I've heard an awful lot about this chain over the years, and wanted to try it on one of my infrequent (though increasing) trips to the West Coast. But, as is my convention on so many over-hyped places, I walked into their Livermore (east of the Bay Area) with an "it's-got-to-prove-it-to-me-how-good-it-is" kind of attitude.
Well, I gotta' admit; it's pretty damned good. Everything made fresh to order, very generous (possibly as many as 4 slices of cheese on my double) toppings, and really juicy flavor. I always order burgers without onions, but I'm told the generous slices they use are the fresh/genuine Vidalia variety. Oh, and the referenced Livermore location was absolutely packed at 230pm local time on a Monday afternoon.
Even by Five Guys standards, the menu is about as simple as you can get; single or double burger on a basic white bun, fries (incidentally, they're excellent in their own right), soft drinks, and shakes.....period. FYI, we also used a location later in the week in San Dimas (east of downtown Los Angeles) and the taste was absolutely identical to Livermore which, of course, is the way its supposed to be. And, the environment in the stores.....setup in a diner-like motif....really was quite pleasant.
More or less on principle, I tend to be against things considered to be "Californian"......but they've sure got themselves a winner with In-N-Out (though I know it's begun to spread at least as far east as Texas). Said another way, I'll take pretty much any opportunity in the future to use the chain; and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who comes across it for the first time.
Well, I gotta' admit; it's pretty damned good. Everything made fresh to order, very generous (possibly as many as 4 slices of cheese on my double) toppings, and really juicy flavor. I always order burgers without onions, but I'm told the generous slices they use are the fresh/genuine Vidalia variety. Oh, and the referenced Livermore location was absolutely packed at 230pm local time on a Monday afternoon.
Even by Five Guys standards, the menu is about as simple as you can get; single or double burger on a basic white bun, fries (incidentally, they're excellent in their own right), soft drinks, and shakes.....period. FYI, we also used a location later in the week in San Dimas (east of downtown Los Angeles) and the taste was absolutely identical to Livermore which, of course, is the way its supposed to be. And, the environment in the stores.....setup in a diner-like motif....really was quite pleasant.
More or less on principle, I tend to be against things considered to be "Californian"......but they've sure got themselves a winner with In-N-Out (though I know it's begun to spread at least as far east as Texas). Said another way, I'll take pretty much any opportunity in the future to use the chain; and I'd strongly recommend it to anyone who comes across it for the first time.
