Lucas Hammerman ’10
News Editor

Five Guys Burgers and Fries finally opened on Jan. 12 in Westport. The long wait was worth it, as Five Guys serves nothing but fantastic quality.

Five Guys provides a unique eating environment for Westport with peanut shells blanketing the ground and sacks of potatoes lining the walls. Around the restaurant are boxes filled with peanuts. The peanuts are free for customers to snack on while waiting for their food. A sign informs you of where the potatoes are from; on opening day it was Shelly, Idaho. On the left hand side of the restaurant there is a bulletin board overflowing with customer’s compliments to the restaurant. Although newly opened and part of a chain, Five Guys has a local feel to it.

For me, one of the worst parts of eating at a fast food restaurant is after waiting for my food, going to a table which is covered in a sticky substance that breeds germs. It was pleasant to find that at Five Guys, employees are constantly cleaning off tables so that there is no tackiness.

Supplementing the environment and adding to the positive experience at Five Guys was the good service. The cashiers are friendly and will answer any questions you have. Even though the burger is cooked on a human assembly line in front of you, they provide fast service.

However, Five Guys does not have the atmosphere typically found at fast food restaurants. Instead of making customers want to eat their food as fast as it was served, Five Guys allows its customers time to enjoy conversation in the family friendly environment while eating five star quality burgers and fries.

The order consisted of a regular cheeseburger, ketchup only, which costs $5.29, a regular fries, which cost $2.99. A regular drink is $1.79. The sizing for the burgers is a bit different than other burger joints with only two sizes available. A Regular Burger consists of two patties, and a Little Burger consists of one. All toppings, and refills of soda, are free.

Five Guys offers the perfect burger experience. All of the ingredients, the two patties, cheese, ketchup and buns, were balanced in a state of excellence. As the heart and soul of a cheeseburger the patties are quintessential, without them one might as well eat a veggie burger (no offense to any vegetarians out there).

Simpy put, this burger is delicious, and well worth the long lines one might encounter.

The strategic placement of the slice of American cheese, placed in between the patties holds them together. The melting of the cheese is professional. It’s not over–melted to the point that you cannot taste it but not thrown on to the burger so that it doesn’t melt at all. It provides the perfect separation between the patties.

The fries, the cheeseburger’s soulmate, are available in two styles, plain or Cajun. I went with plain. The fries are cooked in peanut oil, which results in an amazing kick of peanut flavor in the french fry. The collaboration of the fresh potato taste and peanut taste can only be described as unique and scrumptious. It is a flavor that you wouldn’t expect but are pleased to find in a french fry.

Not only is the flavor unique but also the temperature of the fry. The fries are warm to the touch, however after biting into one the heat rises for a quick second. Even after letting the fries cool for a few minute, the sensation remained the same.

Conclusively, a Five Guys fry is one superior stick of spud punctuated by some perfect patties. Sorry, Burger King, but Five Guys deserves the throne.