Meal of the Week

Kevin and Joel's Meal of the Week: Five Guys

Lubbock has always come up with a Meal of the Week surprise.

Last year, the no-dessert menu at Spanky's gave us the chance to head over to ColdStone, and on our second trip, Gardski's Loft produced the only dessert of the season that OA photographer and dessert aficionado Kevin Buehler couldn't finish.

This time, Lubbock helped us make history.

Driven by the fan vote to Five Guys Burgers and Fries, Kevin and I slipped into the restaurant at about 5 p.m., right before the rush of customers looking for dinner showed up. And we quickly learned that Five Guys has a reputation. Covering the walls were newspaper comments from papers all over the country. Like the "Willy Wonkas of Burgercraft" nickname the Washington Post tagged on the restaurant. Or GQ's proclamation that it's "The Best $5 Burger A Man Can Eat." According to the Tampa Tribune, "Five Guys Serves Heaven On A Bun."

We didn't want the OA to feel left out.

In the next couple of days, the team of Kevin and Joel plan to submit the following slogan.

"It's like Build-a-Bear meets the backyard grill." -- Kevin and Joel's Meal of the Week.

Five Guys lets you build your own burger. From the basics on up. Talk about having it your way. Eat your heart out, Burger King. And that goofy-looking character with a balloon for a head.

And, as I stated before, Five Guys helped us make history.

For your consideration, we present a couple of brand-new burgers, from the Creative Thinking Dept. here at Kevin and Joel's Meal of the Week. First of all, my own personal concoction, the burger I build every time I have a chance.

The "A" Choice

Coming up with my own recipe for Hamburger Heaven is easy. Take a couple of quarter-pound patties, add cheddar cheese, slather some A-1 sauce all over the whole thing and top the burger off with grilled mushrooms.

Incredible taste. Like the commercial says, A-1 isn't just for steaks. Put it on a burger, and it adds a tangy dimension that everyday, humdrum ketchup can't match. And the mushrooms add plenty of taste, especially when the relatively mild taste of the mushroom is paired with the sharpness of cheddar cheese.

For the record, the sophisticated Google Internet Research Dept. at Kevin and Joel's Meal of the Week couldn't find that recipe anywhere. Back home in Wisconsin, a barbecue sauce, mushroom and Swiss Cheese combo is popular, but nothing like my own personal favorite.

Next time you have a chance, better try The "A" Choice.

The Great White Hope

Kevin kept his burger a little more on the beaten path. Faced with the choice of anything he could want, Buehler simply took a plain cheeseburger, added a heaping helping of mayonnaise, and stuck with the simplicity of that combo.

Fortunately, at Five Guys, a burger doesn't have to be complex to taste good.

Meat shouldn't be that soft. Not like the first bite of a Five Guys burger, in which the burger nearly melts in your mouth, and at the same time pulls off the magic of avoiding "mushy" status.

Not too shabby.

Finding a side for your own burger -- or The "A" Choice, i'm not picky -- is easy. Right from the moment you enter a Five Guys, you're confronted with the potatoes that get sliced every morning for fries, stamped with the location where the potatoes were pulled out of the ground. Most are Idaho potatoes, a phenomenon OA sports editor Chris Gove can vouch for, but we were treated to potatoes from Pasco, Washington, a little closer to the hometown of OA assistant sports editor Craig Craker.

And we'd like to include the rest of the sports desk in this post, but the two California boys are always talking about In-and-Out. Not much in-and-out going on up here this weekend.

Both Kevin and I chose the Cajun fries, a spicier alternative to the classic American version, and neither of us were disappointed. Liberally dusted with Cajun spices, the fries had just enough spice to surprise the taste buds. "And you can taste that it's a fresh potato," Kevin said. "These are some of the best fries I've ever had."

Can't argue too much with that.

Kevin's Dessert of the Week Joel's Drink of the Week

Under most circumstances, the bottom is reserved for the sweet samplings of the dessert menu, provided by OA photographer, dessert aficionado and apple pastry-lover Kevin.

But Five Guys didn't have any dessert on the menu. Kind of disappointing.

On the other hand, Five Guys did serve Gold Peak ice tea, a brand I have to admit I've never tried. As an early converter to the principles of sweet tea once I moved to school in Missouri, I couldn't resist.

And Gold Peak surprised me. Although the tea wasn't dripping with sugar -- like the spectacular Arthur Ray's version I tasted last week -- Gold Peak has plenty of sweet to go with a strong, bold tea taste that had me heading back for seconds.

Of course, I get to spend the game seated up in the press box.

Concerned about his lack of electrolytes, Kevin headed for the Powerade. Mountain Berry Blast, I believe.

"We are headed to a football game," Kevin said.

Only one complaint here. For those fans of bottled water, a 20 oz. twist-off costs $1.79. Come on. It's not like we're buying water in the middle of the Sahara Desert here.

Final Analysis: Five Guys Burgers and Fries

We're only two guys.

That makes us three guys short. But we went anyway.

And I definitely wasn't disappointed. Part of me wishes that some of the smaller burger chains, like Five Guys and Backyard Burger -- a Columbia, Mo. favorite -- had some of the franchise-buying power that McDonald's and Burger King have. 'Cause I might actually stop at a Five Guys every now and then.

Next time you're in the mood for a burger in Lubbock, stop in over at Five Guys.

No matter how many guys you have.