Five Guys isn't fast food in the traditional sense - a basic cheeseburger/fries/drink is over $15 out here in southern California, whereas the same at In-N-Out is $6.

But in that market we do have Burger Lounge which goes well beyond In-N-Out's service level. We also have Luna Grill for Mediterranean, similar excellence in service and quality of food.

In-N-Out is fast food. Five Guys and all the other restaurants you've mentioned fall under fast casual.

Right. That's why I said Five Guys isn't, to highlight that they aren't really competitors despite people choosing to compare them.

And more to the point, that In-N-Out is so exceptional in both food and service it can begin to draw comparisons to operations in a higher market segment.

I’ve never had a fast trip to an In-N-Out. Lines are always really long. Quality of their food has gone down hill over the years as they’ve tried to keep up. While it’s not even close to my fave I’d still shove an animal double double down my face so fast...

In the Bay Area, at least, the quality is always the thing I've been most impressed with. The burgers are picture-perfect (like, could be in an advertising photo) every time, and the food is good.

I haven't had such consistent high quality of anything at any other chain.

> The burgers are picture-perfect

Yep definitely going to different In-N-Outs.

They are immensely popular. But drive-thrus are still at the core of their service ever since the first location which was drive-thru only. That's one of many things that can't be said of any of their upscale competitors, hence the fast food vs fast casual.

What? I'm in southern California and a burger at five guys is $5. For another $3 you get a giant amount of fries. I don't see how you get to $15.

Cheeseburger: 7.99, soda: 2.49, regular fries for 4.19 or small fries for 3.29. Either way, that's about 15 with tax.

Yeah, in my experience Five Guys doesn't really compare. They're run well but nothing exceptional.