I love a good Hamburger!
Who doesn’t, right?
I am constantly looking out for a new place to try in hopes that they will have the perfect Burger. Of course, everyone’s idea of their perfect burger is going to be a bit different. For some, it’s all about the meat. Toppings are a side note at best. For others, toppings will make or break a burger. The list can go on and on.
In my opinion, here is what the perfect hamburger should look like.
A patty that is juicy, but not bloody. For me, just a little pink is perfect.
The patty should be well formed, not too think, and not too thin. About a 1/3 pound is about right.
The meat should be Charcoal Broiled or grilled over an open flame to give it some wood or smoke flavor.
The meat should be full of flavor and life. Not tough and chewy like old shoe leather, but also able to hold its form while eating.
A bun that is different from the norm. Perhaps an onion bun or something else a bit different.
The bun should be large enough to handle the patty, but not too large so that I have to take 5 bites before I even get any meat.
Toppings should compliment the meat. When I take a bite, I don’t want to taste nothing but toppings. After all, it’s called a hamburger, not a toppings burger.
I wanted to spell out my idea of a good burger first, so that you know my expectations. Like I stated at the start, your idea of a good burger might be completely different than mine. Now that you know what my version of the perfect burger is, I can proceed with the review.
“Five Guys Burgers and Fries” is pretty new to the Boise area. They currently have a location off of Milwaukee and are about to open another off of Eagle Rd in Meridian. I visited the location in Boise for my review.
This location is in a strip mall, so the outside is very unremarkable. As soon as I entered, I was accosted by signs. No decorations at all, just signs. It reminded me of that old song. “Sign sign, everywhere a sign, blocking the scenery, breaking my mind….”
To make matters worse, the signage is not even anything interesting. Their walls are filled with marketing messages. “Voted Best Burger”, Best Fries in town”, Best..blah..blah..blah.
How full off yourself, Five Guys!!!
One of the advertisements on the wall says that their hamburgers are cheap.
Really?
Well, I guess it could be considered cheap, if you consider almost 6 bucks for a fast food burger cheap. Id gladly pay this for a really good restaurant quality burger. But for fast food, this is outrageous!!
Even with these price concerns, I went ahead and placed my order for a Bacon Cheese Burger with Jalapeños and bar-b-que sauce. Something of note here is their menu. There is very little on it. Four Burgers (Hamburger, Cheese Burger, Hamburger with Bacon and Bacon Cheese Burger), Fries, Hotdogs and drinks. That’s it!! Not even chicken nuggets or strips for my daughter.
For me, the biggest disappointment, by far, came when I got my order. Five Guys does not use trays for eat in orders. When my number was called, I was presented with a plain brown paper bag with my food it.
I opened the bag and found my burger. It came tightly wrapped in plain aluminum foil. What! No wrapper with the Five Guys logo or some other marketing message on it?
When I unwrapped the burger, I noticed that the buns were smashed down due to the foil wrapping. So it did not even look appetizing. The burger had no Bar-b-q sauce, no Bacon, and the Jalapeños I wanted had become Bell peppers. The patty was in 3 pieces, but otherwise looked ok.
The flavor of the burger was equally lame. This was one of those places where all the flavor of the burger was to come from the toppings. The meat was mostly flavorless and boring. The only real taste I could gather came from the grease that it was fried in.
Next, I came to the fries. Since these were part of the Five Guys name, and they had lots of advertising on their walls proclaiming how good they were, I was excited to try them. We had ordered a large order. The fries came in a large paper drinking cup.
What ever happened to the art of presentation?
They were a natural cut of the potato with the skin on. Signs said that they had been cooked in Peanut Oil, which was supposedly meant to make them extra special. Why I’m not sure.
They went limp when I picked them up. When I tried them, all I could taste was grease. Again, it seemed that the fries were meant to be unremarkable. Instead, you were meant to drown them in ketchup or fry sauce and get your flavor there.
I was very disappointed in Five Guys Burgers and Fries. If you are like me and are always searching for a great hamburger, don’t look here. You won’t find it.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
1587 N Milwaukee StBoise, ID 83704-8471
(208) 658-4930
Wednesday, September 2, 2009
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Daves Famous Bar-B-Q/Eagle
Dave’s Famous Bar-B-Q
Dave’s Famous Bar-B-Q opened up off of Eagle in Boise a couple months ago.
It seems that they are attracting big crowds. Though this may be largely attributable to the fact that its just something new. Now, I make it a rule not to write up a review of any restaurant until I have eaten there at least 3 times. Why you might ask? Simple. Good restaurants can have a bad day. Bad restaurants can have good days. Food often varies with different cooks, at different times of the day, and even with they are busy vs. when they are not busy. So I try to go at different times and get the best overall picture that I can.
And with Dave’s, I am very glad that I did. When I first visited, I was very impressed. Our waitress was the best I have ever encountered. She was very warm and friendly and took excellent care of us. Our food was also excellent. But then on my subsequent visits, I started to get a different picture of Dave’s.
Every time I have eaten at this location since, I have been met with nothing but very young less and than attentive or capable wait staff. In fact on one visit, our waiter told us that they were out of straws. After he left our table, we looked over at the bar, and there on the corner was a huge container filled with straws. My wife and I came to the conclusion that the wonderful waitress we had gotten on our first visit was a ringer. Someone with tons experience that corporate probably brought in just for the purpose of opening the new location.
On my first visit, I had ordered sliced brisket, which is my personal favorite. The portions were large, it was presented well on the plate and it was nice and lean. But on every visit since then, the brisket portions were small, it was piled on the plate in unappetizing piles, and it was fatty and tough. Also missing are smoke rings and a black crust. Brisket that has been well smoked should have a brown to black crust. It should also have a reddish area that penetrates the meaty about a 1/4 inch or so.
On one visit, I ordered their Devils Spit Hamburger. First, the good news. This is easily one of the best burgs in town. They are char-broiled 1/2 burgers and they are to die for. Ok, now the bad news. Here is the description from their menu.
"Devil's Spit® Burger Careful, this cow kicks! A seasoned burger slathered with Devil's Spit® BBQ sauce and topped with melted pepper-Jack cheese, jalapeño bacon and Hell-Fire Pickles."
I had eaten this hamburger 3 times now just in case they kitchen had a bad day the first time. But each time I’ve ordered it, it was the same.
No Devils Spit Bar-B-Que sauce was slathered on the bun.
No Hell Fire Pickles. In fact, they are sweet pickles
No Pepper Jack cheese. It was boring ole American
The bacon was hit and miss, but was never Jalapeno bacon. Sometimes it was thick and meaty; sometimes it was thin and bland.
In fact, this cow not only had no idea how to kick, but it didn’t even lift its leg!!! The burger was so not hot, that my wife took several bites. (My wife’s idea of hot sauce is Ketchup).
The ribs are good, but the portions are sometimes small and the flavor just does not seem to linger like good Bar-B-Q should. The sauces are good and well worth a try. Now I do recommend going to Dave’s Famous Bar-B-Que restaurant and trying them on for size. But if its good lean brisket that you crave, you wont find it here.
In my opinion the best overall Bar-B-Q restaurant in Boise is still GoodWood. Hands Down!
Dave’s Famous Bar-B-Q opened up off of Eagle in Boise a couple months ago.
It seems that they are attracting big crowds. Though this may be largely attributable to the fact that its just something new. Now, I make it a rule not to write up a review of any restaurant until I have eaten there at least 3 times. Why you might ask? Simple. Good restaurants can have a bad day. Bad restaurants can have good days. Food often varies with different cooks, at different times of the day, and even with they are busy vs. when they are not busy. So I try to go at different times and get the best overall picture that I can.
And with Dave’s, I am very glad that I did. When I first visited, I was very impressed. Our waitress was the best I have ever encountered. She was very warm and friendly and took excellent care of us. Our food was also excellent. But then on my subsequent visits, I started to get a different picture of Dave’s.
Every time I have eaten at this location since, I have been met with nothing but very young less and than attentive or capable wait staff. In fact on one visit, our waiter told us that they were out of straws. After he left our table, we looked over at the bar, and there on the corner was a huge container filled with straws. My wife and I came to the conclusion that the wonderful waitress we had gotten on our first visit was a ringer. Someone with tons experience that corporate probably brought in just for the purpose of opening the new location.
On my first visit, I had ordered sliced brisket, which is my personal favorite. The portions were large, it was presented well on the plate and it was nice and lean. But on every visit since then, the brisket portions were small, it was piled on the plate in unappetizing piles, and it was fatty and tough. Also missing are smoke rings and a black crust. Brisket that has been well smoked should have a brown to black crust. It should also have a reddish area that penetrates the meaty about a 1/4 inch or so.
On one visit, I ordered their Devils Spit Hamburger. First, the good news. This is easily one of the best burgs in town. They are char-broiled 1/2 burgers and they are to die for. Ok, now the bad news. Here is the description from their menu.
"Devil's Spit® Burger Careful, this cow kicks! A seasoned burger slathered with Devil's Spit® BBQ sauce and topped with melted pepper-Jack cheese, jalapeño bacon and Hell-Fire Pickles."
I had eaten this hamburger 3 times now just in case they kitchen had a bad day the first time. But each time I’ve ordered it, it was the same.
No Devils Spit Bar-B-Que sauce was slathered on the bun.
No Hell Fire Pickles. In fact, they are sweet pickles
No Pepper Jack cheese. It was boring ole American
The bacon was hit and miss, but was never Jalapeno bacon. Sometimes it was thick and meaty; sometimes it was thin and bland.
In fact, this cow not only had no idea how to kick, but it didn’t even lift its leg!!! The burger was so not hot, that my wife took several bites. (My wife’s idea of hot sauce is Ketchup).
The ribs are good, but the portions are sometimes small and the flavor just does not seem to linger like good Bar-B-Q should. The sauces are good and well worth a try. Now I do recommend going to Dave’s Famous Bar-B-Que restaurant and trying them on for size. But if its good lean brisket that you crave, you wont find it here.
In my opinion the best overall Bar-B-Q restaurant in Boise is still GoodWood. Hands Down!
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