"A Burger from Five Guys" by Elena Goodrow

Earlier this week I was craving a burger and fries from Five Guys. If you aren’t familiar with it, Five Guys is a quick service restaurant specializing in their delicious burgers and fresh french fries. I grew up going to Five Guys with my family, fast food was a great option for our family of six when Mom and Dad had a long day. Five Guys has the convenience of fast food, but still has a fantastic high quality taste. Now if you’re thinking, “This is so random Elena, where are you going with this?” I don’t blame you. This might be the most random topic I’ve come up with, but there is a point so don’t worry.

Five Guys is where I ate my first ever cheeseburger, and it was a big occasion. For the first 7 years of my life I refused to eat a burger. I honestly don’t remember why, but for whatever reason I thought they were gross. My parents constantly tried to convince me to try a bite of their burgers but I was very adamant. I was a chicken nugget girl through and through… I still am to be honest. One day my Dad took me to Five Guys and said I HAD to try a burger. He said it would be delicious and I did not believe him. I loved Five Guys fries, so I agreed to go anyway. Five Guys fries are legendary, if you haven’t had the chance to try them I would highly recommend it. They serve their fries inside of a cup, and that cup is placed inside of a brown paper bag. They fill the cup with fries, place it in the bag, then fill the rest of the bag with fries that are spilling out around the cup. It’s amazing. Anyways, there I was at Five Guys with my Dad. He ordered me a kids cheese burger. I sat there staring at the burger and staring at him. He said I only had to take one bite, that was all. If I didn’t like it I didn’t have to eat it. I slowly took one VERY small bite… and then another… and another. I looked at my Dad with wide eyes, “Dad, this burger is delicious.” “See! I told you so!” I then devoured the entire thing, along with my bag of fries. After 7 years of life I could finally say that I liked burgers. 

That story is very silly, but I’m being completely serious when I say I think of that day every time I eat a burger. It was a fun day I got to spend with my Dad, having a nice lunch just the two of us. I look back and laugh at how adamant he was about getting me to try a burger. I’m glad he convinced me to try it, and now Five Guys will always be special. It’s where my Dad helped me accept the glory of cheeseburgers into my life. Not to be dramatic, but those burgers are so good.

As the years went on, going to Five Guys became a beloved family activity. We would all enjoy our burgers and inhale those scrumptious fries. They also serve peanuts to snack on while you’re waiting for them to cook your food, which is the perfect addition. They even had a Coca-Cola freestyle machine, which has unlimited kinds of sodas and flavor combinations. After we finished our meal, we would play a game where one person would go pick a random drink with a flavor and everyone would try to guess. Examples are grape root beer, vanilla Fanta, raspberry lime Coke, and more. We would sip on the drinks, make wild guesses, and laugh endlessly. 

While I was sitting at home craving a Five Guys burger, I thought back to all these memories with my family. We loved going to Five Guys and it was always a special time together. I treasure those small moments with my family, inhaling fries, and drinking weird sodas. When I think back to my childhood and growing up with my siblings, our meals at Five Guys are the first thing that comes to mind. It just goes to show that joy and connection can come from anything in life. You don’t have to eat at fancy restaurants or travel to special places. Irreplaceable moments with your family can just come from the burger joint down the street. Don’t take any moment for granted, because 10 years later you’ll be looking back at how special it was.