About this episode

The episode reviews Smashburger's offerings and compares them to Five Guys in a food competition context.

🍔🥔 Smashburger Review: Incredible Hot Tots, Garlic Fries, and the Elderly Invade! 🥔🍔 This week, Bennett Cohen (@bennettrcohen) and I put Smashburger to the Chili's Test. As the No. 7 seed in Septemburger 2026 , Smashburger has a showdown with Five Guys looming in just a couple of months, so the stakes are high. Are they doomed solely by writing a check they couldn't cash (or, SMASH!?). Because these "smash" burgers are not smashed enough to our liking! 🍔 We Review Smashburger's Three Entrants into the Septemburger Tournament 🥔 Smash Fries with Garlic & Rosemary Are a Win 🔥 Scorchin' Hot Tots Steal the Entire Meal (They're Not TOO Hot, Either) 🌭 The Americana Dog Has a Fantastic Bun 🍗 Chicken Tenders That Disappoint 🥤 Bennett and I Diverge on the Milkshakes 👴 The Dining Room Has Too Many Elderly People 🍬 Werther's, Gibberish, and Disregarding Social Norms 🤔 The Cashier Asks Me About Myself, Then Walks Away Mid-Answer..??? 💬 COMMENT BELOW: Which chain deserves the edge in Septemburger 2026: Smashburger or Five Guys? 📢 SUPPORT THE SHOW & JOIN THE COMMUNITY: 🎉 Patreon (Bonus episodes, extended Yelp segments & more): patreon.com/finediningpodcast 💬 Discord (Food talk…

People in this episode

Host: Michael Ornelas

Guest: Bennett Cohen

Topics covered

• Smashburger review
• food competition
• Septemburger tournament
• restaurant experience
• guest commentary

Keywords

• Smashburger
• Five Guys
• food review
• Septemburger
• hot tots
• garlic fries
• milkshakes
• restaurant experience

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Smashburger, Five Guys, Chili's

Products: Smash Fries with Garlic & Rosemary, Scorchin' Hot Tots, Americana Dog, Chicken Tenders, Milkshakes

More episodes of "Fine" Dining

• Raising Cane's: Reviewing the Whole Menu, the Insane Drive-Thru, & No Knives! · July 15, 2026 · 51 min
• Raising Cane's: Named After a Dog, Assumed to Fail, and Post Malone · July 8, 2026 · 40 min
• Smashburger Comes From Fast Food Royalty · June 24, 2026 · 45 min
• Fazoli's: Mom's Spaghetti, GOATed Breadsticks, and Sh*tting with my Shirt Off · June 17, 2026 · 60 min
• Fazoli's: Fast Food Italian, Wayne Gretzky, and a Roving Breadstick Bus · June 10, 2026 · 42 min
• MOOYAH: Eat Here ASAP · June 3, 2026 · 41 min

Explore listener stats, chart rankings, contacts and more on the "Fine" Dining podcast page.