Bites Nearby: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

“You mean you’ve never had a Five Guys burger?” asked my friend with a quite judgmental tone of amazement, mixed with dismay. Nope. Never. Not until recently when I discovered their new restaurant in downtown Puyallup. All I can say is, now I can ask the same question, just like my friend did, in an even more bewildered tone.

Five Guys Burgers and Fries has been around for a little over 20 years and is well known for its…well, its’ hamburgers and fries. They keep their menu simple, their beef 100 percent fresh with no preservatives or fillers and their fries hot and crisp with a perfect sprinkle of salt.

As a fanatic of a good juicy and meaty burger, I immediately decided on the plain old fashion cheeseburger with a side of regular fries. The gal behind the counter kindly asked if I was used to the menu and I thought to myself what a strange question… it’s just a burger.

With a little swag of a finger I was kindly corrected and educated.

A cheeseburger is actually two beef patties with extra cheese and a side of fries that will feed two or three people. My order quickly changed to the Little Cheeseburger; the fries stayed the same size. The order was shouted out to the back burger guys and then magic began.

No wonder these guys are winning awards for best burger and #1 hamburger in various states—they are that good! I don’t want to place a huge amount of attention on the bun, but it was soft and fresh and held the patty nicely in place.  There were two overly huge slices of fresh tomatoes, a plethora of spectacularly flavored dill pickles and just the right amount of condiments that didn’t drip obnoxiously out of the burger into or on my lap.

The beef is definitely 100 percent beef and grilled to perfection along with the savory onion bits. My only beef was, of course not with the beef, but with what were supposed to be grilled mushrooms. Canned mushrooms, no matter how you cook them, are still canned mushrooms. 

Advice: Five Guys deserves real Fungi.

The burger and fries was quite the treat and apparently I was not the only one who thought so. This place was packed with hamburger lovers of all ages, each with a devilishly content grin on their faces. Word of advice would be to not fill up on snacks you eat and save room for the killer skin-on French fries.

The Five Guys atmosphere is okay but just a bit too loud and bright for my taste. The music is way too loud and I realized it wasn’t just me as I caught many people shouting the words, “What!  I can’t hear you!” as they laughed.

All in all, Five Guys Burger and Fries has won me over.  My only suggestion for future diners is to avoid the temptation to put mushrooms on your burger but if you do, remember that they can be used as earplugs… if needed.

For more information, please visit www.FIVEGUYS.com.