When you want to satisfy an intense burger
craving, there's one place to go: Five Guys. We all know that a Five Guys burger is amazing,
but what exactly makes it so good? Let's talk about the secrets of some of the
best burgers around. Five Guys won The Harris Poll's burger brand
of the year award in 2017 and 2018, beating In-N-Out Burger both years, which is no easy
feat considering how passionate people are about In-N-Out Burger. “In n out, In n out, that’s what a hamburger
is all about!” They've also come out on top of 17 other burger
chains including the usual suspects, like McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and Carl's
Jr., and even the more posh burger spots Whataburger and Shake Shack. And that speaks volumes about their legions
of fans. In-N-Out may have regained the title in 2019,
but holding that honor for two years is something to be proud of and it shows just how much
people love Five Guys. Why do we love them so much? Five Guys is known for two things: burgers
and fries. They also offer hot dogs, and you can get
a grilled cheese on the same bun and with the same cheese that's used for a burger...
if you're the type of person who actually orders grilled cheese at a restaurant. But here's the thing: Five Guys doesn't serve
chicken sandwiches or filet of fish sandwiches or rib sandwiches or fancy salads. It's burgers. And fries. They focus on making those things great, and
they're clearly succeeding. As of 2013, Americans were eating about 50
billion burgers a year, which equals out to about three juicy hamburgers per person per
week. "I would like to buy a hamburger" "I would like to buy a hamburger" About 60 percent of all sandwiches purchased
worldwide are actually hamburgers, and that just shows Five Guys has some serious critics
to please. To co-opt another slogan from another burger
chain, you can definitely have it your way at Five Guys, because they offer 15 different
toppings to choose from. These include mayo, ketchup, mustard, A1 Sauce,
barbecue sauce, hot sauce, lettuce, tomatoes, pickles, onions, relish, grilled onions, grilled
mushrooms, green peppers, and jalapeño peppers. You can choose as many of these toppings as
you want, for free, and heck, you can stick all 15 of 'em on your burger if that's what
you're into. Compare this to the standard burger you can
order at Burger King which comes with ketchup, mustard, and pickles, or the McDonald's hamburger,
which offers the same condiments as BK with the addition of a few chopped onions. Sure, there's something to be said for the
simplicity of a burger with just ketchup and mustard, but having the option to add as many
as 15 toppings to the situation is one of the things that makes Five Guys burgers so
delicious and crave-worthy. “I want one.” And thanks to those 15 toppings, there are
a whole lot of ways that customers can satisfy whatever their cravings are. The combinations are basically endless, and
it doesn't matter how big a fan you are, you're just never going to get to try them all. Sorry! That's because there are more than 250,000
ways to customize a burger. It's no surprise that fans of this fast food
joint are pretty passionate about their favorite combos. In fact, just thinking about them is enough
to make you grab your car keys and head to your local Five Guys to explore some of these
crazy-delicious sounding options. “I want one.” Sure, you can order 15 different toppings
and customize your burger about 250,000 ways, but that doesn't mean all those toppings are
going to be piled on all willy-nilly. That would be chaos and yes, the order really
does matter when it comes to quality. Five Guys has a specific way of placing add-ons
onto your burger for the ultimate yum factor: Onions and bacon go underneath the patty,
while tomatoes and pickles go on top of it. Burger aficionados have many different opinions
on what the actual correct placement of condiments and toppings on a burger are, but it appears
that Five Guys does it so the warm toppings stay with the warm toppings, and the cool
toppings mingle together separately. There's also a lot of speculation about why
Five Guys puts your french fry order on top of your burger in the brown bag it comes in. When this question was posed on Reddit, a
commenter responded, "I always thought this was so that the burger
just gets a little bit warmer. The cheese melts a little more, the bun gets
a little steamy and soft." Even though you can customize your burger
at Five Guys a gazillion different ways, there's one way you can't customize it: how much it's
cooked. No, you can't get it bloody, or still-mooing,
or even medium rare, because every burger cooked at Five Guys is prepared well-done. But that's a good thing. Five Guys hasn't officially explained the
reasoning behind this policy, but it's likely that safety is one of the concerns. There are some major health risks associated
with eating raw meat, including the consumption of bacteria like E. coli and salmonella. Because of these risks, the FDA advises that
ground beef be cooked to a minimum internal temperature of 160 degrees Fahrenheit. And even if you opt for making your burger
a little differently at home, well, you should be grateful Five Guys goes a little further
with theirs. No one wants a side of salmonella with their
burger. The hamburger buns used for Five Guys' burgers
are the perfect vehicle to get that juicy slab of meat into your mouth they're soft,
fluffy, and perfectly toasted on the grill. Five Guys doesn't use a standard bun toaster,
because it doesn't give you that caramelized taste that cooking them directly on the grill
does. Can you imagine a Five Guys burger without
that slight char on the bun? Perfect toastiness aside, the buns only contain
a few ingredients, and they're basically the same ingredients that are in your average
cake. They also contain twice as many eggs as normal
buns, which explains their dreamy texture. On Inc., founder Jerry Murrell explains where
these magical buns come from. "We make the same bun we started with. We hired the old guy who used to bake our
bread for the first store, and one of his partners. They work in the Virginia bakery. We have 10 bakeries scattered around the nation. Our bread is baked daily, picked up by 3 p.m.,
and put on [a] truck or plane so every store gets fresh bread every morning, even if they
are 400 miles away from the nearest bakery." As they say, if it's not broke, don't fix
it. Did you know the Green Bay Packers have an
official bacon? Well, they do, and it happens to be the same
kind of bacon that Five Guys uses on all of their burger offerings with bacon. If it's good enough for the Packers, it's
good enough for you. Just what makes it so special? Five Guys' bacon is applewood-smoked, and
that's important. Why? It's all about the flavor. “Nothing burps better than bacon” Bacon Today had this to say about what makes
applewood smoked bacon incredible: "Applewood chips result in bacon that is mildly
sweet and smoky. It is the second most popular wood used after
hickory as it results in bacon that is perfectly balanced between smoky and sweet." You can definitely taste that perfectly balanced
flavor on each and every one of Five Guys' bacon burgers, and if you haven't yet, try
out one of the bacon burgers on your next visit. Or if you want to skip the burger altogether,
you can also simply order a BLT. With extra bacon, because it's the good stuff. Not that other stuff... "Would you like to sample our vegan bacon? 100 percent meatless." "Yes, please" You aren't going to get some weird pre-formed,
freezer-burned patty when you order a burger from Five Guys because their stores don't
even have freezers. Everything is made fresh to order. Five Guys is so committed to freshness that
it takes an entire three hours to open the restaurants each day because everything from
the burgers to the produce that is sliced and chopped to go on your burgers is prepared
that morning. They also use wireless freshness sensors,
and to get all technical and fancy about it, the RFID Journal explains it like this: "The [system] uses active 900 MHz sensors
from Point Six Wireless and helps to ensure that raw ingredients are stored at a safe
temperature and are not served if they have exceeded their approved temperature threshold." In other words, technology is making sure
you aren't going to get some germ-ridden, warm, slimy lettuce on your burger that could
make you sick. And that's a great use for today's modern
technological marvels. One of the coolest things about the burgers
at Five Guys, and why their burgers are such a great value, is that their standard burger
isn't even a burger at all it's TWO burgers. That's a lot of beef for your buck! “There’s two of them!?” If you just can't deal with that much beef,
you can request a "little" burger, which is a single patty… but let's be honest, it's
a double every time, right? As with all good things, there's a catch. All this delicious cow comes at a hefty nutritional
price point. If you opt for that little burger, you're
going to be getting a meal clocking in at 542 calories and 26 grams of fat, numbers
that will, of course, vary with whatever toppings you decide to layer on. Upgrade that to a bacon cheeseburger, and
you're looking at 1,064 calories and 62 grams of fat — plus, again, all those toppings
you'll pick. If you’re one of those that likes mayo on
your burger, you can add another 100 calories to that total! And just in case a double isn't enough, you
can definitely pile on another patty or two for just a tad bit extra, if that's the way
you roll. You only live once, after all. Oh, that's too much? Order your burger in a bowl, and cut out the
bun altogether. Any way you slice it, that's still a huge
amount of calories for just one meal, but isn't that a huge part of what makes something
taste oh-so-good? Tomorrow's another day, right? "This is definitely what I'm having on my
cheat day." Considering the fact your burger is made from
scratch, Five Guys does a great job of getting you fed rather quickly. Sure, it may take a few minutes longer than
ordering a burger from a place with a clown as their mascot, but Five Guys is more of
a fast casual restaurant than a fast-food joint. They hand form all the patties. They grill the bun. They also don't use any timers in their restaurants,
and that's because they always say their cooks are good enough to know when a burger is just
the right amount of done. Your burger will be served fresh to you when
it's done, and it won't sit under some heat lamp waiting for anyone to come in and order
it, and that's a good thing. No, Five Guys won't take as long as a sit-down
restaurant with silverware and cloth napkins, but if the restaurant is busy, you can expect
to wait a bit. “Anyone want a peanut?” That's what all of those free peanuts are
there for, so you can chow down while you wait for your burger to be prepared. Five Guys has two important things going for
it: excellent customer service and happy employees. Both of those things make any meal more enjoyable,
and it's impossible to stress just how much better a burger tastes when it's handed to
you by someone who's smiling. And according to those who have worked there,
it's not just an act. One former employee took to Reddit to talk
about just what it was like to work at Five Guys, saying, "Fun for the most part, due to the fact that
it's an open kitchen, the employees are encouraged to joke around and have fun, even to the point
of all out dancing, as long as you can keep on track with the job you're doing." If your food is prepared with happiness it's
just going to taste better. No one wants a burger made by some angry dude
who hates their job. “Food? I’ll show him dog food!” Check out one of our newest videos right here! Plus, even more Mashed videos about your favorite
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