coolers. Nothing is ever frozen.


• We use only Peanut oil.


• We use only Idaho potatoes.


• Our menu is trans-fat free.

And believe it or not, you can actually taste the difference. The burgers are thick and tasty and the fries actually taste like fried potatoes should. With fifteen free, fresh toppings (my favorites being tomatoes, sauteed mushrooms, and jalapenos), you can stack your burger up to immense proportions or try something different each time without incurring any extra cost. There are also boxes of peanuts strewn about the place to hold you over until your order is ready.

Depending on what you typically order at fast food restaurants, the cost can be a little higher but it is justified by the quality. And while its still fast food, the burgers and fries at this place are a few notches above the other comparable establishments.

Oh, and just a friendly tip: the fries come in a container but about the same amount in addition gets dumped into the bottom of your bag (as shown above) so a small is typically enough for any one reasonably sized individual.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries

St. Johns Town Center North
4413 Town Center Parkway Unit 401, Jacksonville, FL 32246

Pablo Creek East
3267 Hodges Blvd #6, Jacksonville, FL 32224

Southside of Jacksonville
9039 Southside Blvd., Jacksonville, FL 32256

Riverside Square
1620 Margaret St., #105, Jacksonville, FL 32204

Orange Park
1910 Wells Rd., #C02D-5, Orange Park, FL 32073

River City
13249 City Square Dr., Jacksonville, FL 32218

Oakleaf
9630 Apple Cross Rd., Suite 106, Jacksonville, FL 32222

Cobblestone Village
200 CBL Drive, Suite 102, St. Augustine, FL 32086