I tried 4 different burgers from Five Guys and ranked them from worst to best

Like most West Coast natives, I have fond memories of eating plump In-N-Out burgers from bright-red plastic trays as a kid. And when I moved to New York in my 20s, I made it my mission to try as many of the city's famous burgers as possible — sampling everything from President Obama's favorite burger at Upland to the iconic (and controversial) lunchtime burger over at Peter Luger.

But I knew there was a major void in my burger experience. In my 30 years on this earth, I had never been to Five Guys. And after reading fellow Insider food reporter Rachel Askinasi's extensive coverage of the East Coast-based chain, I knew I had to finally try it.

I was shocked when I counted eight different burgers on the menu, plus the option to add up to 15 different free toppings for the ultimate personalized experience.

What was the difference between a hamburger and a Little Hamburger? What did it mean to go "All The Way"? Should I add bacon?

These were just some of the questions running through my mind as I weighed up all the different burger options. But for a proper taste test, I knew I needed to go all in.

My order included:

1. A classic hamburger with onion, lettuce, tomato, and pickles — I wanted to see how the "Five Guys" patties would shine with just the traditional burger toppings.
2. A Little Cheeseburger with onion, lettuce, tomato, and pickles — I also wanted to see if cheese would elevate the Five Guys patty, and whether the burger size would change my eating experience ("little" just means there's one patty instead of two)
3. A Little Bacon Cheeseburger with lettuce, tomato, onion, and barbecue sauce — I knew I had to try one of the bacon burgers on the menu, and I thought it'd go well with the barbecue sauce.
4. The "All The Way" burger, which includes lettuce, tomato, pickles, grilled onions, grilled mushrooms, ketchup, mustard, and mayonnaise — this menu option is actually considered the Five Guys "standard" for toppings, so obviously I had to try it.

The chain is known for its smashed-style burgers, and Insider's Rachel Askinasi recently went behind the scenes at her local Five Guys to see exactly how the fresh burgers are made by hand and in-house every day.

Askinasi learned that burgers at Five Guys are first broken down into individual handmade meatballs, then carefully shaped and stacked inside walk-in refrigerators (Five Guys never freezes its patties).

Once an order has come in and it's time to build a burger, Five Guys employees work in teams of two to bring it together. One works on cooking the perfect patty, while the other is tasked with loading the buns with toppings and condiments. Dry items (like lettuce and pickles) go on the top bun, while wet items (like grilled mushrooms and grilled onions) sit below the patty on the bottom bun.

And Askinasi learned from Amy Cryzter — the director of training at the Five Guys she visited — that employees are taught a special technique to make sure the buns are perfectly toasted.

"Employees are encouraged to softly place the palm of their hand on the top," Askinasi wrote. "If it feels warm, the bread is likely toasted enough. If it's still cold, chances are it needs more time."

I love that Five Guys offers so many free toppings, but I believe a fantastic burger patty should be able to shine on its own. (Guy Fieri's "perfect" burger recipe, for example, blew me away without any sauce.)

And Five Guys employee Maezion Henix told Askinasi that the chain has one big aim with its burger patties.

"We want our burgers leaking," he told her. "So when you bite into it, it will be satisfying."

Unfortunately, reader, I had the opposite experience.

You know when you bite into a burger that's so juicy you can feel it dripping down your fingers? That didn't happen here. In fact, the patties tasted nearly well-done to me.

I will note that since I was new to Five Guys' online ordering system, which requires you to select every single topping and condiment, I accidentally forgot to get ketchup on my burger — a frustrating mistake that I think contributed to the dryness. But the patties still barely gave me any flavor, and the veggies felt like an afterthought.

And while I had been excited to try the chain's special bread recipe, my burger's sesame buns were already pretty soggy within the five minutes it took to drive home from my local Five Guys.

On to the next one.

As with the hamburger, I kept things pretty classic and ordered my Little Cheeseburger with onion, lettuce, tomatoes, and pickles.

Would the addition of cheese and subtraction of a patty make a big difference in taste? Unfortunately, no.

Unfortunately, my Little Cheeseburger patty was still dry and lacking flavor, and the bread was as soggy as it had been on the hamburger — making me yearn for the pillowy buns I was used to from In-N-Out.

The veggies were likewise a letdown. Since the fresh onions had been chopped up into tiny pieces, they disappeared underneath the patty instead of providing crunch and flavor to the cheeseburger.

It had been quite the rough start to my Five Guys taste test. But everything dramatically improved with my next two burgers.

As a quick reminder, Five Guys' "All The Way" burger features eight toppings total — lettuce, pickles, tomato, grilled onions, and grilled mushrooms, along with ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard.

The "All The Way" option is written in small print on Five Guys' restaurant menus, and I was surprised that you couldn't automatically select it while ordering online. Instead, I had to manually select all of the included toppings and condiments.

It didn't seem like the option got much fanfare. But, after two boring burgers, I had to hope that going "All The Way" might change the game.

The number of toppings in the "All The Way" burger might sound overwhelming, but I thought everything worked together perfectly.

My patty tasted far juicier with the ketchup-mustard-mayonnaise combo. And thanks to the subtle sweetness from the grilled onions, plus the savory umami from the grilled mushrooms, my burger also had way more depth of flavor. Unlike the first two burgers, I was actually excited for each delicious bite.

I could've easily polished off the entire burger, but there was one last order to try. And, thankfully, I had saved the best for last.

My Little Bacon Cheeseburger was simpler than going "All The Way." I ordered it with lettuce, tomato, and onion, along with barbecue sauce.

It may not have had as many exciting ingredients, but the flavors of the Little Bacon Cheeseburger really shined and made me feel like I was eating a truly great fast-food burger.

While Askinasi was behind the scenes at her local Five Guys, she learned that while some condiments — including ketchup, mayonnaise, and mustard — are placed directly on the bun, others like barbecue sauce and hot sauce go directly on the patty.

I think this might be why my Little Bacon Cheeseburger was by far the juiciest burger of the four that I tried. The bacon also added some delicious smokiness that paired perfectly with the cheese and barbecue sauce and gave some much-needed texture with its lovely crunch.

There was just so much comforting savoriness in the overall flavor, and that's something I always crave in a great fast-food burger.

I just don't think Five Guys has a good enough patty to stand on its own. But the chain is smart to offer so many fun and delicious toppings, and I think they really help to elevate the burgers. Plus they're free, so why not have some fun experimenting?

Next time I'll definitely get the Little Bacon Cheeseburger again, go "All The Way," or maybe see what happens when I add some hot sauce and jalapeño peppers.

When it comes to burgers at Five Guys, the world is my oyster.