Burger Chat: Five Guys vs. 500 Degrees

If you follow me on Twitter (and if you don't, why not?) you know that on Tuesday I waited in a line for around 90 minutes trying to get a free hamburger. A new place called 500° (they're also on Twitter) opened up in Center City, and they had special promotions running all day. Opening at 11 am, the first 100 people were getting a free burger.

I was number 103, because my alarm went off at 8:30 but I didn't actually get out of bed until 9:30. Since the two people ahead of me left when they found out they weren't getting a free burger, I actually was number 101. So close and yet so far. I couldn't get an entirely free burger, but there was an additional special: buy one, get one free.

A little background: Five Guys Burgers and Fries opened up a Center City location a few years back, and I found myself eating there regularly on Wednesdays when I made my comic book run. They have very good burgers and fantastic fries. However, I had a customer service problem back in July 2008 that was not resolved to my satisfaction, so I haven't been back since. If I happen to be somewhere where another Five Guys is located (such as last year when I found one at Harborplace, at the Inner Harbor in Baltimore -- I was sooooooooo happy that day) I'll eat there, but the Center City Five Guys is off-limits to me. I've missed it.

Then I read this item at philly.com:

Rob and Maggie Wasserman, whose burgers at Rouge on Rittenhouse Square get national attention, are less than two weeks from opening a burger-only shop called 500º at 1504 Sansom St., about four blocks away.

Naturally, much R&D went into the 500º burger. Rob Wasserman explains that they don't want to replicate the Rouge burger, a 12-ouncer topped with Gruyère and caramelized onions and served on a challah roll.

At 500º, chef Matt Zagorski is going with 5½ ounces of beef, also on a challah roll...In sum, the Wassermans are aiming to serve a delicious sub-$6 burger, the culinary equivalent of the 4-minute mile.

Needless to say, I was intrigued. Could this be my replacement for Five Guys?
Well, yes. And no. There are differences between the two.

500º cooks their burgers to order, while all Five Guys burgers are cooked well-done. I'm not sure exactly how many ounces of beef are in Five Guys' burgers -- I don't think there's much more or less -- but the 500º beef is of higher quality.

At 500º you can get a plain burger, cheeseburger (4 different options), a "Classic" (bibb letttuce, tomato and cheese), a "Classic with" (Classic plus one topping -- bacon, mushrooms, jalapenos or grilled red onions; $.25 for additional toppings) or "The 500" (lettuce, tomato, cheddar, bacon and special house sauce). Since I hadn't eaten breakfast and was making it a "pig-out" day anyway (Ben and Jerry's had a free ice cream cone giveaway the same day!) I stayed for the buy one-get one free offer. I chose the "500" cooked medium well and the Classic cooked medium. (I meant to order it medium rare -- I've never had one cooked that way -- but I messed up.) They included a cup with some pickles and mayo inside the bag, and there were squeeze bottles of ketchup, mustard and (I think) mayo in the small seating areas.

Five Guys offers hamburgers, cheeseburgers, bacon burgers/cheeseburgers, "little" versions (one patty instead of two) and any of the following, all free: Mayo, Relish, Onions, Lettuce, Pickles, Tomatoes, Grilled Onions, Grilled Mushrooms, Ketchup, Mustard, Jalapeno Peppers, Green Peppers, A-1 Sauce, Bar-B-Q Sauce and Hot Sauce.

Five Guys also has kosher hot dogs (which can include cheese and/or bacon) and veggie and grilled cheese sandwiches. 500º does not have anything except burgers and fries.

500º offers just one size portion of fries, available in plain, spicy or "truffle" -- I have no idea what truffle fries are. Five Guys has regular and large portions (plain and Cajun), and my judgment is that Five Guys gives you at least as many, if not more, fries in their regular serving than 500º. Five Guys also has regular and large soda, with free refills, and their soda dispensers are in the seating area so you fill your own cup and add as much or as little ice as you want. At 500º there is one cup size (same as Five Guys regular) and the soda machine is behind the counter, and no refills are offered. On the other hand, 500º also sells milkshakes (made with ice cream from a local dairy, Bassett's) while Five Guys does not.

Since I haven't been to the Five Guys here in a while, I'm not sure what they're charging now, but I don't think the price is that much lower than 500º -- their combo meals (burger, fries, soda) run from $9.00 to $9.75 plus tax depending on which burger you get. Add $2.75 to that price if you want a shake instead of a soda. My guess is Five Guys' fries and soda options make their meal a better value, but 500º does have an excellent burger, and those shakes if you're so inclined.

Me? I don't really have a choice until another Five Guys opens in a location convenient to me. 500º it is...but I don't think I'll go every Wednesday.