High five for Five Guys
My dad has been acting like a little kid lately. He saw that a Five Guys would be opening soon near him on Calumet Avenue in Munster (IN.) He's never been to one, but he was excited to have a new eatery on that jam-packed restaurant corridor. Last week he informed me that he learned that they were opening Tuesday. He wanted to go opening day. He couldn't wait to try it out. I couldn't do Tues. and convinced him to wait until Thursday. He couldn't wait. Last night he texted me and said he couldn't help it. He went and got a grilled cheese. He held off on getting a burger. He wanted to wait for me and try it together. He didn't like the grilled cheese very much. "They put it on a hamburger bun!" he complained. "Why wouldn't they put it on bread?"
So, I had an open time slot in the middle of the day today and moved up our lunch date by a day. He was thrilled. And in the end, I was thrilled he was so intent on dragging me over there. I was so mad that I forgot my camera. I hate reading blogs without visuals - but check out the website to get a taste of what they've got (although there are really not any food pics on there!) I promise I'll bring it next time, which will be soon.
I was a bit surprised at how few items there are on the menu...but, if you can do one thing and do it really well, why stray from what works? Sandwich choices are slim: a single burger (called a little hamburger) or a double (called a hamburger), a hot dog (and variations of that - cheese dog, bacon dog or bacon cheese dog) and a veggie sandwich, cheese veggie sandwich and grilled cheese.
They boast 15 free toppings, which include veggies like tomato and onion and sauces like A-1 and barbecue sauce (oops - they spell it Bar-B-Q sauce.) And the other menu item is fries - regular or large. Dad and I shared a regular size and finished only about half. The portion was huge. And that's it - no other sides. No desserts. But really, they don't need any more than that. I love the fries, which are made fresh there. As you go in, stacked bags of potatoes line the aisle. I thought it was just decoration, but employees kept coming out and scooping up the 50 pound bags to take to the back. And there was a sign on the wall that read "Today's potatoes are from Warden, Washington." I thought that was kind of cool. There must be multiple suppliers and they let you know exactly where they are coming from.
Oh, they do have one other thing to eat, that is NOT on the menu - boxes of in-the-shell peanuts on the counter that you can snack on while you wait...but by the time we scooped up some peanuts and found a table, our order was ready. They were quick! We had a few anyway. And...you know...being the mom of five boys, I shrieked when my dad dumped his shells on the floor. "You can't do that here!" I scolded. His rebuttal: "Yes, you can. I asked. It's like Texas Corral. You can throw them on the floor." I countered with, "Yeah, but just because they told you that doesn't mean you should. This is a brand new store. Look at how clean the floors are. Why would you make a mess ON PURPOSE???!!!???" And....I swear he was in ten-year-old mode. He got this pouty look on his face and said, "Because I can!" I'm still shaking my head. :)
Love, love, love the pop dispensers - they are these futuristic (that makes me sound old, doesn't it?) touch screen machines called Coca Cola Freestyle...tons of options...like orange Coca Cola, seltzer water, Mello Yellow, Fanta Zero and Mr. Pibb Extra.
The decor is the standard red and white theme that follows each of their locations with the walls adorned with giant boards with review quotes from various sources. *Note to the marketing team: feel free to add to the wall that the Chicago Foodie Sisters said "High five for Five Guys!" and "The fresh fries are da bomb!" and "I want to marry that cheeseburger!" and "Ooohhh...that's some creamy cheese!" and "Don't make a mess with the peanuts just because you can!"
So, I had an open time slot in the middle of the day today and moved up our lunch date by a day. He was thrilled. And in the end, I was thrilled he was so intent on dragging me over there. I was so mad that I forgot my camera. I hate reading blogs without visuals - but check out the website to get a taste of what they've got (although there are really not any food pics on there!) I promise I'll bring it next time, which will be soon.
I was a bit surprised at how few items there are on the menu...but, if you can do one thing and do it really well, why stray from what works? Sandwich choices are slim: a single burger (called a little hamburger) or a double (called a hamburger), a hot dog (and variations of that - cheese dog, bacon dog or bacon cheese dog) and a veggie sandwich, cheese veggie sandwich and grilled cheese.
They boast 15 free toppings, which include veggies like tomato and onion and sauces like A-1 and barbecue sauce (oops - they spell it Bar-B-Q sauce.) And the other menu item is fries - regular or large. Dad and I shared a regular size and finished only about half. The portion was huge. And that's it - no other sides. No desserts. But really, they don't need any more than that. I love the fries, which are made fresh there. As you go in, stacked bags of potatoes line the aisle. I thought it was just decoration, but employees kept coming out and scooping up the 50 pound bags to take to the back. And there was a sign on the wall that read "Today's potatoes are from Warden, Washington." I thought that was kind of cool. There must be multiple suppliers and they let you know exactly where they are coming from.
Oh, they do have one other thing to eat, that is NOT on the menu - boxes of in-the-shell peanuts on the counter that you can snack on while you wait...but by the time we scooped up some peanuts and found a table, our order was ready. They were quick! We had a few anyway. And...you know...being the mom of five boys, I shrieked when my dad dumped his shells on the floor. "You can't do that here!" I scolded. His rebuttal: "Yes, you can. I asked. It's like Texas Corral. You can throw them on the floor." I countered with, "Yeah, but just because they told you that doesn't mean you should. This is a brand new store. Look at how clean the floors are. Why would you make a mess ON PURPOSE???!!!???" And....I swear he was in ten-year-old mode. He got this pouty look on his face and said, "Because I can!" I'm still shaking my head. :)
Love, love, love the pop dispensers - they are these futuristic (that makes me sound old, doesn't it?) touch screen machines called Coca Cola Freestyle...tons of options...like orange Coca Cola, seltzer water, Mello Yellow, Fanta Zero and Mr. Pibb Extra.
The decor is the standard red and white theme that follows each of their locations with the walls adorned with giant boards with review quotes from various sources. *Note to the marketing team: feel free to add to the wall that the Chicago Foodie Sisters said "High five for Five Guys!" and "The fresh fries are da bomb!" and "I want to marry that cheeseburger!" and "Ooohhh...that's some creamy cheese!" and "Don't make a mess with the peanuts just because you can!"
We used to eat Five Guys every week when they first came to Missouri...really love the high-quality of the food!
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