Five Guys focus in on the menu

Five Guys Burgers and Fries. Go meat!

Last week, we visited a new vegetarian restaurant in Nashua, so we figured it was only fair to explore the carnivore in some of us. OK, Five Guys does offer a Grilled Cheese or Veggie Sandwich ($2.59) in case, like us, you’re forced to bring a vegetarian with you. But really, it’s about meat, particularly burgers and – although they’re not known for them – some darn good hot dogs.

No nuggets. No fried fish sandwiches. Just burgers, dogs and fries.

And when you only make three or four things, chances are you make them well, and so is the case with Five Guys.

The Table for Twos broke their own rule about visiting a restaurant when it first opens. But since this is a national chain, albeit the first in New Hampshire, we knew they’d have things working like a well-greased machine (no pun intended). And we didn’t want to be the last people on earth to try the new restaurant.

We were right.

Despite the crowds – and we mean lots and lots of people – Five Guys has enough cheerful, hardworking burger Oompa Loompas to pump out high-quality, fresh food with a minimum wait.

And while you’re listening for your number to be called, you’re welcome to dig in to the boxes of salted whole peanuts stacked around the eatery.

The Five Guys chain started in Arlington, Va., in 1986 and now has 450 stores in 30 states. And while Nashua is the first New Hampshire location, another Five Guys is scheduled to open in Manchester this winter.

All the burgers are made fresh each day, and the high-quality beef is never frozen. All burgers are cooked well done, but their claim, and our visit bore this out, is that all the burgers are juicy.

Five Guys’ other claim to fame are the french fries, voted by many a Zagat, and other surveys, as the best around. For New Englanders, think of country fairs where hand-cut Maine potatoes are turned into the hot, crispy, salty fries.

Five Guys makes the fries with peanut oil, which the chain claims makes them tastier.

We don’t know if that’s the secret, but our large order of fries ($3.99) were excellent and plentiful enough to feed three of us with half the bag left over. We love the fact that malt vinegar is offered as a French fry condiment along with ketchup.

We also felt the burgers totally deserve their superlative street cred. Now we know why even the health-conscience Obamas have been known to get their Five Guys fix from time to time.

Mrs. T for T always eats her burgers well done and has taken a lot of flack over the years for it, so she was delighted with the policy and equally delighted that well done is not necessarily synonymous with hockey puck.

As promised, her burger was amazingly juicy without a hint of pink.

She ordered the Little Cheeseburger ($4.09). Don’t be fooled by the name of this puppy. Little does not mean slider-sized. Little means one beef patty instead of two. It’s a substantial burger on a freshly baked sesame seed bun that wasn’t a throwaway but integral part of the sandwich.

With all the burgers you can get as many toppings as you want for free. In fact, on the Web site, Five Guys boasts you can come up with over 250,000 possible ways to order a burger at Five Guys.

Mrs. T for T ordered her cheeseburger (Five Guys uses American cheese) with lettuce, tomato, pickles and mayo.

Mr T for T ordered his Bacon Cheeseburger ($5.29) plain and loved it the way it was.

For the record, toppings also include relish, onions, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, jalapeno peppers, green peppers, A-1 Sauce, barbecue sauce and hot sauce. And, of course, ketchup and mustard.

Both of our burgers were hot and fresh – and, yes, a little messy. Mrs. T for T noticed some telltale spots on her sweater later on.

And even though it’s not what they’ve made their reputation on, we also tried Five Guys’ Kosher Style Hot Dogs ($3.09 for plain, $3.69 for a bacon or cheese dog). Mr. T for T chose relish and mustard (we regret sauerkraut isn’t an option), and Mrs. T for T went for grilled onions and mustard.

We thought these hot dogs were fabulous, served split and grilled with the add-ons underneath the dog, so that they don’t slip off. We liked them as much as the burgers and would be hard pressed if we had to choose between the two.

Our resident vegetarian had two choices, the Veggie Sandwich or Grilled Cheese ($2.59). The veggie is not a veggie burger, but rather a sandwich with as many veggie toppings as the customer chooses and cheese (if you like) served on a hamburger bun, which is usually toasted on a separate grill from the meat.

Junior T for T loved his grilled cheese on the hamburger roll.

For drinks, there are fountain sodas with free refills ($1.89 for small, $2.39) and four types of iced tea. There’s also bottled water for $1.89.

If you want a lot of cozy atmosphere with your burger, you won’t find all that much. The eatery is decorated in austere red and white, and there are tables, bar tables and some outdoor seating, but it’s not really about the comfort. It’s really about the meat. The really good meat. You can always get takeout, but we don’t recommend it. Get ’em while they’re hot.