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I tried this place today and asked for the burger salted and from scratch medium rare. Waiter says "We don't salt". OK. Comes back TWO MINUTES later with a dry grayish burger. I don't think it was made from scratch. It was 1130am and there were 10 people in there. The service seemed more FU than NY Sweet and Sour.

Lettuce? Whaddya, crazy? Why? It adds nothing. Maybe some arugula (strong flavor) under the burger if you need a built-in salad, but plain old lettuce would just disappear.

But tomato in the grilled cheeses sounds good. Gotta have tomato on a cheeseburger.

I'm thinking maybe blue and swiss/Gruyère/Comté for the cheeses (one each), if not all extra-sharp cheddar. If using jalapeño cheddar (or better yet, habanero cheddar), only in one sammy, plain cheddar on the other. Otherwise the chiles will overwhelm everything else.

Bacon only if using cheddar. And not too much. Still have to taste the burger. Balance is important.

Lobster roll sliders at Stanton Social!

I will try this place out. Thank you for the recommendation.

My grandmother took me to this place when I was a child in the late 1960s....I had skating lessons at Rockefeller Center and then we always came here for Hot Chocolate and a burger. I thought the swing out trays were so cool! I had no idea it was still there. Thanks for the trip down memory lane, Ed.

@thesnorks: yes, you are the only one who thinks In-n-out is over rated. :)

I LOVE In-N-Out. Always have. Always will.

Five Guys is nowhere in the same league. Not even close.

Am I the only one offended by these being called 'Sliders'? They look like a nice quality burger for sure.
I know that the term 'Slider' has come to mean a small hamburger by most people these days. My understanding of a 'Slider' is quite different.
I grew up with the square, steamed low quality burger with minced onion (you all know the places I'm talking about). While these are tasty & I still get a craving for them sometimes, one trip every 2 or 3 years reminds me of why we call them 'Sliders'; They slide in ya, you get stomach cramps & then you get the poops! 'Slide out!
Not the sort of thing to be proud of.

I think we need to get to Eat Rite for the Slinger on my next road trip - albeit the sliders look DIVINE!!! *mouth watering - ala homer simpson* mmmmm sliders,....good!

I want to eat them both. As for a favorite, well. When I am on the right coast, I'll eat Five Guys, when I'm on the left coast, I'll eat In-N-Out Burger. If I ever get into a situation where I have to choose between the two, I'll just smile and get one from each.

For the 15 years I lived in Southern California, I ate at In-N-Out on occasion, mostly because it was a cult thing. As the chain expanded, and I got older and my tastes got more refined and my wallet got less empty, my interest faded. The burgers were better than McD's and BK, but nothing special. These days, when I treat myself to a burger, I much prefer a thick, juicy, medium-rare cheeseburger with a side of twice-fried fries to any sort of lifeless thin-patty version.

I now live in a Five Guys region of the country and have given them a try. Again, nothing special. Although Five Guys and In-N-Out's burgers are quite different, the two places do seem to me to fall in the same category: burgers that are a notch above McD's and BK but still not worth the calories for a burger splurge.

They are both excellent burgers, although In-N-Out provides a better value. From the value perspective In-N-Out takes the prize. Keep in mind that you can't find In-N-Out in most states, Five Guys is expanding like crazy and good thing, because it is really good.

i've never understood this "either/or" thing with in-n-out and five guys, why there seems to be such a clamor to create a heated debate over the issue...

it's as if you have to like one to the exclusion of the other. why is that? i'm quite happy to be able to have BOTH burgers depending on my mood. they are both good. both different. i feel by choosing one as "better" it implies the other one isn't good. don't feel a need to do that. won't be participating in this poll....

i will say this... i'm not a big fan of the overly aggressive expansion model at Five Guys (opening too many locations to quickly). i think it will dilute the brand and cause problems with maintaining quality control between locations.