When Five Guys conquered the world a few years ago they inadvertently started a revolution that I’m sure they never saw coming. If Five Guys was the avant-garde of the high quality fast food burger movement, the rear echelon troops have certainly showed up in overwhelming numbers. And by overwhelming, I mean watch out traditional fast food burger joints, and also watch out mass market dinner houses, because this new genre will give you a battle. The new concept I am describing is the fast service, mid-price, high quality burger and fry, destination restaurant. As you can tell by the recent string of reviews, the space is becoming very crowded. This is good, because as a burger consumer, you can’t have too many great burger places to choose from. While Five Guys came, saw and conquered with a bare bones approach to decorating, and an Orville Reddenbacheresqe philosophy on menu design, the rear guard brings style and variety to the mix. The good news is that all of these places are great, and when compared to Burger King or Chili’s, they are 
positioned to compete fiercely. If you’re willing to spend $6.50 on BK, why not make it $10 for Farmburger? If you’re willing to spend $14 on Chili’s, why not spend less at SmashBurger and get better food? For me, the Plump Plutocrat, it’s a no brainer, which suits my cranial capacity perfectly. I want better food for a few bucks more, OR a few bucks less. Although I find it hard to distinguish a clear winner in the better burger war, I really love Smashburger, Five Guys, Farm Burger, Dunwoody’s own Village Burger, and today’s subject, Burger Fi.
Now that’s a burger!
When Burger Fi, 5475 Windward Parkway West, Alpharetta, GA 30004, http://burgerfi.com/, opened, I was reluctant to add it to the calendar. It just seemed too formulaic. The only reason Burger Fi ever made the list is because its Burger & Sandwich month and I thought it would make a nice addition to the Best Burger Contest. And right I was. We were lucky to get a parking space, and as we walked up we could smell the enticing aroma of burgers
Nice…….
sizzling. It was intoxicating. If they could bottle that smell, just a dab behind a lady’s ears would attract any man. The interior décor is sleek and shiny, with lots of wood, stainless steel and chrome. You order at the counter and get a beeper, which buzzes when your order is ready. Speaking of buzz, the place had one. Patrons in the order line gawked hungrily as diners came to pick up their trays as their beepers buzzed. Another component of the buzz was the ringing in my ears caused by the noise level in this place. Like so many others, Burger Fi is designed with concrete floor and ceiling, plays noisy, awful music, and is so loud inside that conversation is difficult. Obviously, I don’t fit in the demographic they are trying to attract, but I still love the food.
A BAD burger for Zeke!
We all chose burgers and fries. Well, “Zeke from Tucker” ordered fries but they didn’t show up on his check. His buzzer alerted, and he returned with a Breakfast All Day (BAD) Burger containing a Natural Angus burger, American cheese, hickory bacon drizzled
“Zeke” likes it!
with maple syrup, fried egg, hash browns, grilled diced onions, and ketchup. Itlooked redonkulous, and he immediately reported that it was among the best anywhere. The rest of had the BurgerFi Cheeseburger, a$5.97 Double natural Angus burger, double American cheese, lettuce, tomato, and BurgerFi sauce (a Russian dressing of some sort) and fries or rings. I had the Cry & Fries, which is fries and rings. The fries (and rings) are spectacular here, and are served in portions that are completely over the top. The fries are thick cut from fresh potatoes, crispy golden, and sprinkled with coarse salt, amazing. The rings are huge, light batter fried and could appear on the table of any high end steak house in the country. The burgers were served on a grilled bun, and the
I’ll show you mine….
restaurant’s name was branded into the top of the bun. The two patties were well seared a beautiful crusty brown, the bun light and ethereal, and the toppings fresh. Excellent burger! They also offered custom burgers with a variety of toppings including the usual suspects. The one that really caught my eye was Peter Luger steak sauce. Next time. And there will be a next time. Probably soon.
As the gourmet fast service burger space fills rapidly, let’s share some
Cry & Fry – The Bomb!
observations. As we sat complimenting and comparing, Dear Leader opined that he preferred a more substantial, denser bun. He added that he also preferred a thicker burger cooked to his desired doneness. Personally, I like the innocuous bun as it doesn’t detract from the burger. I also prefer a thick, rare burger. BUT, I consider that a different genre populated by places like Fuddruckers, The Counter and Longhorn. To me, that’s a restaurant burger. “Zeke from Tucker” was mightily impressed with his BAD burger. It’s kind of a throwback, maybe to days at the malt shop, or maybe the drug store soda fountain in Mayberry. The Oracle, who has all the answers, strayed from self-imposed Salad Hell (they don’t serve salads at Burger Fi – gotta love it), and remarked that the burger was great. He also observed that it was so comparable to its peers that it was hard to rank the players. When asked if he enjoyed the overall experience, he enigmatically replied, “it is decidedly so”. He loved the fries. He hated the noise. Ditto. Without jumping the gun to the Best Burger contest, your host, The Beefy Banker, is ready to share some quick thoughts:
Smashburger – Good burger, bad fries, AWESOME chili
Farm Burger – GREAT toppings, best in the business. Good burger and fries
Five Guys – They have fresh jalapenos, and peanuts. Good burger, good fries, but the food is inconsistent, so while it can be great, it isn’t always
Village Burger – Good everything, but also inconsistent – I once had a gray burger there. They failed to get it browned and served it anyway.
Burger Fi – Good burger, GREAT fries, GREAT rings, noisy
The Fat One in Paradise
It’s Burger Month!
Perhaps an Excel matrix would have been easier, and I retain the right to revisit and change my mind. I’m in a quandary as to how Burger Fi totals up on the afatbanker.com ratings scale, so let’s take a look at the balance sheet:
ASSETS: Excellent burgers and fries in a Hi-tech environment. Onion rings to die for (or maybe from)
LIABILITIES: TOO NOISY. They serve water in a tiny cup which is annoying. To all of you who would order water and then steal soda, you’re ruining it for everybody else. Need a smaller portion of Cry & Fry.
NET WORTH: I really love this place, but I also like all of its competitors too. Still, they do a great job doing what they do. I bestow my highest honor, five money bags. The superiority of the fries has stuck with me, so I am also awarding the coveted, the revered, the envy inspiring “Crown Jules” in recognition of French fry excellence. Welcome to Atlanta Burger Fi, I think we’ll be good friends.
For French Fry Excellence, The “Crown Jules”
-afb
I’m Getting Worried About The Oracle…..
Went to Smashburger again last week, and once again, I thought it was a good burger. Nicely crisp and browned. Juicy and flavorful. Good basic toppings. But be still my heart, they’ve removed my favorite item form the menu. Smash no longer serves chili. I thought it was the best fast food chili in the business. It had a deep, defined chili flavor, and who
afatbanker.com 