Five Guys

Living in San Diego our favorite fast food burger joint, by a landslide, was In-N-Out Burgers. It seemed that wherever there was a Home Depot, there was an In-N-Out. We spent a lot of time fixing up our old 1930's English Tudor cottage when we lived there. Which means we spent a lot of time at Home Depot. Which means we ate a lot of In-N-Out burgers.

Living in Virginia, there is no In-N-Out. Our arteries were happy about this. Our taste buds were not. But then, along came Five Guys.

Five Guys is fast, fresh and fun. The burgers are huge and made with anything and everything you want on them. If you don't want to be served a whole cow on a bun you have to order the "Little Burger." BSD simply cannot bring himself to do that. He works hard to keep his burly image of himself alive in his mind. So either I order for him or he's forced to choke down a heifer.

The fries are made fresh from unpeeled potatoes. Massive 50 lb bags of spuds line the walls of the restaurant. One order of fries is enough to feed a small African nation. Half the fun is eating them right out of the bag.

While you wait for your order, there are peanuts to snack on. In the beginning, I swear you just threw the shells on the floor. But the floor has been clean the last few times we've been there. Maybe I'm crazy. Maybe I was having flashbacks of drunken college bars because of the 80's music they were playing. Or maybe they decided shell-covered floors was not the look they were going for after all.

Since the Little Ballerina does not eat meat, she mainly munches a few fries, gets her groove on to the loud music, and creates "art" for the bulletin board. Tonight she was humming along to Carry On My Wayward Son as I amazed the ballerinas with my ability to sing every word of this "new" song.

In-N-Out is still our clear favorite. They have killer milkshakes. Five Guys has none. :( But since California is too far for a drive-thru, we'll have to stick with Five Guys for now.

Oh, and if you want to be treated like royalty at a fast food joint, just pull out your camera and start taking pictures of their restaurant. The employees will think you're a mystery shopper and will all come running to wipe tables, sweep the floor, and remove your trash. And you'll be profusely thanked as you walk out the door. You'll feel like a rock star. Even if you don't have an extensive knowledge of Kansas lyrics like I do.