Jakes Hamburgers - Oakhurst, NJ

[JerzeyShore]

Open only about a week or so Jakes is off to a running start. This Five Guys copycat or just maybe it's the other way around produces a nice hand made double patty burger that is every bit as good as Five Guys. Their fries are good as well but fall short of those long cut,
saturated with peanut oil and well done fries at Five Guys. Jakes on the other hand claims to have a great milkshakes which I did not try.

If you like Five Guys you will like Jakes. A double patty burger, fries and a bottle of water was
$7.90 including tax. Not a bad Friday night dinner for the money. They are located at 1610 Rt 35 South, Orchard Plaza in Oakhurst.

[ellen4441]

Agree with FOOBUC, (one post above mine)
I thought Jake's was decent, but not "wow" enough to make me want to go back..
and now I see that Oakhurst location is closed, anyway...
The fries sucked, IMO.... they tasted like the frozen variety..
Five Guys really had them beat in the Fries department..
(wish Five Guys would add some onion rings, too)

[equal_Mark]

Five Guys fries suffer from the same issues that plague any place that tries to depend on fresh cut potatoes. There are so many variables like the age of the potatoes, time of year they were harvested, starch and water content, humidity, day of the week, emotional issues of those cutting and cooking, etc, etc, etc...

The last couple times I've been there the fries came out crispy and hot, but within 2 or 3 minutes degenerated to the point where they could literally be tied in knots with out them breaking.

[Fiona]

Jake's is not a copycat of Five Guys. Jake's has been here in northern DE for years and years. The burgers are s-o-o-o good! I only let myself have one every year or so - otherwise I would be there everyday! The shakes are good also.

[bgut1]

Passed by Jake's today and noticed that they are closed.

[cantkick]

Too bad but not really a surprise. Bad location.

[bgut1]

I agree. I don't think many people knew they where there.

[foobuc]

i didn't even know it was there until this past Spring. Now that the plaza is getting a facelift i think more people look to see what is in that plaza. I ate at Jake's the one time and thought it was not good enough for me to go back. The place had that greasy burger smell to it and the burger had more grease than taste to it. I prefer Cheeburger Cheeburger,Bobby's Burger Palace and even Five Guys over it

[LEOFONT]

Anytime a fry guy/gal MASHES down on my hamburger, it's my exit time,.....when I learned that 5 Guys mashes, I'll never be a customer......I want A juicy BURGER, NOT DRIED OUT NO MATTER WHAT 5 gUYS SAY

[Phantomgreen]

I really liked the Jakes burger, for what it is. Somewhere between fast food and the gourmet gastropub burgers there was a niche to be filled. I like the actual burger better than a five guys burger, fries not as much, but the black raspberry milkshake was real nice. I had the double with bacon, cheese, fried onions and pickles and it was very satisfying, flavorful and juicy, but not too much of a greasy, horrible mess. Mine also came cooked medium, I don't know if that was a fluke or not, but it worked out good...

[cantkick]

Went there today for lunch. Place was virtually empty. Big plus is eat-in meals served on a tray instead of assuming it's take-out for everyone. Burgers good, but really not quite as good as 5 Guys. Fries only so-so, onion rings pretty good. I had the orange cream shake, which was very good.

Bottom line is if choosing between Jake's and 5 Guys, I'd go to whichever is more convenient. If both in the running, I'd go to 5 Guys.

[Barbarella]

Ok so I had to go and get my burger fix. It was really good. Not Main Street good but good.I had the Big Jake, 2 really hot patties, I added cheese and fried onions. I was told that all the meat had to be cooked well (yuck) but the fellow said he could try to do it medium. It came out somewhere in between. Cost was $7.05 for 9 ounces of meat. Glad I went. Only three tables were occupied while I was there. Need to let others know about the place.

[bgut1]

Barb - Thanks for the report. Sounds good.

[bgut1]

I finally got a chance to try Jake's this weekend. I have to agree with the above posters. The burgers are every bit as good and maybe even better than Five Guys. I will also agree with Jerzey's assessment of the fries. They are frozen (as opposed to FG's fresh cut) and while passable are not even close to FG. Throw in a decent milk shack as well as the plethora of coupons available in Clipper Magazine (not to mention the posted specials i.e kids eat free on Monday and dollar hot dogs during the World Series) and you got a winner. I will definitely be back. Good Luck.

[bgut1]

JerzeyShore - Thanks for the report. I've been looking forward to this place opening up. For those not in the know, this restaurant is located next door to Takara in a former marble/granite countertop shop.