jammin said:
Five Guys is outrageously priced.
I paid over $12 for a bacon cheeseburger plus small fries and drink. Embarrassing.
An odd world we live in where a made-to-order meal, including a huge, quality burger (including bacon, cheese, and a ****load of potential topping, a ton of hand-cut, peanut-oil-fried fries, and a refillable drink is considered "outrageous" at $12.
And it's a little dishonest too, given the portion sizes. I'm a 220lb guy and can't even finish the "regular" burger. In fact, the "little" burger (what they call their single patty burgers), ordered "all the way" minus mushrooms, and without bacon or cheese, never fails to get me very full. Often uncomfortably so, if I eat the whole thing. It's easily more filling than two Big Macs. And a "small" fries is enough for two or three people. Drinks aren't priced particularly high compared to the competition, but one can always get a 2L bottle of the same thing for a lot cheaper anyways.
So I get it with friends and family, and we each get *totally* stuffed with a "little burger", and a SPLIT order of small fries for every 2 to 3 people. I don't even know a single person who has ordered a "regular" burger (ie, the one with two patties) more than once. This more reasonable, though still very substantial, meal doesn't actually come out to anything resembling $12 per person. And even if it did, I don't know any other chain where I can eat burger(s) to the point of being THAT stuffed without spending more, unless I order pretty much exclusively from a dollar menu/value menu. When I take into account that their burgers and fries are better than almost any place (and certainly any major chain) that comes even close to offering that degree of value, it's a no-brainer, especially when the other options you're choosing from are ALSO large chain restaurants (I have no problem conceding that local joints can and sometimes DO offer a better "value"; that is, a superior combination of quantity, quality, and/or price).
So is a "burger and small fries" from there more expensive than a "burger and small fries" most fast food chains? Absolutely. But it's a misleading apples-to-oranges comparison, and it's not the kind of thing you should be eating on a regular basis regardless. If it's the kind of place someone wants to go to more than a few times a year, then they should *really* consider splitting a "little" burger and "small" fries with someone else anyways - it won't exactly break the bank, and not only will it STILL be more filling than a Big Mac or Whopper combo, but it will be far tastier (and even a little healthier) too.