Diners, Drive Ins & Dives is one of my favorite Sunday afternoon shows on the Food Network. The host Guy Fieri travels around the country to visit the triple Ds that viewers write to him about. Guy quite often seems to end up at burger joints. I love watching him assisting making the burgers and then he gets to taste them. I sit on my couch and think “why can’t there be a great burger joint like that around here?” There are some really good hamburger places in the Portland area but none really close to where I live.
The other day a man in my office was talking about burgers and how good the ones are at Five Guys Burgers and Fries. I asked him what made them so good and he said that the patties have not been frozen, they are hand formed and the fries are really good. Then a couple of other people joined in and raved about the burgers.
So today I drove 7 miles to West Linn where the nearest Five Guys is located. I ordered a bacon cheeseburger with mayo, pickles and grilled onions, a regular diet coke and regular fries.
Was it the best burger that I have ever eaten? No, it was good, the bun was fresh and had just the right amount of cheese. I’d skip the bacon since I didn’t think it added much flavor to the burger. The bacon was pretty thin and maybe a little over done.
Would I drive 7 miles again to eat one of their burgers? No, but if I was in the area I would stop there. The burger, fries and diet coke came to $10. That’s a lot for a fast food lunch. I do have more than half the fries leftover for later though.
I’m not Guy Fieri and this wasn’t Diners, Drive Ins and Dives just in case you got confused ;>)
Jackieinpdx's Blog 
I like that show too. I wonder if he’s done Helvetia Tavern. I wonder if YOU’VE done Helvetia Tavern? Best burgers I ever had were at a drive in place in Akron Ohio called Swensens – I think I remember someone telling me they put a little brown sugar in the meat, but it’s been years since I’ve lived there, so I could be wrong. They were awesome though. I don’t even know if they’re still around.
We have a Five Guys here in Beaverton. I liked it well enough but I’ve only been once and don’t think much about it so I guess Swensens still wins.
It has been years since I ate at Helvetia Tavern. Now that is really far to go for a burger from Milwaukie. If you do a search for “Portland best burger” HT comes up quite frequently. Not always good reviews. Some say it used to be good but no longer.
I think that I am going to have breakfast at Pine Street Biscuits Sunday. Guy visited this place and said that it was “Money”.
I like watching that show also! He has a cookbook out with alot of the recipes from the show, too–I saw it at the library. I think he did a show on a place here in CT that does steamed burgers, but it’s over an hour away–I wouldn’t go that far to try!
I bought a Food Network Chef’s cookbook for a “Secret Santa” gift a couple of years ago. It had a couple dishes by Guy as well as the other more well known TV chefs. The friend who got the cookbook was thrilled.
I would say you wrote a good review for 5 Guys. We have them on the east coast. I think the burgers are good, there are too many fries for one person but great to share. You need to know to order the Single Burger since they start with 2 patties if you dont. A bit pricy for a burger.
I wouldn’t drive out of my way to eat at one. But if one was close by I’d certainly have a burger there.
I like your local Burgerville. I guess it’s just because I can’t get it at home and it’s something different. It’s not spectacular but its a change from home.
Yes, I would never drive out of my way again. In fact on my way to Five Guys I almost stopped at Burgerville instead. But I was on a mission so I had to continue on my journey.There is a high end local grocery store change New Seasons, the butcher there told me that Burgerville uses the same beef they sell and it is primo.
I used to live on the east coast and this family (five guys) started off with a couple of locations throughout the N E Virginia area say Springfield, Arlington. I gotta tell ya that I WOULD drive 10 miles for one of their burgers wit bacon ( we say wit in Philly) I tried to open up one of their franchises in NorCal but was restricted. Happy to hear that they are in OR as i travel here on a regular basis. Sorry to hear that some are not impressed / maybe traveling 3000 miles and becomming a franchised burger joint might have lost sme flavor..
It was good I just want them to open a location closer to home or my work. I have friends from Philly and I watch the Food Network so I understand “wit” :>) In fact two of my friends traveled to Philly for a long weekend from Austin for her high school reunion and the game the other night.
I love the show so much that I made a fan site devoted to Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with
all the locations he’s been. Guy Fieri was nobody to me until I went to the Byways Cafe on a
trip to Portland. I love local food and hate chain food so it was cool to see a show that
pimped small business. Cheers to you Guy and keep up the good work!