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American chain Five Guys wades into Toronto’s burger wars

Five Guys Burger and Fries in New York’s West Village (Image: Angela N.)

Subway may have just surpassed McDonald’s as the world’s largest food chain, but that doesn’t mean the burger craze is dead. Patty pushers like M:Brgr and The Burger’s Priest have been going gangbusters since opening (the same can’t be said for Oh Boy! Burger Market; RIP), and now there’s a new kid on the block: Five Guys Burgers and Fries, a Virginia-based restaurant chain whose business is sizzling stateside (pun intended). There are already two outposts just outside the city, in Vaughan and Mississauga, and a new location is set to open at 800 Warden Avenue in Scarborough in either June or July.

More akin to The Burger’s Priest’s stripped-down approach than M:Brgr’s upscale effort (their $100 burger is already the stuff of legend), Five Guys offers a bare-bones menu and a wide assortment of toppings for their flat-top grilled patties. Apparently, Shaquille O’Neal and Barack Obama are fans. Curious carnivores unwilling to make the trek to Scarborough can simply wait: a Five Guys spokesman confirmed that locations will open in the downtown core in the near future.

• Five Guys coming to Toronto [Toronto Star]

8 Comments

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  1. Well, Five Guys has been open in Kingston Ontario for awhile!

    March 22, 2011 at 7:04 am | by scot
  2. Good to know, since we live in Gan and haven’t found a good burger spot yet!
    Hopefully they can make rare burgers, instead of the dry, over-cooked ones?
    In Forest Hills Village a restaurant has on it’s menu, a note that states “We recommend burgers well done, but you can have them any way you want!” Seems this gets around the liability legal issue!

    March 22, 2011 at 12:43 pm | by Willard
  3. @Willard – The burgers are, sadly, well done… BUT, unlike most burger joints in the city, they seem to have a beef blend that isn’t absurdly lean — resulting in a burger that remains juicy even at well done.

    March 22, 2011 at 4:16 pm | by Michael
  4. I personally like the BQM on Ossington’s approach where they grind in house their sirloin burger so it can be served medium-rare. I am not a fan of the have your burger burnt to a crisp approach that most joints in this city take.

    March 28, 2011 at 9:32 am | by jason t
  5. I am happy for those people who have to be trendy but great juicy burgers (homeburgers)have been available for decades from Mom’Pop (Greek)restaurants spawned by SNL…my current one is in the Keele/Lawrence mall next to the bank and steps from the LCBO.

    March 29, 2011 at 7:48 am | by WalterP
  6. How about a veggie burger war. No soy allowed?

    March 29, 2011 at 8:36 am | by Ali
  7. Burgers Priest hands down the best no-frills burger in the city. They have nailed it!

    April 20, 2011 at 9:50 am | by Milton
  8. Five Guys is the In-N-Out of the east coast…burgers aren’t supposed to be cute, and these guys do it well. Toronto will get what we know already here in the States. You arent eating a burger to watch your weight…and vegans will gladly avoid this place.;D

    May 16, 2011 at 8:27 pm | by JR

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