FiveTen Burger truck was near my work one day and since they are mostly Oakland based, I thought, screw the watching what I eat today and give them a try, so I did.
They've gotten beaucoups of press and positive reviews so trying them to me was a no brainer. Yes, it was one of those--if everyone else says they are good then they must be good. It's a small menu but I decided to go with the grass fed burger and a garlic fries.
I asked for a medium rare burger hold the mustard and pickle with lettuce, tomato, mayo, ketchup, onion, with added on bacon and fried egg. What I got was a well done burger where they left off the mayo, ketchup and pickles and the fries were not garlic'ed up but just regular. I had already gone across the street to the park to sit and eat and didn't want to go back so I'll just go with what I got. While the burger was well done (which I really think is a burger sin), it wasn't totally overcooked, it still had a nice flavor but lacked some of the juiciness less cooking would have afforded it. The fried egg was fried hard so unfortunately I didn't get that nice yolk break I was expecting to add some more flavor and liquid to it. Having the mayo and ketchup would have helped also as the mustard they did put on there was just a dab. The lettuce and tomato were fresh and crisp at least and I did like the applewood smoked bacon which wasn't crisp but it wasn't cold and tough either which I will count as a plus. I did like the bun, sometimes stacked burgers can cause the bun to get soggy and come apart but this held together well and was pleasantly toasted and warm, more plus for this too. It wasn't a terrible burger but I do wish it would have been cooked and prepared the way I asked, definite minus points for this.
The fries were not the garlic ones I asked for but they were hot out of the fryer, crisp on the outside, soft on the inside and salted just after cooking so the it adhered better. But they had some weird slightly burnt after taste to them, almost as if the oil used to fry them was old and needed changing. I actually wasn't able to finish them, kind of a disappointment bummer all around.
Overall, I'm going to say this wasn't a good experience considering the build up. I would like to think maybe they were overwhelmed, but, seriously I was only the 4th person in line and they've been around awhile, thus they should be able to handle any rush that hits them. They sure didn't seem to be in the weeds to me. I'm also going to say that when they packed the order they put the burger at the bottom of the bag and then dumped the fries on top. Personally I'd have preferred it the other way as I wouldn't have had to rip the bag open just to get to the burger.
Would I try them again? Hmm...not sure, I wasn't impressed and there are other burger trucks around that do them pretty well. Maybe if I went back and they actually gave me the order I placed instead of an approximation and a well done burger I'd think about it...but no promises.