Cuba and I had only been home for one day. We spent the last week on a "vacation" that left us more exhausted than refreshed and were having difficulty reconciling ourselves to having to run off to Wegman's to stock up the kitchen and (God forbid) cook up something for dinner. Seeing the trip as unavoidable, we jumped in the car and headed off to Dickson City. Then, as we rocketed past TGI Fridays we saw it... the answer... the perfect solution... Five Guys Burgers and Fries!
This was not our first visit to Five Guys, nor will it be our last. The burgers at this place are great. Now I do not want to give anyone the impression that these beauties are going to be anything on the level of a Kobe burger from Coopers, but Five Guys burgers are delicious, fresh, quickly prepared, and they start at $3.29. That, frugal reader, is worth a few bonus points. Judging by the wall hangings in the restaurant, Five Guys has received their share of accolades. This is a chain restaurant and its walls are festooned with laminated newspapers from such exotic locales as Columbia, South Carolina and Wilmington, Delaware declaring Five Guys as "Fine Dining of Hamburgers" and "Best Burger in Delaware" among other achievements.
The menu is simple and satisfying. The burgers come in basically two varieties, the regular size which comes with two fresh, never frozen patties, and the "little", with a single patty. Having chosen a size, one can add bacon and or cheese for an additional cost , and from there on out, it is all about customization with fifteen additional toppings available at no charge. The toppings include the usual suspects plus A-1 sauce, Bar-B-Q Sauce, hot sauce, grilled mushrooms or onions, and jalapeno peppers, to name a few. Rounding out the menu are hot dogs, veggie or grilled cheese sandwiches, and most importantly, wonderfully good french fries. The fries are skin on, cut on site, Idaho potatoes, deep fried in peanut oil and served Cajun style or liberally salted. I am usually a fan of a thick cut, steak fry sort of spud, but these are very good and they come in ridiculously large portions. There are barrels full of roasted peanuts available for snacking while you wait for your order and the soft drinks are refillable. In all honesty, I must report that on a few of our visits to this place, and I do mean just a few, we got overcooked burgers or fries. Also, the service, though usually fine, can be spotty. I do not mean to characterize this as the norm, but I would be remiss not to mention it. I believe that when a person pays less than $4.00 for a sandwich in a place operated by teenagers, that person must have a flexible set of expectations.
I will state clearly that I am not a fan of chain restaurants generally, but Five Guys manages to live up to the hype. Pass McDonalds and Burger King and satisfy your next burger craving at Five Guys.
Five Guys Burgers and Fries
735 Scranton-Carbondale Highway
Dickson City, PA 18519
(570) 941-0113
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