By Isaiah Bayardo, Courier Staff Writer
Have you heard? Local and national news outlets left and right have reported that Five Guys has passed In-N-Out for America’s favorite burger chain. In-N-Out fanatics are probably fuming in Los Angeles, California, while Five Guys fans in Washington, D.C. are elated. The Harris Pole’s yearly poll, EquiTrend, determines a rank for burger chains across the United States based on “familiarity, quality, and how likely they are to consider purchasing its items.” The poll involves the input of over 100,000 consumers. In-N-Out was at the top of the board for the previous two years in a row. But Five Guys, which has rapidly expanded nationally and internationally, topped In-N-Out. Five Guys started out from Arlington, Virginia in 1986. According to the Five Guys website, they started to expand outside the D.C. area in 2001 and very recently spread to other countries. 68% of the poll respondents said 
they were familiar with Five Guys compared to 48% in 2013. In-N-Out was founded in 1948 in Baldwin Park, California, and has stayed in the West Coast with a few locations in Texas and Utah as well. In-N-Out started the two-way speaker system in a time of car hopping. They opened their first location outside of Southern California in 1993. In-N-Out has 300 locations to Five Guys’ 1,000. Five Guys started out as a regional matter over in the D.C. metro until Barack Obama gave them the spotlight in 2009. Their expansion helped. In-N-Out has never stressed mass expansion because they care about food quality and customer satisfaction which are clearly linked. Five Guys didn’t seem to have a problem with that though. I decided to try for myself which chain was the better chain overall.
I went first to Five Guys in Fremont on Wednesday, May 17 for dinner. It was my second time eating at a Five Guys. I noticed it had a 3.5/5 on Yelp, which was a good sign. I walked in with an uncle of mine and immediately noticed the simplicity of the menu. Just like In-N-Out, an old-fashioned feel was present. Red-and-white checkered designs covered the interior and an open kitchen showed the process employees go through to make your food. Burgers, hot dogs, fries, soda, and shakes make up the menu. I decided to get a simple double cheeseburger with just lettuce, grilled onions, and mayonnaise on it, totally ignoring the hundreds of toppings present. I also ordered their normal fries and a salted caramel shake. Looking at the menu, I noticed that roughly 1,500 calories were present in my order. 75% of the recommended 2,000 calories gone in one big meal. Yum! I ate some of the free and certainly not stolen peanuts from the giant boxes full of peanuts while I waited. 10 minutes later and I took my first bite of my fries, which resulted in a happy rejoice from my taste buds at the freshness and seasoning. The cheeseburger still awaited my wrath. As the burger grew smaller as a result of the eating act that humans perform on food, I noticed the juiciness and great, high-quality taste of the meat. The bun complimented it well in its thickness and size. The cheese was well represented as it should be in any good cheeseburger. The overall composition of the ingredients and the taste meshed well together as I had hoped. The shake was slightly disappointing because it seemed as if they had mistaken my order for a vanilla shake. Oh well. I have always been fond of vanilla shakes. I sat at the table after I was done and felt diabetes and obesity knocking at my door. Worth it!
I then started thinking whether Five Guys or In-N-Out were better. I have been to In-N-Out many times but I still wanted to go again so I could fairly compare. All recent In-N-Out locations follow the same interior design involving their yellow, red, and white colors with the iconic tree patterns weaved on the walls and products. An open kitchen is present behind the registers. It is always crowded (to everyone’s surprise) whenever I go inside or through the drive-thru. I did not go to the restaurant itself on Sunday, May 21, but I did order a Double-Double without tomatoes, cheese fries, and a Neapolitan shake. It was my first time ordering cheese fries because I had not thought of it until I heard of it on the secret menu. I thought the fries suck on their own if they do not have a lot of salt or ketchup on them, so this would be good to a cheese-lover. The menu is known to be simple; burgers, fries, soft drinks, shakes. That is basically it. There are many variations on it including the famous Animal Style sauce. Take a look at the “secret menu” plastered online. A very well-kept secret. My Double-Double was terrible as always. Fresh meat actually hurts the quality of the burger. The fries might have been better if I had them right away because they hardened and stuck together, but it was still better than their plain fries. The shake was awesome! Their mixed shakes always have a spot in my order. 1,500 calories well worth it!
I will compare Five Guys and In-N-Out now. They do have different price ranges. You could buy two Double-Double meals for the same price as one Five Guys meal, but they are the top two on the Harris Poll, so I have to compare. In-N-Out is usually busy and can take as long as 15 minutes to get your order regardless of being inside or going through the drive-thru. It is not a problem considering the food is great. I waited roughly 10 minutes to get my order at Five Guys, which is not bad. It is hard to say which burger is better. I’d say In-N-Out burgers have a great, fresh taste which is great for its price. Five Guys burgers also have a fine taste and high quality, so its price makes sense. Five Guys certainly wins in the French fry department. I have not tried Animal Style fries yet, but comparing their normal fries to each other, Five Guys is the clear winner. Shakes are great. Period. I would have to lean towards Five Guys. It is somewhere you have to seek out occasionally to enjoy a good meal and something you can’t indulge in quite as much as In-N-Out. Therefore, Five Guys has a little more anticipation from me in my opinion compared to In-N-Out.