Date Night | Five Guys Burgers & Fries and Gals at Vanish

Date Night was interesting this past week. It had it’s highs and it’s lows, but we managed to keep our cool and enjoy the moment.

I feel a little guilty that I used Date Night to double as a night out on the town. I figured I’d kill two birds with one stone and no one would get hurt. The truth is, no one got hurt, but I ended up looking like an idiot. At least I felt like one. I had decided that for Date Night we’d have a small dinner, after-all we were on a tight budget; and then head over to Vanish Nightclub to support my friend and MomHero Maria who was promoting her business.

First things first, Date Night did have a great beginning as at home before we left the house ;). I think that was the best part. Five Guys Burgers & Fries was our first destination of the evening. We visited Five Guys during our trip to Virginia back in 2009 when a good friend of mine recommended we go there. She said the burgers were to die for! I was pregnant at the time, so the burgers were extra tasty. Since then, we’ve been seeing Five Guys pop up like it’s nobody’s business! It used to be, you could only find them in the East Coast. The best place to compare this joint to is IN N’ OUT!

Here’s what we ordered:

• Root Beer – they served both regular Barq’s and Barq’s Vanilla Root Beer! Yes, I love my Root Beer! Five Guys also has a way cool soda fountain machine that looks like it’s from The Jetsons.
• Cajun Style Fries
• Cheeseburger with “everything”, for Daddy
• Bacon Cheeseburger with “everything”, for Mommy

{The term “everything” includes:  mayo, relish, onions, lettuce, pickles tomatoes, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup and mustard. You can also add additional sauces and toppings for an additional cost.}

So, I take it back, it is hard to compare the two burger joints as each is unique in it’s own way. They are very similar in their own right too, but here are the pros and cons of the burger at hand! I wonder if they have a secret menu too!?

Pros

1. You can put anything you want on the burger
2. They serve peanuts for FREE
3. Both burgers and fries are delicious
4. You can get regular fries OR Cajun fries
5. You always know where the potatoes come from – seriously they post it on a board for all to see!
6. You can order ahead online and pick up at your nearest store
7. They have a community board with 3×5 note cards and crayons for fans to post their, “i was here” note. It’s kinda cool! Here’s the one I did in VA

Cons

1. NO Milk Shakes – ahhhhh….that’s my only complaint!

Tips for dining at Five Guys

1. This place has a lot of hype since it reached us in the west so be prepared to wait in a long line!
2. If you plan on ordering online, download the android app for free on their website!
3. Study the menu while you’re in line and decide on your perfect burger combo before you’re greeted at the register!

Our next destination…After dinner we picked up my sister, Auntie Chica and we made our way downtown. It was a zoo down there, hard to find parking, traffic, you name it, it was the worst night to be down there! After driving around for 15-20 minutes I finally made an executive decision to park in the $20 flat rate garage. Ridiculous! Let this be a reminder that ‘free aint nothin’ free!’ I remembered that lesson a little too late. An evening of Free Fun ended up costing me $36 = $20 parking + $16 for drinks at the club which I might add were not very strong.

Vanish was nice at first look. Beautiful women, handsome men. They seemed to be very tech savvy on top of that using an iPad to check the guest list! I was impressed, until one of the bouncers said out loud that they needed to hold the line to make it look like they were busy. That is not something you say in front of your clientele. We walked down stairs to an empty dance floor. I wasn’t surprised since it was only 10pm, but it was really dead, even when we left at 11:15pm.

We were shown to our VIP lounge, which was quite lavish, bottle service which I thought was complimentary turned out to be $30 per person, so we didn’t touch it (except I did have a glass of soda water). My friend Maria and her husband were great hosts. We got to meet the club owner, Nick who sat with us for a few minutes which was nice. The DJ was awesome, Daddy and I both agreed that he was playing spinning some good tunes. Around 11pm the gogo-dancers made their presence known by dancing and performing their gymnastic moves in boxes in various locations of the dance floor, very sexy. The laser strobes and  fog made you feel like you were entering another dimension. A little too bright for me though.

Of course Daddy didn’t drink, but I really wanted a shot, so I took one with my sissy. I had a Washington Apple, she had a Buttery Nipple and Daddy had some Coke! As I mentioned drinks were not that strong, and the shot glasses were extremely small in my opinion. I read the reviews on yelp and overall, they didn’t have great ratings. Our main purpose for going there was to support my friend. I got to catch up with old friends and meet some friendly people. We left early because we usually pick Pinky up before 12am. Sissy bought us some Starbucks and we were ready to crash! I guess the night scene isn’t for me anymore? Hmmm…I don’t know about that just yet!

Date Night was fun and I learned a lot of things about myself, our marriage and dating itself – that I will post about later. I’m definitely looking forward to our next Date Night!