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Burger Face-Off: In-N-Out Versus Five Guys

Julia Hodges |
February 20, 2012 | 3:31 p.m. PST

Staff Reporter

 

In-N-Out Burger (Julia Hodges)
In-N-Out Burger (Julia Hodges)
Five Guys Burger (Julia Hodges)
Five Guys Burger (Julia Hodges)
The heavily debated question: Which is better, Five Guys or In-N-Out?

Loyalists will defend their favorite to the end. Both places pride themselves on using fresh ingredients and never-frozen meat, but these are two different burgers in several notable ways that really transform the taste of each. Both places have fantastic burgers, but personal preference toward factors mentioned below may sway you in one direction.

The Burger Breakdown:

The bun: In-N-Out toasts and butters their buns. The result is a firmer bun that does not get soggy from the condiments. The crispness of the bun complements the juicy burger. In-N-Out brags that their buns are made from white sponge bread. Five Guys buns on the other hand have sesame seeds. They are wrapped in foil, which has a steaming effect and makes the bun softer. The bun tends to fall apart towards the end. 

The burger: Five Guys has a fatter burger weighing in at 3.3 ounces. In-N-Out patties are only 2 ounces, but they are well seasoned and greasier than Five Guys' are. Five Guys burgers use a blend including chuck and sirloin. In-N-Out burgers are all beef chuck. Both companies advertise that their meat is never frozen.  

The toppings: In-N-Out enthusiasts rave about “animal style” burgers, and for good reason. In addition to the regular toppings, “animal style” adds pickles, extra spread, grilled onions and mustard fried onto the patty. The famous spread really makes the burger what it is. In-N-Out also has superior cheese with bright orange American cheese that oozes from the burger. In-N-Out always uses very fresh ingredients like crisp lettuce and fresh tomatoes. However, Five Guys takes the prize for their variety of toppings. Unlike In-N-Out, Five Guys offers barbeque sauce, hot sauce, A1 sauce, green peppers, sautéed mushrooms, jalepeno peppers, and much more. However, all the toppings get squished together when it is wrapped in the foil. 

The fries: In-N-Out’s fries are thin and actually taste like potatoes. They can also be made “animal style” with cheese, spread and grilled onions. Tip: Ask them to melt cheese in the middle of the fries as well as the top. Five Guys offers Cajun style and regular fries. Their fries are thicker and natural cut. Both companies cut their fries in-house every day. 

Burger enthusiasts have pitted these burgers against each other time and time again, yet there does not appear to be a consensus one way or the other. Five Guys has greater variety, but In-N-Out burgers are more about the overall experience of their toppings together. It is hard to go wrong with either of these phenomenal burgers. 

 

Reach reporter Julia here.



 

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