Five Guys "Famous" Burgers and Fries (and Hotdogs)

Their Famous, but Mediocre Burgers

We all know what Five Guys is. It's the fast food place that serves below-average burgers, gives a tub full of fries that can feed a family of four, and offers free peanuts when you go in.

Just by watching them make their burgers, you can already tell it won't be good. They mash the burgers when they're cooking, which squeezes out all its juices. They cook it well done, but that's not their fault. With the kind of ground meat they're getting, they probably have to cook it well done to be safe. Their grilling technique makes their burgers dry and burnt.

Although, some people do enjoy their burgers, and I understand why. You can put all sorts of toppings on it. It adds a lot of  flavor that was lost in the grilling. If Five Guys didn't offer mushrooms, peppers, relish, onions, etc to their burgers, I bet most people wouldn't like the burgers as much. Besides, the star of the burger is the meat. Adding a ton of toppings to a crappy burger is just a coverup.

Another thing I don't like about their burgers is that they're expensive. It costs a lot compared to the other fast food burger places. Burger and fries cost around $8. They're pretty much charging "good burger" prices for a fast food style burger.

Enough Venting About Their Burgers, How are Their Hotdogs?

Besides their "famous" burgers, they serve hotdogs as well. I have heard that their dogs are pretty good. So I had to try them. But are they just overhyped like the burgers?

The Hot Dog

The dog tasted and looked like your average hotdog. They cut it down the middle and grill it on their griddle. They also toast the bun on their griddle.

I'm not sure why they cut the sausage down the middle. Maybe it makes it cook faster? Although I have heard that this makes the meat taste better. I don't know if it does though.

I do like some things about their hotdogs. I like how they grill the franks. That's my preferred way of cooking hotdogs—not boiling them. I also like how the franks are bigger than normal franks. Finally, you can add the same ingredients that you can get with the burger.  And those toppings can improve the taste.

The hotdog at Five Guys wasn't the best I've tasted, but it tasted decent. You also need to eat about 2 of these hotdogs to get nice and full.

I give Five Guys 2 paws up for their burger and 3.5 paws up for their hot dogs. So taking the average, Mr. Kitty gives Five Guys Burger and Fries 3 paws up.

Five Guys Famous Burgers and Fries
www.fiveguys.com

Jim And Nick's BBQ in Smyrna

Jim and Nick's is your standard chain restaurant. It's large, gives you tons of food, the food is average, and are reasonably priced.

First, let's talk about their best item: their cheese biscuits. They are sweet and delicious. I don't like to go to Jim and Nicks, especially when there's 2 other superior BBQ places in the same area, but if I had to go, I look forward to their cheese biscuits. The best part is that they're free. They're probably made with everything people deem unhealthy: cheese, corn, butter, and crack.

Cheese Biscuits laced with crack.

Their fried green tomatoes also get rave reviews. I'm not a big fan of fried green tomatoes to begin with so I didn't care for these. But everyone goes nuts about them. I guess they're good if you like fried green tomatoes. They just taste okay to me.

Fried Green Tomatoes

They sure give you a ton of food for their entrees.  My pulled pork didn't have much flavor. It was also tough and dry. My sides were also on the tasteless side. I wasn't too impressed with my pulled pork plate.

Pulled Pork Plate

Their ribs are the same story. They're drenched in sauce but it still felt tasteless. It also tasted Dry and tough.

Ribs

Even though those two entrees were mediocre, I would like to write about their Pig in the Potato Patch. It comes with a ginormous potato. It was the size of my head. It comes with a mutated, giant potato with tons of bacon, cheese, sour cream, pulled pork, butter, and whatever else you can think of that might give you a heart attack. I like this dish. It was much better than the pulled pork or rack of ribs platters.

Pig in the Potato Patch.

Jim and Nick's is pretty mediocre BBQ place, especially for this area. Like I wrote, you have other better options nearby. I guess you would come here if you crave the cheese biscuits. But that's the only reason to come here.

I would give this place 2 paws up, but I guess the cheese biscuits and the Potato Patch dish might make me want to raise more paws a bit. So Mr. Kitty gives it 2.5 paws up.

Jim 'n Nick's Bar-B-Q
4574 S Cobb Dr SE
Smyrna, GA 30080
www.jimnnicks.com

Australian Bakery Cafe in Marietta Square

Do you guys remember the Foster's Beer commercials? I can imagine that commercial: They show a nice looking pie on the windowsill, cooling. Then some rough looking character takes his bowie knife and cuts it open. We zoom in a see the pie is filled with meat. Then the voice over comes in with a thick Australian accent, "Apple Pie." Then the can of Fosters slams down, "Beer. Fosters, Australian for beer."

Well, if you come here, you get to experience Australian version of pies.  Besides wrestling crocodiles and dodging dangerous spiders size of their heads, it looks like Australians fill their pies with meat instead of fruits. 

Australian Bakery Cafe, like the name implies, is a bakery specializing in Australian baked goods— particularly their famous meat pies. It's one of the few places that I know that serves authentic Australian meat pies. It seems like there's two locations in Atlanta: East Atlanta and Marietta Square. I went to the Marietta Square location. 

The Pies

Their Original Australian Meat pie is just pie crust with ground beef and gravy. It was nothing special. It was just some salty, juicy ground beef in a pie crust. I don't know what the big deal was. 

The Ned Kelly Pie was more interesting since it was an open faced meat pie with a cracked egg, cheese, and bacon baked on top of it. I think it would've been better if the egg was a little bit runny. I thought the extra stuff would add more depth to the pies, but it didn't. I preferred the original Australian Meat Pie. 

Meat Pie and Ned Kelly Pie

Their sausage roll was the same deal. I don't know if it was just me, but it tasted same as the meat pie, except it was shaped differently. Maybe I'm not sophisticated enough to be a Australian meat pie connoisseur.

Meat pie and Australian Sausage Roll

I think this place is okay. I do like the idea of having pies with meat in them. But my experience wasn't extraordinary. If you want something unique for lunch at the Marietta Square, you can try this place. I must warn you, 1 pie won't fill you up. They are small. I suggest you to order something extra whether it be salad or another meat pie if you want to be full. Mr. Kitty gives it 3 paws up.

Australian Bakery Cafe

48 S Park Sq NE

Marietta, GA 30060

(678) 797-6222

www.australianbakery.com/

Chong Qing Hot Pot at the Chinatown Food Court

Chong Qing Hot Pot reminds me how American kids made fun of me in grade school by making "ching chang chong" sounds. Maybe if Chong Qing Hot Pot existed back then, they would've called me Chong Qing Kitty. Or maybe not, since this place hides inside Atlanta's Chinatown, and most Americans don't know this place exists.

I don't like calling it Chinatown. It feels more like a Chinablock. Atlanta Chinatown is just one strip mall filled with Chinese stores and a food court. The food court has some authentic, cheap Chinese places like Top One Gourmet, Yanmi Yanmi, Ocean Garden, Hong Kong BBQ, and of course, Chong Qing Hot Pot.

About 8 years ago, I used to go to the Chinatown food court often. They were cheap and decent. Back then, none of the restaurants offered an English menu. You needed know Chinese, or you wouldn't be able to order. I even learned to say, "san bao fan" at Hong Kong BBQ. And still to this day, even after they put up an American-translated menu, that's the only dish I know how to order at Hong Kong BBQ.

Even after going to the food court so many times, this is my first time I'm trying Chong Qing Hot Pot.

So How was Chong Qing Hot Pot?

Even though they used to only have a Chinese menu, today, Chong Qing Hot Pot offers an English translated menu with pictures—it's the thick book that's sitting on their counter. It's great because of the big pictures. That's a smart move for them with their increasing popularity of Spanish and American visitors. 

Chong Qing Hot Pot looks like a Sichuan place. Some people claim it as the best Sichuan place in Atlanta, not Peter Chang's or Tasty China. Well, that got me curious, and it prompted me to check it out.

Their Many Many Dishes

I got to taste The Beef Noodle Soup. It had thin rice noodles, bok choy, and a ton of beef. The Beef Noodle Soup was okay. It tasted a little bland. The meat was tough, and the noodles felt overdone. I guess it's a decent dish if you want a cheap, quick meal.  

Beef Noodle Soup

Next, I got one of my favorite dishes at Peter Chang's: the Double Cooked Pork. Chong Qing's version tasted okay. It wasn't good as Peter Chang's. Chong Qing's version felt less spicy than what I'm used to.

Double Cooked Pork

The Chong Qing Steamed Pork was a disappointment. It looked good in the pictures, but it was tasteless and too fatty. Okay, so it's pork, so it should be fatty. But it felt like I was eating pure, tasteless fat. I think my problem was that I just ate the meat itself. I think I needed to mix it around and eat it with the sauce and cabbage at the bottom. It doesn't matter, I probably won't get it again.

Chong Qing Steamed Pork

Chong Qing Chicken was better. It was dry and spicy. I felt they over-seasoned it with salt, but I didn't mind. At least that gave it some taste. I liked the texture of the fried chicken. I consider it one of Chong Qing's better dishes.

Chong Qing Chicken

Surprisingly, I loved the Fish in Chili Oil. I actually liked Chong Qing's version than Peter Chang's. Peter Chang's version felt too overpowering with its chili, oil, and spices. Chong Qing's version seemed more subtle. It didn't overpower me. The amount of spices felt just right.

Fish in Chili Oil

Protip: you have to go behind the counter and scoop up your own rice. Besides the rice cooker, there is a big vat of egg drop soup you can get too. It's not the best egg drop soup I've tasted, but hey it's complimentary.

Egg Drop Soup

Conclusion


Just like all the places at the Chinatown Food Court, you can expect average food with great prices at Chong Qing Hot Pot. After eating at Peter Chang's and Tasty China, I felt the flavor and heat were underpowered at Chong Qing Hot Pot.

I don't consider it better than Peter Chang's. I don't know who would say that unless they're smoking some opium. But you do get what you pay for. If you want a low-budget version of Sichuan cooking, try Chong Qing Hot Pot. Mr. Kitty gives it 3 paws up.

Chong Qing Hot Pot
5385 New Peachtree Rd
Atlanta, GA 30341
(770) 936-1379

Rumi's Kitchen

The first thing you'll notice at Rumi's is the valet service. Screw that. Just park your car behind KC Pit BBQ. Sure if you want the ultimate comfort, do the valet. But I just self park and walk a few more feet. 

When you walk in, it looks like Rumi's Bedroom than her kitchen. I kinda liked it. The space was large but arranged in a cramped, intimate style. The atmosphere also felt high class with their folded napkins, silverware, and glasses-not to mention the fancy cars parked outside parked by the valet. But don't let that intimidate you. I slummed it in here before just wearing my shorts and t-shirt. 

Like the other Persian restaurants, before the start of the meal, they give their traditional platter of flat bread, radish, mint, cheese, walnuts, olives, and other Persian-y food pieces. One time I ate at Rumi's, a Persian lady sitting to the table next to me showed me the proper way to eat it. But I forgot how to eat it since I haven't been to Rumi's for so long. I think you wrap the bread in the raw pieces of nuts, mint leaves, radish, etc. But I don't know. I should've asked the waitress.

The bread you eat with the raw veggies, herbs, and nuts. 

For the appetizer, we ordered the dolmeh—rice and meat wrapped in grape leaves with special sauce on top of it. It was a bit messy, but it had a good flavor.

Dolmeh

You can choose among 4 types of meat for the main entrees: beef, chicken, veal, and lamb. The beef dishes are usually good and is usually a safe choice. It's no frills, just seasoned beef with rice. You can't go wrong with that. They season the meat well, the meat is tender, and they also use decent cuts of meat.

Koobideh–I call those beef noodles. 

The lamb shank is a gigantic portion of rice combined with a gigantic bowl of lamb. I thought the lamb was cooked well, and and it tasted good. I like lamb in general, so you can't mess it up too much for me.

Lamb Shank. You can feed at least two people with this.

Close up of the lamb shank's lamb.

Close up of the lamb shank's rice.

Feeling adventurous, we also ordered the Ghormeh Sabzi. Despite its name, it definitely didn't look gourmet. Like the lamb shank, it also came with 2 ginormous plates: rice and veal stew. We didn't like this dish. The veal stew tasted sour. I think that was unexpected. Even Mrs. Kitty didn't like this dish. And she loves sour stuff. She would suck on lemons all day if she could.

It was hard to finish because of the sourness of the veal stew. If you like sour foods, I guess you can try this. I'll just avoid it.

Ghormeh Sabzi—another huge entree.

That lemon does not show how sour this dish is.

I never had dinner at Rumi's; I only had lunch. But it looks like it'll be the same experience. If you like Persian food or want to try it, you should try Rumi's. I've been to a couple of Persian places in the same area, and they're all decent but not spectacular. Rumi's is probably the best out of all the Persian places. Still, however, I don't consider it amazing. It's just decent food. I guess if you want an exotic—yet pricey—lunch, you can try Rumi's. Mr. Kitty gives Rumi's Kitchen 3.5 paws up.

Rumi's Kitchen

6152 Roswell Rd NE

Atlanta, GA 30328

(404) 477-2100

http://www.rumiskitchen.com

Bobby G's Chicago Eatery in Atlanta?

I have never been to Chicago, but I always wanted to try out some of the street food Chicago is known for.  I never had authentic Chicago style dogs in Chicago, but I have had them at other places. So I don't know if I'm a good judge on authentic Chicago style dogs. But I thought Bobby G's made them fairly well. 

One thing I don't like about most Chicago style hotdogs is that they're made with regular sized franks. The bun and the condiments overpower the meat. It feels like I'm not eating any meat at all. Even though Bobby G's offered a nice sized frank, I felt I was just eating the bun and pickles. Maybe I'm just not used to eating hot dogs. But I want more meat when eating a hotdog. 

Not bad, but I want more meat.

So I ordered their Polish Sausage Chicago style. Now that was more like it. The Polish Sausage tasted pretty good. Combined with the tomatoes, relish, pickles, sports peppers, and mustard; it makes a nice and tasty meal.

I forget what brand of Polish Sausage they used, but it tasted good. But the guy who worked at Bobby G's seemed proud of the brand of Polish Sausage they used.

That's more like it. Polish hotdog Chicago style. It even looks better. The better photo does help the look of it though.

I also tried their saurkraut dog. I found it so-so. The saurkraut didn't taste very good. I would just stick with the Polish Sasuage Chicago Style.

Pretty not tasty.

I also tried their authentic Italian Beef Sandwich. They give you a ton of toppings to choose from. I couldn't figure out what I wanted. So the guy at Bobby G's suggested grilled onions, sports peppers, sweet peppers, and their secret au jus sauce. He said those toppings were the most traditional.

Because of the au jus sauce, he warned me it would be hot. Whatever. I can eat Peter Chang's dishes without needing water. After taking a few bites, I must admit, the au jus sauce did taste hot. I'm surprised to say it made me sweat. Overall, I liked their Italian Beef Sandwich. Once again, I don't know if it's authentic, but it tasted good.

Italian Beef.

I liked Bobby G's. Most of the food tasted good, and it's also cheap. You and a date can eat for about $10. It's also set up as a small sports bar. So it's a nice, inexpensive place to come and watch a game.

If I wanted to go to a cheap, decent place to hang out and eat in the Buckhead area, I would go to Bobby G's. It sure beats Taco Mac. I give it 3.5 paws up. 

Bobby G's Chicago Eatery

574 Main Street ne

Atlanta, GA 30324

(404) 841-6670

http://www.bobbygs.com/BobbyGs

Rincon Latino (Latino Rincon in English)

Rincon Latino seems to be famous for their pupusas. Everybody who reviewed this restaurant seemed to talk about the pupusas, so I had to try one.  Rincon Latino makes the pupusas with corn tortilla and stuff it with something. I got the mix pupusa, which had pork and refried beans in it.

I liked it. It seemed a bit small though. When you order one, you just get one. You can't make a meal out of it. I see it as a side dish or an appetizer.

Pupusa–Pretty average

I tried some of their meat dishes–the fish and the pork. They came with rice, some lettuce, and some pieces of tomatoes. The pork came out breaded and fried. The fish came out just fried with some diabla sauce.

They make a decent meal, but it's not something to get excited about. Unless you're a fan of Salvadorian food or want to try out something new, you can get better things for the same price at Buford Hwy.

Carne Adoboda–Pretty average

Mojarra Diabla–Pretty average

I liked their shrimp cocktail though. I think it's their best dish. I love seafood and avocados so how can you go wrong with this dish? The sauce it comes in complements the shrimp well. The goblet is also huge. 

I forgot to take a picture of the Shrimp Cocktail, so I borrowed this picture from Yelp.

The tables–Pretty average

My recommendation is to get the Shrimp Cocktail and the Pupusas. I think I got the most enjoyment out of those 2 dishes. The other dishes seemed just average; so Mr. Kitty gives this place 3 paws up.

Rincon Latino

5055 Buford Hwy NE

Doraville, GA 30340

(770) 936-8181

Peter Cheng AKA Peter Chang AKA Tasty China Version 2.0

Peter Chang seemed like a legendary figure. You would hear about his heroics in the cooking world. He would be cooking at some no-name Chinese restaurant all over the South West, and his fans followed. By the time you figured out where he was cooking, we would've already moved on. It looked like he didn't like the fame and publicity.

Finally, Peter Chang settled at Tasty China. Did he got tired of moving around and decided to just finish his career at a small, unassuming place in Marietta, GA?

Nope, I was wrong. he created his own, gigantic, swanky restaurant with his name attached to it with great fanfare. It was pretty out of character for him. And in a way, I miss Tasty China's humble, hole-in-the-wall-esq atmosphere. Peter Cheng's seems too upscale to me.

He also changed his name to Peter Cheng. I guess that's the correct pinyin spelling. I don't know if that's a good idea though. Everyone knew him as Peter Chang. Maybe it's his way to start fresh in Sandy Springs. Or maybe the restaurant designer spelled his name wrong. 

The Bad Stuff

First, I want to get this out of the way: the service sucks–sometimes. You might get lucky and get someone with a clue, and everything will seem perfect. Or it might be one of those days where everyone is running around with their heads cut off.

One time, I came here with a party of 6 and waited 15 minutes before someone finally came over to give us our waters. We actually had to find someone and tell her that we did not get any service. Obviously, the hostess didn't do her job seating us in the correct place or notifying the servers that we were here. The service didn't get better afterwards. She kept forgetting about us. 

On other days, the server usually disappears.  If you need something, too bad.  You probably have to wait 15-20 minutes until the server decides to reappear again. It doesn't matter if it's busy or not. The service might still be slow.

They need to improve their service. I don't always get bad service, but it happens enough that I notice it. 

Do you see anyone in this restaurant? Look there's even a second floor.

Still empty, yet our waitress was nowhere to be found.

The Salty, Greasy, Unhealthy Good Stuff


Now I got the bad part of the restaurant out of the way, let me write about the good stuff: the food. It tastes incredible.

Everyone loves the Dried Fried Eggplants. It's probably one of their more popular dishes. I agree with the masses. I don't even like eggplant. It doesn't even have any meat on it. And I think it's one of their best dishes.

Dried Fried Eggplant. Very good, even if it's eggplant.

My other favorite is the Mapo Tofu. It's absurdly hot. It's heat has been cranked to level 10. In fact, I like Peter Cheng's version so much, other places' mapo tofu taste bland to me.

Mapo Tofu AKA tofu in chili oil.

I usually try something new when I go to Peter Cheng's. Last time, I tried the Steamed Salmon Sichuan Style. Peter Cheng's fish dishes always come out different than I expect. Well, I didn't expect this dish to come out hot pot style in it's own propane powered pot. 

It was hot, spicy, and yet refreshing. It had a lot of chili peppers and other vegetables. I considered it a nice break from the mapo tofu and other dishes. 

When I first bit into it, the interesting flavors overwhelmed me. At first I didn't know if I liked it. But the more I ate it, it slowly turned into one of my favorite dishes. 

Steamed Salmon Sichuan Style. It kinda tastes like Korean Spicy Seafood Stew, but Chinese style.

There are many other dishes that I like at Peter Cheng's such as the Sichuan Double Cooked Pork, Dan Dan Noodles, Hot Numbing Beef Rolls, Pork Belly with Sichuan Chili Sauce, Beef Tendon with Sichuan Chili Sauce, and others. Even his non-Sichuan dishes taste good such as the Mongolian Beef.

The menus also seems larger than Tasty China's. There are a lot of dishes I haven't tried yet.

Get the white rice, it's the only break you'll get from the heat. 

Some Tips and Tricks

I would recommend you to order the right combination of foods, or you might not enjoy the experience.  If you go with a big group, the better. There's a better chance of having good variety of foods. I would also suggest trying something on the Chef's Specialties section.

One simple thing you want to do is balance out the dried fried foods and the non-dried fried foods. Don't get all dried and fried stuff.  You'll get tired of it fast. There needs to be some variety in the texture of the food.

Also, most of the items on the menu are spicy. So be prepared for a flavor explosion in your mouth. Therefore,  I think it's good to have one of the less spicy or non spicy items on the menu. Good luck finding one though.

Also, most of the items are greasy. So you might crave something more refreshing and light. I would suggest one of the lighter soups. Again, good luck finding something non-greasy on the menu though.

Final Thoughts

This is Chinese food, so expect the food to be oily. Actually, expect the food to taste overly greasy, salty, spicy, hot, heavy, and unhealthy in general. You'll probably leave feeling bloated, with a higher blood pressure, with severe heart burn, and with higher LDL cholesterol. But it tastes so good.

If I want to rate this place solely on food, I would give it about 5 paws. But I can't, due to my experiences with service. They need to improve that so it will be consistently good. For now, I'll give it about 3.5 paws up.

Peter Cheng's
6450 Powers Ferry Rd NW
Atlanta, GA 30339
www.petertasty2.com