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| - Looking for a great burger in west Durham Region? Don't waste your time reading those arrogant snobs on certain other websites (whose moderators would probably delete this review), just go directly to the Durham Centre in Ajax and go to Five Guys.
Until this New Jersey import came along, the selection in Pickering and Ajax was weak at best. Lots of "meatloaf" style burgers (yuck), the over-rated New York Fries-owned garbage across the street called South St. Burger, etc. Time for the Americans to take the local yokels to school.
If you've never been, note that a regular hamburger or cheeseburger is a DOUBLE, while the little hamburger/cheeseburger is a SINGLE. Unlike a lot of other places out there, toppings are free at Five Guys (other than cheese or bacon). Grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, jalapeno peppers... too many places charge for these. Not here!
I like to order a cheeseburger and have it "all the way" plus jalapeno peppers. Perfect combination, but even with all those extras, the freshness and the flavour of the beef still comes through. Fries are amazing - they're cut in-house, never frozen, fried in peanut oil* and they always dump in more than you order. We ordered "regular" fries, there was a box with the fries in it, and as many fries that were in the box, scattered on the bottom of the bag!!
Another tip - always check the whiteboard on the wall near the cash registers, which tells you which farm the potatoes being used for today's fries came from. In Canadian locations, more often than not you'll see Cavendish Farms, PEI up there - same generic taters as you can buy at any Loblaws. But if you see an IDAHO farm listed, you're in for a treat. I find Idaho potatoes much more flavorful than the bland varieties out of PEI, New Brunswick, or Ontario. They have this "earthy", umami taste to them you just don't get in Canadian product.
Worth noting, I have seem some staff at this store who were there since Day 1. You don't see that low a turnover at McDonald's...
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