Five Guys: burgers to please

Five Guys
Bowie Town Center
http://www.fiveguys.com/

I went to bed Saturday night hearing my husband rave about some Mexican restaurant in Baltimore that he had gone to - not once, but twice! - during the day as he helped a friend get settled in his new condo. Burritos... tacos... guacamole... I woke up Sunday morning craving Chipotle. We had plans to do Easter dinner at a friend's house in Annapolis but had to drive through Bowie to stop at my husband's office to pick up his jury summons for the next day. Remembering that there is a Chipotle in the Bowie Town Center, I had a light breakfast of jelly beans and malted chocolate eggs. Sufficiently wired on a sugar high, I could not get us out the door fast enough to begin our drive up route 50 to the MD suburbs.

Arriving at the Bowie Town Center, it suddenly dawned on me that perhaps the owners of the local Chipotle franchise were God- fearing Christians, in church celebrating the resurrection of Jesus, or simply at home with their families doing Easter egg hunts around the living room. My heart started racing as we passed one dark restaurant after another, please be open, please be open and then I saw it. Chipotle. Dark. Chairs and stools stacked on table tops, as if waiting for the school janitor to pass through. My dreams dashed.

Now, with the jelly beans starting to digest leaving my stomach wide open and ready for the next meal, we moved onto plan B. One of the few places open - Five Guys. Well, hopefully they have a guacamole burger.

My one previous experience with Five Guys was at the King Street, Alexandria location about five years ago. I remembered a dingy and dark, grease stained and splattered dive that served mediocre (at best) burgers and wilted fried. But, I was starving, so I was willing to give it another go.

Perhaps I was hungry, perhaps they've improved, because I was pleasantly surprised. The interior was bright and clean and reminiscent of an old soda shop. The selections were minimal - no guacamole here - but a large or small basic burger with or without cheese and/or bacon, accompanied by large or small fries (cooked in peanut oil) and a drink. They also have hot dogs. All toppings are free and you can choose from basic lettuce and tomato, to something more "fancy" like fried onions, jalepenos or hot sauce. I chose a small cheeseburger with lettuce and tomato and a small order of fries. The burger, although the menu listed all meat to be cooked well-done, was juicy, nestled within a perfectly fresh bun. The fries, although still greasy, were more crisp than I had remembered and well-salted, but not overly salty! Free refills on the soda and peanuts to snack on while you wait.

I'm glad I happened upon Five Guys again. It is a nice alternative to fast food and while probably not too much healthier, something about the hand formed patties and being able to see the line cooks at work allowed me to digest the experience a little more readily.

** (out of 4)
20% tip: if you find yourself hungry on a major holiday, you can count on at least five guys to help feed your appetite.