Omar S.
Yelp
Is it just me, or is there a sniff of desperation in the efforts, over the past few decades, of Southern California burger restaurants - Tommy's, In-N-Out, Slater's 50/50, Fatburger, etc. - trying either to surpass or circumvent Five Guys' success?
I'll include Farmer Boys in that list, if only because, according to their website, "...Farmer Boys® was founded in 1981 by five burger-loving brothers...", which sounds to me like Five Guys Burgers & Fries, without the stellar boardwalk fries.
I mean, Farmer Boys' burgers are decent enough - superior to most of the region's faster food places, in fact, but they're just burgers, and the two times I ate at the place, I confronted a bothersome braggadocio in the restaurant's menu and promotional material, an aggressive insistence that I recognize the fact that they've won burger awards (seriously?), and, though it was unspoken, a sort of hint that I was lucky to be there. Again, they're just burgers.
So would I dine at Farmer Boys again? Sure, why not? The food wasn't bad, and if there wasn't a Five Guys nearby and I was hungry for a burger and I had time, I'd drop in.
Would I drive 45 minutes, from the middle of San Diego County to the nearest Farmer Boys, for a burger? Nope. Never again. I mean, c'mon... it's just a burger.