Five Guys vs In N Out

[regexcellent]

I said the environment, not your health. As for apples, they are fine if you rinse them off first.

[snoopy369]

I care about the environment that my food was grown in. That's caring about the environment

I do think you're making a mistake if you think that the organic food movement has not had some effect on the environment, at least in some localities if not globally. Some methods of industrial food production are very harmful to the area; whether that's a priority over food growth of course is up to you (and, in general, unlikely to be a priority for everyone). But enough organic food is purchased nowadays that some areas are markedly different; and while you might claim the 'individual food consumption is not enough to make a difference', you do need a large number of individuals to get a social change (which is clearly what has happened). I think it's bad taste, if not explicitly wrong, to mock people for choosing to do something that really has no negative consequences, and involves them choosing to pay more for a social good, however much good it actually is.

[Dinner]

Yes, caring about the environment in your food choices (or moreover believing your food choices actually affect the environment in a meaningful way) is a hipster phenomenon.

So your claim is companies do not respond to market forces? I see, I think your a fool, but I see your position. Especially since our entire capitalist system is based upon companies responding to consumer demands.

[Dinner]

I said the environment, not your health. As for apples, they are fine if you rinse them off first.

I used to think this and usually rinsing does help but, using the apple example, most pesticides are oil based and rinsing with tap water does next to nothing to remove them unless you're using dish soap. I don't think most people do. A legit case can be made for "who cares as the FDA says it is safe" but there is also a body of evidence which shows even trace amounts in the ppm and ppb do have health effects. Personally, I'm not sure but I'm willing to pay a bit more to avoid the whole question.

http://www.doctoryourself.com/pesticides.html

[snoopy369]

Like I said, it's still a bit of 'maybe', but there is definitely some real science backing up the risk from pesticides, even on washed fruits. Don't forget pesticides aren't water soluble for the large part as a water soluble pesticide isn't very effective when it rains I don't insist on 100% organic anything, but I will buy organic fruit/veggies where I eat the outside (peel/skin) and where it's not too expensive. Whole Foods isn't actually that much more expensive any more, thanks to its scale...

[Ben Kenobi]

Personally, I'm not sure but I'm willing to pay a bit more to avoid the whole question.

I think that pretty much sums it up. I've worked for a health food store. It's a great marketing tool to target folks like you. Just one little word and we can markup everything, and best of all, customers are even happier.

[MRT144]

Whole Food's salad bar is awesome.

[Dinner]

I like their cheese counter too though it isn't cheap.

[snoopy369]

Mmm, cheese.

By the way, I paid explicit attention to the burger construction last time I was at Five Guys. They 'smashed' the burger once, just at the start to flatten it from an initial fatter patty, and then left it alone; that is acceptable, IMO (you do lose some juice that way, but you need some to create that 'fried' taste and texture on the outside; a never-smashed burger isn't quite the same). Definitely not dry, and not repeatedly smashed to cook faster. I couldn't speak to the meat quality, of course; but it wasn't frozen, that's for sure.

The fries were not quite as good as usual, but still decent; usually I really prefer their fries as they make just about the kind of fry I prefer in simple fries (as opposed to batter dipped fries, which are 100% more awesome, but more expensive and harder to find). My wife doesn't really like them because she prefers chewier fries.

[MRT144]

yeah, smashing burgers is legit. Cooking them till they're well done is not.

[Dinner]

Mmm, cheese.

By the way, I paid explicit attention to the burger construction last time I was at Five Guys. They 'smashed' the burger once, just at the start to flatten it from an initial fatter patty, and then left it alone; that is acceptable, IMO (you do lose some juice that way, but you need some to create that 'fried' taste and texture on the outside; a never-smashed burger isn't quite the same). Definitely not dry, and not repeatedly smashed to cook faster.

It's possible this varies depending on location. I gave them three chances, the smashed the burgers each time, and each time I got a dry burger.

[snoopy369]

Your location probably has a lousy chef then Or your tastes just run differently. There's nothing wrong with having different tastes. My preference order is

Culvers
5 Guys
Wendy's

for fast food hamburgers in my area; but I'm sure some order it very differently. Epic Burger runs somewhere in there, but they're only near work and are more expensive (single cheeseburger+fries+drink is like $11.50). The almost-deepfried taste from 5 Guys is very good for some people, but too greasy for others I'm sure. I don't think you should condemn the chain and its adherents as morons, though, simply because you a) got a poor location and b) might not like them yourself...

[MRT144]

It's possible this varies depending on location. I gave them three chances, the smashed the burgers each time, and each time I got a dry burger.

Smashing the burger is fine. But it's the insistence of cooking it till well done that doesn't make sense. Other places do the smashing but just go till medium.

[Addled Platypus]

in n out

extra large strawberry shake for the win

[Dinner]

In 'N Out makes some very high quality fast food but at the end of the day it is still just fast food. On the upside everything is fresh, never frozen, made to order, and even the buns are baked fresh that morning. I also like how they offer numerous ways to customize your fast food but they only cook burgers well done because, at the end of the day, they're fast food and not one of the higher end burger places. That said, it's a hell of a bargain to get a double double still for just $1.85. You can't argue with the quality or the price.

Really INO is just competing with the other fast food places and not the $10 burger joints. I always get mine mustard grilled and order the fries "well plus" so that they're properly crispy without being burned. Their regular fries aren't quite crispy enough for my tastes but well plus does them just right. I like that a fast food place will do that for me because all of the others won't as far as I know.

My usual order is a 3x3 which has 0.4lbs of meat, three slices of cheese, done mustard grilled, fries well plus animal style, and a large chocolate shake which they make using real ice cream. It's a bargain at ~$7.50 when I'm in the mood for a guilty fast food pleasure. I do wish they'd let you double fry your fries as that really is the best way to get them crispy without being over done but as far as I know McD's is the only fast food place which double fries their fries and unlike INO they don't make their fries out of fresh cut potatoes and instead they're hyper processes reconstituted things made out of potato starch poured into a mold. INO has huge 50lb bags of russet potatoes which a pimply faced teen hand mashes in a potato fry cutter.