After dining at Five Guys Burgers and Fries in South Reno this past weekend, I have crossed this idea off my family’s “to-do” list and renamed it a “to-don’t.”
Five Guys opened at 6395 S. McCarran Blvd. a bit earlier this summer. Our first attempt at eating there fizzled out because it was too crowded. This time around, the restaurant was busy but not to the point where every table was full.
As you enter Five Guys, you’ll notice big boxes of peanuts with little cardboard trays and scoopers so that you can help yourself. This is a novel touch but somewhat surprising, due to the number of children and adults who have peanut allergies. (Why would a fast food chain choose to alienate a sizable segment of its potential customer base?)
Instead of offering free peanuts, Five Guys would be wise to offer ear plugs. Between the kitchen crew yelling orders, the music at high volume and kids screaming, this place is very noisy and therefore, not relaxing. Tables are crammed close together, which doesn't help.
Of course, we weren’t expecting elegance. It’s a fast food joint. But would the burgers and fries at Five Guys be as good or better than at nearby fast food restaurants in South Reno?
“In a nutshell,” our answer was no.
The good news is that all toppings for your burger are free and include options such as mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, A-1 Steak Sauce or hot sauce in addition to the more common ketchup, mustard, pickles, lettuce and so on.
The bad news is that burgers and fries at Five Guys are about what you’d get at a greasy spoon diner in the middle of nowhere. South Reno consumers are not a captive audience. And the food at Five Guys is also overpriced for being so disappointing.
My Little Hamburger cost $4.09. My guys ordered a Cheeseburger ($6.59) and a Bacon Cheeseburger ($7.59). We also bought a Little Fry ($2.49) and two Regular Fries ($3.59 each). All of the fries were dumped into a large paper bag and we couldn’t quite tell how the portions compared to one another; we just picked out a few gloppy fries at a time. With a couple of fountain drinks, a bottled water and tax, our tab came up to $37.74.
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| Little Hamburger and fries at Five Guys |
In-N-Out Burger, at 8215 S. Virginia St. in South Reno, has far superior burgers and fries and superior value, too. The last time I went to In-N-Out with my husband and son, the bill was less than $20.
So it will be interesting to see if Five Guys continues to do brisk business in South Reno, when they’re no longer the new guys in town. I know that my family won’t go back to Five Guys.
For information about Five Guys, visit http://www.fiveguys.com/ .
To learn more about In-N-Out Burger, visit http://www.in-n-out.com/ .
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