5 Guys Burgers and Fries

20 Boston Turnpike, Shrewsbury, MA 01545, amongst many other places

So overwhelmed by all of the options.

Topping options: mayo, relish, onions, lettuce, pickles, tomatoes, sauteed onions, sauteed mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A-1 sauce, Bar-B-Q sauce and hot sauce.


All the toppings are free, which is fantastic because that’s really all that’s in our price range.

We were starving and forgot 
to snap pics of our burgers. 
This was all that was left...

Pros:
Soda Options
Friendly
Quick Service
Inexpensive
Easy to steal soda

Cons:
Condiments for fries
Bag grease
Fries separate
Only cook well done burgers
Loud

The Experience

For the second stop on our Burger Tour, we decided to leave the exciting world of Westborough and see what Shrewsbury had to offer in the way of beef products. 

Five Guys prides itself on being the "Willy Wonkas of Burgercraft." We're not really sure what this means, but the only little orange people wandering around were the guidos who wandered in from Glow Tanning Center next door, no oompa loompas in sight. The crowd was an eclectic mix: from well renounced Holy Cross professors to cargo short wearing "badasses," we really fit right in.


Ordering at Five Guys can be overwhelming. Regular burgers come with two patties, so the three of us decided to order little hamburgers, which come with once patty, since it is beach season. Each of us also ordered a regular sized side of fries with our burgers. Regular is the smallest option, but it easily could have been split between at least two of us, because the cups are overflowing with fried deliciousness. We love being fat-asses as much as the next guy, but not when it involves traveling home with a Mr. Potato Head fetus in our stomachs. One fry accompaniment option was malt vinegar. This might be a positive if we were in the United Kingdom, but here in America we pride ourselves on being back to back World War champs, having straight teeth, bald eagles, and ketchup (#USA).

Throwback counter. #retro

One unique thing about Five Guys is that they offer unlimited free peanuts to all their customers. As we are neither elephants nor circus clowns nor into cracking our own nuts, these did not appeal to us, so we had nothing to munch on while waiting for our burgers. Also, for those of you with a peanut allergy...there is a chance you will die in there. Not having anything to snack on really wasn't much of an issue because we were forced to keep a watchful eye on our belongings based on the other creatures dining around us. Half the people had clearly never laid eyes upon Longchamp or Vineyard Vines products before, and it was too risky leaving everything unattended. No distractions please.

After ordering a beverage, you are given a cup to fill at the super fancy robot soda machine. Soda fountains are fantastic, especially when hidden from view of the counter, because a free cup for water quickly becomes a soda with unlimited refills. But Five Guys doesn’t have just any soda fountain, its soda machine looks like something straight out of Zenon: Girl of the 21^st century. You could pick from a variety of Coke products, this was upsetting for Emily as she is one of the 5 people in the world who prefer Pepsi, and mix different flavors into your soda. Shannon was very confused by the complex technology and accidentally mixed diet coke and coke zero #amateurhour. Victoria on the other hand was intimidated by all of the complexity that accompanied her beverage experience and went with water at first, then decided to man up and get a root beer to go.

It looked like the bags had
been used to dab the grease off
a Papa Gino's pizza prior to
being filled with our meals.

After about 7 minutes of waiting, or in Victoria's case, 7 minutes avoiding eye contact with her professor, our numbers were called. Taking names would have made this a more personal experience, but we realize Five Guys is like a classy McDonald's, so our expectations shouldn't be that high. Forget plates and saving the Earth, at Five Guys, you're given a brown paper bag filled with greasy thick cut fries and a tinfoil wrapped beef creation. NO. TOY. Where am I? If you expect us to eat food out of a bag, you better give us a little something to make up for making us feel like animals. We aren't the animal, we eat the animal. #carnivores


The burgers are actually enjoyable to eat seeing as they are built in a way where you don't have to crack your jaw to eat them. And, thankfully, no juice drippage got in the way of enjoying the burgers. The only grease that soiled the bag was due to the overflowing french fry action, which was welcomed with open mouths from the 3 of us. Just 3 all American girls enjoying one of the foods this country was founded on.

Important Things to Consider

At Five Guys they only cook their burgers well done. This is great if you don’t feel like contracting food borne illnesses, not great if you like your burgers a little juicer.


The dining experience at 5 Guys is self serve to an extent, so no need to tip the staff (#moneyinthebank).


CAUTION: Cargo shorts allowed. The crowd at 5 Guys really welcomes the mentality "anything goes." You can honestly clothe yourself in whatever you want in that joint without having to worry about sticking out. I mean, we are in Shrewsbury so pocket chains and sk8r shoes are welcome and of the plenty.


This food is on the go, so say for instance you are running to catch a Pretty Little Liars episode....no worries just wrap everything up and throw it in the bag. How convenient. Classic Americans eating burgers in front of the tv. Clearly Michelle Obama's healthy food campaign is very effective.

RATINGS (1-10 Scale)
Price (too expensive-1, fairly priced-10)...10
Service...9
Sides...8
Size...9
Presentation...7
Menu Choice...9
Deliciousness!/Flavor...8
Time to Get Food after Ordering...9
How Much Do I Feel Like I Have to Vomit After Eating (yes-1, no-10)...5
Bang for your Buck...10
TOTAL...84/100