Our Rating: Shake Shack – B, Five Guys – A

Shake Shack and Five Guys are two burger joints notorious for facing off in the ultimate cuisine combat. Coincidentally, in Miami, both restaurants are housed along US1, only a short walk away from constantly and savagely hungry University of Miami (UM) students. With approximately a mere 528 feet separating the two restaurants, Coral Gables is the prime location for burger battling. It’s time to declare a winner, once and for all, in the definitive better burger restaurant war of Shake Shack versus Five Guys.

Atmosphere:

From Shake Shack’s cool slate, modern façade to Five Guys’ red and white checker-board interior, both restaurants completely own their unique atmospheres. Shake Shack presents a hip ambience from the minute its cold, gray, metal glass door is opened. Contemporary tracks such as MGMT’s “Electric Feel” and Atlas Genius’ “Trojans” stream out of its surround-sound speakers. On the other hand, Five Guys has a more classic fast-food joint feel to it, much like Johnny Rockets, and plays old-school tunes from bands like The Temptations and Frankie Valli & The Four Seasons. Both burger places are also very family-friendly — Shake Shack offers a ping pong table to all its customers and Five Guys posts customer-made drawings on a public bulletin board.

• Winner: Tie

Presentation:

Shake Shack is the obvious winner when it comes to presentation. Serving each of its bodacious burgers in open wax-paper envelopes, ingredients are allowed breathing room unlike in Five Guys’ aluminum foil seal, making Shake Shack’s burgers look all the more appetizing. Shake Shack meals are also displayed on burger-themed mats and trays for eat-in dining and in cardboard-carrying cubbies for take-out, as opposed to Five Guys, which simply throws burgers and fries alike into a greasy brown paper bag.

• Winner: Shake Shack

“Looking at a Shake Shack burger and a Five Guys burger, I would without a doubt dive into the Shake Shack burger first. The way Shake Shack presents its food just makes it look so mouth-watering,” sophomore Jocelin Mora said.

Price:

At Five Guys, you get more burger for your buck. A “little” burger at Five Guys is the same size as the average Shake Shack burger and costs approximately 80 cents less. This may not sound like a huge price gap, but keep in mind that Five Guys has a wide range of toppings that are all free. Five Guys also offers fries for 16 cents less than Shake Shack and free refills on drinks from its high-tech soda fountain.

• Winner: Five Guys

Fries:

Fancy crinkle-cut is no match for Five Guys’ timelessly greasy and salty fries. Shake Shack fries resemble and taste like those from the frozen-food section at Publix. Five Guys flies in its fresh and palatable potatoes from various U.S. farms and makes a point of informing customers where their potatoes were grown that week. In other words, customers can find comfort in knowing they are eating all-American fries with their all-American meal.

• Winner: Five Guys

“No restaurant can beat Five Guys’ fries. But nice try, Shake Shack,” freshman Roberto Nieves said.

Burgers:

Last, but clearly not least, the conclusive burger battle. Though Shake Shack took the presentation prize, Five Guys takes the taste trophy, with its classic, grilled patty. Shake Shack’s burgers are overwhelmed by fancy sauces and toppings that can’t hide the generic, flavorless quality of the dry meat. Five Guys serves juicier patties on classic, soft sesame seed buns. The simpler, the better, Shake Shack.

• Winner: Five Guys

With a score of 4-2, Five Guys emerges victorious over Shake Shack. Five Guys’ classic charm and burger overpowers Shake Shack’s try-too-hard toppings and less impressive patty, earning Five Guys the winning title in the Coral Gables Better Burger Joint Battle.