Since moving to Australia from America, one of the things that I miss the most about my homeland is the sheer volume of fast food chains to choose from. Judge me if you want, but fast food is basically a part of our culture – and as a former Washingtonian, the best of the best is Five Guys. And while Sydney did beat us to the punch by opening two stores across the city in the last two years, Melburnians are finally going to get a taste of the cult-favourite burgers and chips.
From August 8, you can pop over to Southbank to snag the gargantuan burgers and crispy peanut-oil fried chips. Five Guys is known for making everything to order, so you can say goodbye to soggy burgers and fries that have been sitting under a heat lamp, waiting for the next poor sod to place an order. You may notice it's a bit pricier than Macca's, but the serves are generous; even if you order small chips, the bottom of your bag is guaranteed to be filled with loose extras seeping oil onto your bag – gross, but delicious.
The no-frills menu is also highly customisable, boasting more than 250,000 different potential burger combinations and more than 1,000 ways to order your milkshake. I'm no mathematician, but you can likely go there once a week for the rest of your life and never have the same meal twice. If you're not sure where to begin, the classic order is a cheeseburger 'all the way', meaning it's decked out with pickles, lettuce, tomatoes, mayo, mushrooms, grilled onion, ketchup and mustard.
The Southbank joint will seat up to 79 diners and will be decked out in the chain's classic red-and-white décor. And in even more good news, it's set to be joined by other Melbourne locations over the next year.