Best Burger Poll: Five Guys #1, In-N-Out #2

Well, well! I have long discussed my quest to find the best burger in the United States on this blog, with reviews of several burger joints found on the food page of this blog. In particular, I have expressed my admiration for the outstanding quality of the Five Guys dining experience as well as the simple, exquisite pleasures of In-n-Out.

A recent survey has concluded what I myself discovered a few years ago: Five Guys is the #1 national burger chain in the country, with In-N-Out a close second.

The Los Angeles Times published the results:

Market Force Information questioned 7,600 consumers, calculated the fan favorite based on total votes and then factored in the number of locations for each chain.

In every region, Five Guys led the list. Overall, In-N-Out was second, followed by Fuddruckers, A&W and Smashburger.

Dairy Queen ranked last in the group of 16 chains considered. Burger King, Hardee’s, McDonald’s and Jack in the Box rounded out the bottom five.

Five Guys ranked best in categories including food quality and taste, service, cleanliness and atmosphere. The only category in which it failed to rank No. 1 was best overall value; In-N-Out won that category.

I've never even heard of Smashburger before, have you? I have tried Fuddruckers ages ago and have seen but never eaten at A&W. What chains do you think are missing from this list?

What's your view on the battle between In-N-Out and Five Guys?