They've just moved into my area of Greater Cincinnati in the last month.....I believe an offshoot from their previous entry into the Dayton OH market......and I'm wondering if anyone has ever tried one before. While their menu is a little broader, the joint would appear conceptually to be along the lines of Five Guys.
Anyone ever been to Smashburger ??
- Thread starter COOL MAN
- Start date
I've been to one in Vegas. I think Five Guys is
better. They have good milk shakes. I'd eat either, don't get me wrong. It was really good, but Five Guys is the best chain burger I have ever had.
better. They have good milk shakes. I'd eat either, don't get me wrong. It was really good, but Five Guys is the best chain burger I have ever had.
I think Five Guys is fine, but overrated
I probably eat there a couple times a month, and had one today for lunch. Actually, I'd intended to try the Smashburger to which I refer above, but it was WAY too crowded.
Anyway, I think I finally feel as though.....while they make perfectly good hamburgers.....I just don't understand those glittering reviews plastered all over the walls. Just a little TOO greasy even for me, and the buns they use fall apart just a little too easy for my taste (especially when you order a loaded-topping double).
I also consider their fries fairly ordinary; even those with the cajun seasoning (which I should REALLY like). Plus, I don't like their sizing and pricing; I much prefer individual servings rather than those large-enough-to-share servings at inflated prices.
I probably eat there a couple times a month, and had one today for lunch. Actually, I'd intended to try the Smashburger to which I refer above, but it was WAY too crowded.
Anyway, I think I finally feel as though.....while they make perfectly good hamburgers.....I just don't understand those glittering reviews plastered all over the walls. Just a little TOO greasy even for me, and the buns they use fall apart just a little too easy for my taste (especially when you order a loaded-topping double).
I also consider their fries fairly ordinary; even those with the cajun seasoning (which I should REALLY like). Plus, I don't like their sizing and pricing; I much prefer individual servings rather than those large-enough-to-share servings at inflated prices.
Re: I think Five Guys is fine, but overrated
I think Five Guys has really gone downhill since they started franchising. In fact my dad,who has eaten at the orginal Five Guys and loved them, just complained to their headquarters about a really bad overcooked,dried out,stale bun burger he had at their new Ranson location. I think it is hard to beat Cheeburger Cheeburger or Fuddruckers for a quality burger.
I think Five Guys has really gone downhill since they started franchising. In fact my dad,who has eaten at the orginal Five Guys and loved them, just complained to their headquarters about a really bad overcooked,dried out,stale bun burger he had at their new Ranson location. I think it is hard to beat Cheeburger Cheeburger or Fuddruckers for a quality burger.
Didn't Five Guys originate in the DC area ???
In fairness, it's not easy to replicate a specific local dining experience in a national franchise. But, their menu couldn't be more simple, so I assume that helps.
My personal opinions aside, Five Guys appears initially.....by almost every standard I know.....to be a damned popular concept. So, they're obviously satisfying a fair number of people with a "cuisine" that's pretty close to a slam-dunk with the general public. That means it might be a chain with some staying power.
Fuddruckers is/was always a puzzling concept to me. I myself like their food and, in particular, the all-you-can-eat toppings bar.....though I know for a fact that idea just doesn't click with the increasing number of folks with food sanitation concerns. I also wondered from the get-go how much one of their key customer segments.....families.....would really embrace their all self-service concept in what appears from the outside to be a fairly conventional sit-down restaurant.
For all intents and purposes, they're out of business (probably about 5 stores at its peak) in my home market of Cincinnati, and I see shuttered locations rather frequently during my travels around the eastern US. Obviously, it over-expanded a decade+ ago, and has pulled back dramatically. I did notice an open location in Columbus GA when I was passing through back in December.
I'm thinking the Southeast.....and perhaps the Southwest.....may represent the core market(s) which originally put them on the map.
This post was edited on 1/14 9:05 AM by COOL MAN
In fairness, it's not easy to replicate a specific local dining experience in a national franchise. But, their menu couldn't be more simple, so I assume that helps.
My personal opinions aside, Five Guys appears initially.....by almost every standard I know.....to be a damned popular concept. So, they're obviously satisfying a fair number of people with a "cuisine" that's pretty close to a slam-dunk with the general public. That means it might be a chain with some staying power.
Fuddruckers is/was always a puzzling concept to me. I myself like their food and, in particular, the all-you-can-eat toppings bar.....though I know for a fact that idea just doesn't click with the increasing number of folks with food sanitation concerns. I also wondered from the get-go how much one of their key customer segments.....families.....would really embrace their all self-service concept in what appears from the outside to be a fairly conventional sit-down restaurant.
For all intents and purposes, they're out of business (probably about 5 stores at its peak) in my home market of Cincinnati, and I see shuttered locations rather frequently during my travels around the eastern US. Obviously, it over-expanded a decade+ ago, and has pulled back dramatically. I did notice an open location in Columbus GA when I was passing through back in December.
I'm thinking the Southeast.....and perhaps the Southwest.....may represent the core market(s) which originally put them on the map.
This post was edited on 1/14 9:05 AM by COOL MAN
Re: Didn't Five Guys originate in the DC area ???
The original Five Guys opened in Arlington VA in 1986 and was a small hole in the wall place that sold basic quality burghers and hand cut fries to the lunch crowd,at lunchtime people would be lined up to get in. Fuddruckers filed for chapter 11 in April 2010, many were closed and another company later bought the remaining assets. As usually happens both places lost control of the standards that they were founded on as location owners start to stray from the standard as they look to lower labor and material costs.
The original Five Guys opened in Arlington VA in 1986 and was a small hole in the wall place that sold basic quality burghers and hand cut fries to the lunch crowd,at lunchtime people would be lined up to get in. Fuddruckers filed for chapter 11 in April 2010, many were closed and another company later bought the remaining assets. As usually happens both places lost control of the standards that they were founded on as location owners start to stray from the standard as they look to lower labor and material costs.
Re: Didn't Five Guys originate in the DC area ???
Thanks; that's THE first I've heard of Fuddruckers declaring Chapter 11.....though that WOULD tend to make all their abandoned sites a little more understandable. However, the fact that I continue to see them on occasion led me to believe they were merely dialing back.
Those joints grew like weeds back in the late 90's......small wonder they lost the direction of the original concept.
Thanks; that's THE first I've heard of Fuddruckers declaring Chapter 11.....though that WOULD tend to make all their abandoned sites a little more understandable. However, the fact that I continue to see them on occasion led me to believe they were merely dialing back.
Those joints grew like weeds back in the late 90's......small wonder they lost the direction of the original concept.
There was a Smashburger in Ashland, KY in the 80's Not bad, but they were still trying hold on to parts of the old Tastee - Freeze menu, the company which they had split away from.