Sweet & Meat...mmmm yeah~

Yeah, I've been persecuted for my love for the sweet and meaty combo. Roscoe's is it's own thing. It's not fancy and just because it's in "Pasadena" it doesn't mean it's not "real" either. (some people just get things so mixed up) - - - Roscoe's is pretty pricey. Actually, I don't think I've been to a "soul-food" joint, that wasn't pricey...can someone answer THAT question for me? Anyhow, I've been hittin' Roscoe's way back when it WAS in a highly black and brown populated area of Pasadena (north of the 210). The chicken has always been so salty for me. Then again...MOST soul-food joints are too salty for me anyhow. I could hang but dang...I needs me a pitcher of water every time. The waffles are in a class of their own. Some waffle snobs have dissed Roscoe's waffles yet my buddy's grandmother who is from the south likes them a lot. Not to say that her stamp of approval means that it's the "real deal" or anything...just pointing out that the waffles are Roscoe's and Roscoe's alone. To me...
"their" chicken goes well with "their" waffles. They do a good job marrying. you could not match a "Manekan" waffle with Roscoe chicken...no way. Even though Manekan is freaking delicious. So, you really just have to try Roscoe's to see if your palate likes it or not. IF you do...great! If not...oh well. Onto the next sweet and savory dish! I recommend, Philippine Pan de Sal & sweet maiz ice cream! (bread roll & corn ice cream)

Frexitarian in General Chowhounding Topics

Five Guys vs. In-N-Out

I beg to differ.

FRENCH FRIES an essential side order to a burger.
-FIVE GUYS has a larger, fatter, thicker fries (not steak fries) which is seasoned with a sort of salt, herb seasoning. I actually think some of the cajun seasoning (for their cajun fries) had somehow gotten mixed up with my regular five guys fries. The fries are nice and crisp on the outside and more meaty on the inside. More potato basically with seasoning. The bad thing is that they are really oily/greasy. It was pretty shocking to hear my # called only to arrive to a brown bag that was already 50% oil stained from the fries inside. Though, they do give you a BUNCH or fries. I'm telling you, a huge amount.

In-N-Out fries are smaller, thinner and crispier. Less potato and no seasoning. They give you salt so that you can season it to your liking. They are not oily/greasy. I'm sure they because they are deep fried they obviously have some but to tell you the truth you won't find yourself wiping the oily/grease off your fingers. Also, you won't feel that oily taste in your mouth either.

THE DECISION
I like both FIVE GUYS and In-N-Out french fries but it depends on my mood. Though, I do find FIVE GUYS to be a bit too salty for my taste. I wish there were an option to season them yourself, like In-N-Out. I hate steak fries like those at FATBURGER. Hate them. Too much potato. I rally like McDonald's fries from what I can remember. Haven't been there is like 13 years for anything else but the fries (and an occasional Mcflurry to dip my fries in...) To tell the truth I'm much more into McDonald's fries over FIVE GUYS. I like In-n-Out fries too. Therefore, in this debate, I gotta go with In-N-Out for the fries. I'm one of those people who like the tiny burnt and hardened fry "chips". You know what I mean? THOSE are the BEST!!!

Frexitarian in Chains

Five Guys vs. In-N-Out

THE ESSENTIALS OF A CHEESEBURGER

1) THE BUN
-FIVE GUYS: soft and soggy bread (maybe because of the foil wrapping?)
-In-N-Out: buttered and toasted on one side, soft and fluffy on the other

2) THE MEAT
-FIVE GUYS: HUGE! Lean, well done and hand pressed. Tasty. It's rather breakable and somewhat dry and over powers. Unbalanced. BUT I'm sure there are people that love that about these burgers.
-In-N-Out: SMALLER. Less lean and more juicy. More balanced.

3) THE CHEESE
-FIVE GUYS: Cheese is nice and melted all over the place. It tastes good. It seems to have a less milky and slightly higher water content though. Like "American Cheese".
-In-N-Out: Cheese is nice and melted all over the place. It tastes good. A bit sharper tasting. It seems to have a more milky taste or sharpness. I can't explain it but it can stand alone and on it's own.

4) PRODUCE
-FIVE GUYS: A bunch of different options. You can even get "everything" (Mayo, Lettuce, Pickles, Tomatoes, Grilled Onions, Grilled Mushrooms, Ketchup and Mustard) or "all the way" (Relish, Onions, Jalapeno peppers, Green peppers, A.1. Sauce, Bar-B-Q Sauce and hot Sauce)
I had the "everything". Tomato was bland, Pickles packed a sour punch, I didn't notice the Onions, grilled Mushrooms took over the produce section. It seems that there were a bunch of items that didn't really add to the burger.
-In-N-Out: The basics, Lettuce Tomato and Onions (fresh or grilled). It seems to me that each one of these items are really good quality in that they can stand on their own. You actually taste each item in your mouth.

5) CONDIMENTS
-FIVE GUYS: You can get an array of sauces from the basics of Ketchup and Mustard to A.1. Sauce Bar-B-Q Sauce and Hot Sauce. I only had the Ketchup and Mustard on my burger and it tasted good.
-In-N-Out: They do that "thousand island" type sauce or is it called "russian dressing"? I don't know what they actually call it at In-N-Out. It's amazingly good. Sounds nasty but tastes good. That's another item that stands on it's own. It's tangy yet it doesn't over power the rest of the items. I've had that sauce in other sandwiches and burgers and many times it can overpower everything. I guess some people like it that way though. If that's what you like, you won't find it at In-N-Out.

THE DECISION:
These places are servicing two totally different appetites, taste buds and ideas. They can not be compared to each other at all.

On one hand you have certain people that go crazy for HUGE burgers with mounds of toppings. FIVE GUYS kills when it comes to that. They honestly do. But it's not unique. The meat patties burgers from the commercial chain FATBURGER are also HUGE and cooked well done as well.
The only difference there is that FIVE GUYS offers an array of toppings where FATBURGER doesn't. I'm totally down with HUGE burgers too...sometimes. Other times they can be rather annoying trying to get a good bit in so that I can taste all aspects of the buger at once. In-N-Out seems to fit my mouth just right. I can actually get everything item in the burger in my mouth at once.

As far as the produce goes, it was a no brainer to me. In-N-Out has better tasting produce. Each item can truly stand alone. For example, I could use that crispy iceberg lettuce in a salad. I would use their juicy tomatoes in the salad too. The FIVE GUYS stuff was cool but not as flavorful. Or some of the items i.e. the Pickles and Grilled Mushrooms just over powered every other produce item. The tomato didn't have much taste which is one of the main items I think in a hamburger.

The Cheeses at both places are good. Though because of all the toppings I had on my FIVE GUYS, the cheese was not a stand out but was like a tag-along item hanging out in the background which was hardly noticed unless I made an effort to look for it. I think they should use a sharper more rich tasting cheese if they are going to add so much toppings onto the burgers. That would be freaking awesome! The cheese at In-N-Out is nice and rich but is not so sharp that it overpowers anything. It's just and stands on it's own. I would use their cheese for a grilled cheese or even mac 'n cheese. Seriously.

As for the condiments sauces, In-N-Out puts a basic relish type russian dressing style thousand island thing on theirs. It really adds a certain tang to the burger that is unmatched. FIVE GUYS adds ketchup mustard and gives you other options (BBQ, hot sauce and A.1.) which IMHO, are really strong additions that once again add to overpowering the rest of the condiments, produce etc. The only thing that isn't overpowered is the hamburger meat itself. That things stands alone and pretty much all by itself.

The bun. Here is the final blow. I'm not sure why but I'm guessing it's the foil wrapping that FIVE GUYS burgers all come in. I think the moisture from the hot burger being wrapped up makes the bread-bun soggy. Or it could also be because of all the mounds of produce they put on the burgers or a combination of both. Well, once it's soggy, it pretty much melds into the rest of the burger. It literally become part of the burger. It gets lost in the crowd. It doesn't have a flavor of it's own. The texture is gone. The characteristics of the hamburger gets thrown into a melting pot.
On the other hand, In-N-Out burger buns are have a hint of butter to the top toasted side. You can still feel and taste the toasted buttery bottom portion of the bun when you bite into it. The bottoms buns are even toasty too. While toasty from being grilled, the bready insides are still very soft. Those buns hold their own.

While FIVE GUYS has a "WOW" factor from it being visually appealing and having the ability to essentially build your burger even bigger than it already comes. Yes, it is pretty dang amazing when you open up that foil and see this big huge mess of a burger before your eyes. It also has one of those non-pretentious feels to it which I think attracts a certain crowd which is the same "WOW" crowd as well.

In-N-Out looks plain. It looks like it doesn't really have too much going for it actually. You take one look at it and think, "Dude, that's all? I need to order two!" or "I should have gone to that place that serves burgers and gyros!" BUT once you sink your teeth into it and allow the burger to dance on your tongue...you go into shock realizing that you're actually tasting each item intensely. It's a one of those, don't judge a book by it's cover burgers.

If you just want to be satisfied and you're into a balanced taste and quality of each item, truly In-N-Out wins. But if you want to get full and you're into the "WOW" factor and don't really mind an unbalanced collage of flavors, FIVE GUYS is it! They are BOTH good burgers but are unable to be placed side by side. INHO, they are doing two different burgers altogether. Just because they got some meat and veggies and cheese pressed between two pieces of bread doesn't mean they are actually trying to do the exact same thing. I don't think they are. I think one can enjoy both burgers depending on one's mood.

Frexitarian in Chains