Dining with Dan: Five Guys
April 4, 2017
A fast food place known as Five Guys was recently added to Cedar Rapids in front of Lindale Mall. Five Guys is a fairly well known fast food place, having locations all over America. However, they have never had one located in Cedar Rapids. This gives many a chance to try it for the rst time, including myself. I had heard many good things about their food from friends, so this made me unusually excited to have food from a fast food joint.
When I pulled into the parking lot, I knew I was not the only one who must have been told to try Five Guys. The parking lot was packed. Every table was filled when I walked in and people were standing all over the place. The building itself, much like the parking lot, was packed from wall-to-wall. There was very little standing room. Every time I tried to walk one way or another, I either cut someone o or they cut me off.
As for the menu, it is a bit different than other fast food places. They have no set combos or meals; everything has to be individually ordered. The standard burger at Five Guys has double the meat of a typical burger; two times the patties, two times the fun. The burger does not come with any toppings; you have to tell them to add condiments.
You have to personalize all of their other food in the same way. They do o er customers a smaller option if they wish to have so much food. These options have “little” put in front of them. However, they are still around the typical size seen at other fast food places. They also o er hot dogs, other sandwiches, and milkshakes if you have a sweet tooth. One negative to their menu is the pricing. Five Guys is much pricier than your typical fast food place. However, you do get more food for your money. Most of the items range somewhere from five to eight dollars. With the building being packed, I figured it would take a while to receive my order. To my surprise, they were quite efficient with their work with what seemed to be a type of assembly line. They pass along and add more parts to the order until it reaches the front where the customers are waiting. Overall, I would give Five Guys a rating of three and a half out of five stars. I thought the service and food were both pleasing, however the pricing makes it less likely for me to go there very often. I still plan to go there again and would recommend giving it a try if you have not already.
