As an East Coaster, Fatburger is good and open real late which is massive + points, and I love the jukebox in their Strip location, but In-N-Out is in fact awesome. I think there's something about their cheese that makes the burger so good. I don't think a non-cheeseburger In-N-Out burger would be so good... Oh, and the In-N-Out fries are lame.

I agree 100%. When I moved to LA my friends raved about the place and afer I ate their I felt totally gyped.

Now if you want a great burger try one at the Harley Davidson place on the strip.

The chain is still family owned. It's on the third generation owners now. They pay their employees $3-4 above the prevailing minimum wage and close on religious holidays. They also have bible chapter and verse cited on some of their cups/wrappers/paper products. The founder was deeply religious. As fast food goes, it is my favorite.

For the OP: you have nothing to lose. Just stop by to or from the airport in a cab as suggested. As for ordering off the menu, I usually get mustard instead of sauce.

god, this thread is making me want to go to in-n-out right now

I never knew you could get the burger animal style, I'm such a newb.

Check out this site I just found. I'm SO getting the shake at the bottom next time.

http://www.tiburon-belvedere.com/cgi...cgi?c=In_N_Out

Hyped up because it is the very first burger joint to have a drive thru.

Other things to try on the west coast:

kettle corn
$1 chinese food

This thread really makes me want to go to IN-N-Out Burger!!! Wish they had some in my city

Dang, and I thought I was all cool that time I finished off a 4 by 4, double fries and a shake.



3 by 3 man! And I definately agree with your comment that in and out fries are weak... they need to cure the potatoes properly )good fries don't come from fresh cut potatoes).


Damn I'm hungry... fortunately there's an in and out 3 blocks from my house.


AB

You pretty much HAVE to get a cab back, or some kind of ride - all that greasy goodness comes at the cost of not being able to move comfortably for about half an hour.


AB

I think there's a Fatburger in Vegas too.

Clearly they still take family pride in it, too.

No franchises, they operate all outlets.

And you have a clear view of the food prep. Take advantage, you might be surprised.

Those are not boxes of frozen french fries dropped in oil. You'll see peeled potato going into cutters right in front of you before hitting the fryers.

Same thing with the bags of onions you'll see before they get chopped and thrown on the grill.

You might not think In N Out is the best, but tough to deny it's fresh.

Like a lot of people and I have said, worth a look if you are not living in the Western US with easy access to it.

IN N OUT TRIP REPORT: SATURDAY, FEB 16

I woke up at about 1pm and headed out of the Bay at 2:45 or so, hitting Gilroy in about 40 minutes. I intentionally had a light breakfast of two toasted Eggo waffles and nothing else to ensure that my appetite would be sufficient for the pride of Gilroy: the In 'N Out Burger located just off the exit for Highway 152 West. Sadly, I have never ever seen this particular location not packed when the sun is out given its prime location off Highway 101 connecting the Bay with Monterey, the Salinas Valley, and the Central Coast; 3:34pm this day was no exception.

I strolled up to the counter and after a short wait, the cashier took my order: "Number two, no onions, chocolate shake." Into the computer went the order, and out came my receipt. I still remember the number: 63.

It took a solid twenty minutes or so, but eventually they called my magic number and I sat at the counter to eat. I secretly longed for a bigger appetite so that I might have attacked a collection of animal style fries, but this cheeseburger and regular fries would have to do. The burger was standard In 'n Out fare - usually I get a double double, so I was slightly disappointed by the small lack of flavor in the resulting smaller quantity of food. I was especially wary of the fries given the criticisms in this thread, but after dumping a salt packet on them and adding a small dab of ketchup to each bite I was quite pleased with the quality. McDonald's fries they are not, but what fries are? (OT: the Seventh Street Brew House in Redmond, OR has the best fries I've ever had in my life - unless I'm thinking of the wrong place, in which case sorry to anyone who ventures thousands of miles out of their way to try them) I was quite happy with the quality of this In 'n Out meal.

The nearest In 'n Out to my current location in Carlsbad is a mere 4 miles away, so I will have to take advantage of this proximity sometime soon and provide an update.

OVERALL GRADE: B

I worked a few shifts there a few years back. you hitting up Oceans 11 casino while in the area?

You probably saw in the Ocean's thread but yeah. I might try the Omaha if I get bored with NLHE, sounds fun.

Huh? That's like saying the Venetian is almost as fancy as El Dorado. Don't get me wrong, I like Sonic as a change of pace, but nothing beats a Whataburger for a fast food joint (and yes, I've confirmed with a couple of Texans that Whataburger > In N Out).

Granted, I'll try In N Out next trip just for those animal fries.

A company joke states that the reason the top performing Whataburgers are all located near airports is that Texans flying out of state get their fix before and after the trip.

Who gives a rat what Texans think about In-n-Out? Seems just as biased as asking a couple people from Los Angeles.

Why not ask a traveling salesman or a recruiter - you know, someone that has been all over the country and eats a lot of fast food/airport food?

I went all of last year without eating any meat. I started eating steak and chicken this year. After reading this thread, I got a craving for an In-n-Out burger.

I stopped yesterday at 4 PM nad ordered the #1 combo meal (double-double with fries and a coke). The first half of the burger was fantastic. The second half was kinda gross. I choked the whole thing down and I have had a belly ache since. It's been over 24 hours and I haven't been able to eat anything!

My belly still feels like it does right after Thanksgiving dinner.

I should have ordered it without the secret sauce.

Is this a level? Five Guys fries are consistently excellent because they make them when you place your order, just like the burger, unlike a lot of places where it's hit or miss.

With all this talk, I had to go to Fatburger last night. It painfully reminded me why I go there less than once/year. It is so overrated and over-priced. The burger is a touch beefier than INO, but at 2x the cost, dry as sandpaper and has absolutely no taste. I swear the FatFries are made out of cardboard; no taste whatsoever! The choc shake was pretty good, but not better than INO.

Everyone has their personal taste and for my hamburger money, it's IN N OUT all the way!

One thing not mentioned on this 10-page thread. INO, no matter how far out in the boonies you are or at what time of day, there will be at least 1 decently cute chick working the counter. Don't know why, but go see for yourself.

Beyond the food, INO, as previously stated, pay more to their employees and they actually act like they are having an OK time being there....

This Texan wouldn't put Whataburger above In and Out. Hell, I'd put it below Burger King. It's not much better than DQ.

In and Out is light years beyond Whataburger. Not even a contest. Carl's Jr. is better.

couple INO stories:

1. yeah still family owned and thankfully onto the third generation. the original owners sons were complete ****tards. one of them was a druggie piece of ****. he would go into random INOs late at night and if the 16 year old kid didnt recognize him he fire them on the spot. pretty sure he is dead. family owned yes, but the family really has nothing to do with how its run there.

2. late at night we came up with all types of creations. we made donuts. and sloopy joes(dice up the meat...some chilli peppers, yes INO do have chili peppers..grilled onions.....ketchup)

3. goldberg the wrestler used to come thru every now and then. he drove a classic drop top roadster. his license plate read "whos next". obv. he always got a 4x4.

p.s. if you put a full potato in a fryer for 9 hours....it turns goddamn near black. yes i ate some. yes it was because the cute chick told me too. yes i eventually hooked up with her. the end.

I'm telling you guys, it's the In-N-Out cheese that makes it so good. Without the cheese, not that special. With cheese, the best!

I stopped by In N Out last weekend in Vegas. Double-Double Animal Style. Still pretty good, but really can't hold a candle to Five Guys. Not even in the same league. Of course Five Guys is twice as expensive, if you care. And I do like the In N Out shakes and overall experience. And holy crap they were crowded at like 3 pm. But the burgers are crap compared to Five Guys.