Five Guys Burger & Fries

love the food love the drinks and the peanuts

5 Guys isn't my first choice but in a pinch it will hit the spot. Some things I like: there's actually a veggie-burger type option, which amounts to them taking a bunch of the vegetable toppings and grilling them and slapping it on a bun. Not bad but not amazing. If you're as hungry as I was, it will suffice. I've had their burgers and find them to be a little greasy and not that flavorful. But maybe that was an anomaly.

One of the coolest things in this location is the crazy touch screen Coke machine with at least 20 different soda options. Watch this video I found on youtube: <a href="/redir?url=http%3A%2F%2Fyoutu.be%2FGHKCsJbZTCE&s=a77992d3eebdb64553012d5d72f75f7da5719dfd9aaf9c364553f26b421a1da6" target="_blank" rel="nofollow">http://youtu.be/GHKCsJbZ…</a> Neat huh? Anyways, the fries are ok, I think they give you waaaay too much (is that really a bad thing?) so you might want to share an order.

*There is a small covered patio where you can eat and people watch.

Five Guys is a welcome addition to the culinary choices at the Levee, offering something halfway between the quicky/quirky 'lite-fayre' of Tom & Chee and the table-serviced (and thus more expensive) Brio or Claddagh.

I have been watching it being built inside the old Johnny Rockets space for the past few months, salivating at the notion of opening day and trying Five Guys' rightly-famous fresh handcut french fries once again. Well, doors opened this morning and yes, I was one of those eager 'early adopters' where I would discover if my memory and reality matched up.

Y'see, I had a "Five Guys Experience" (purely in the restaurant sense y'understand?!) a couple of years ago in Crestview Hills. On that occasion the burger graded a "Meh+" but the fries were VERY memorable indeed.

Would they seem as good second-time round? Weeeeelllll.... they were unfortunately INCREDIBLY salty. Salty to the point of not being able to really enjoy them. I think if I had connected my blood pressure monitor to my arm whilst eating them the readings would have taken on the appearance of a fruit machine, together with accompanying flashing lights and - had I finished them - another free ride in an ambulance.

So, disappointed? Well, let's give Five Guys the benefit of the doubt by suggesting my serving was something of a first day anomaly... which I would have normally fixed had there not been so many people waiting for their food at the counter. My burger choice - with grilled onions, mushrooms, ketchup & mayo - was as 'average' as the one I had a few years ago. Not great, not awful, just kinda 'OK'. However, I think dependent on your topping choices - you can have as many as you want, 'free' - burger tastiness will generally tend to vary quite considerably. (My personal taste buds are perhaps a little too conservative)

This new location has an outdoor covered eating area, the regular free shelled peanuts (to eat whilst you're waiting) and a pair of those fancy-schmancy soda machines that seem to be popping up in a few places lately. These machines offer a ludicrously extensive range of soft drinks which, even more ludicrously, you can mix and match in the same cup. Kids are going to LOVE them, parents will merely shake their heads in certain horror.

I'll chalk today's lackluster experience up to first day nerves. I'll maybe come back here in a few weeks/months time - when they should have ironed out all the kinks - and amend my review and star rating.