My son ordered his beloved four-by-four, I had a one-patty cheeseburger, my daughter had the double-double, and my son’s girlfriend, who’s a vegetarian, had hers meatless (more tomatoes instead of meat). The four of us received a filling lunch for $22.
I hadn’t realized it before, but In-N-Out only serves burgers, fries and drinks. There are no lattes, burritos, chicken or fish sandwiches, or fake riblets. Looking at the web site, you will see that In-N-Out is family owned and has been in business since 1948. They own their own meatpacking plant which churns out 100% beef patties, use fresh American cheese, slice up all their vegetables in each restaurant, including lettuce and tomatoes, and hand-cut each potato as they are needed. In-N-Out doesn’t employ the use of heat lamps and none of the restaurants have freezers. They make their own buns, too. You can’t argue with freshness like that.
It’s got to be a great place to work, because some employees have been there 20 years. Of course, with a decent starting pay ($10 an hour) and complete benefit package including health, life, vision and dental insurance, 401K, and paid vacations, is it any wonder? I wonder if McDonald’s, Wendy’s, or Burger King can say the same.
I haven’t joined the In-N-Out cult yet, but I’m leaning in that direction.
Article comments
— go to most recent comments1 - El Bicho
Good piece. I am surprised they haven't expanded further but I have to believe at one point it will once the old guard moves on.
I like the fries well done and grilled onions on the double double. In CA, I would personally give Tommy's World Famous chiliburgers a slight edge.
2 - Phillip Winn
Two visits and she's already leaning toward joining the cult: sweet!
It's not just a mindless cult, though. Investigation reveals many reasons for the things you've observed: always fresh ingredients, high pay for employees, etc.
Most of the "old guard" died in a plane crash some years back, so I'm a little surprised they haven't expanded as well. I've read Utah in 2008, but I'm still waiting in Texas.
3 - STM
One thing I really love about America is the quality of the national dish: the hamburger - and especially on the West Coast.
I live in Oz where, as an exporter of top-grade beef to the world, the quality is second to none.
But the trick's in the preparation and the cooking obviously, as the burgers even at great boutique burger joints in Australia, while they get close, just don't compare to places like In-N-Out (and some others).
Americans should really celebrate the glories of the hamburger and give it more kudos than it gets.
When I think about America, the first things that spring to mind are: The Stars and Stripes, old Chevys, chewing gum, over-zealous law-enforcement officers who call your Sir while twisting your arm off, a strange game that looks like rugby with pads and helmets, baseball, hot dogs ... and hamburgers.
I bet that's fairly representative of most non-Americans.
4 - Dr Dreadful
In n Out is pretty good, although I prefer Carl's Jr.
They are a Christian-owned company, hence the Bible verses on the packaging, and are well-known for their good working conditions, which are far superior to most fast-food companies'. They keep their menu very simple, which is how they can serve good quality grub swiftly.
I have to say, though, that if you have irritable bowel syndrome, In-n-Out really does go 'in and out'. My chauffeur discovered this to her chagrin when she picked me up from the airport when I moved to the US, and... well, let's just say there aren't that many rest stops on Route 152 between Gilroy and Fresno, and dry grass is a bit itchy on one's sensitive parts.
5 - STM
Lol. Gluten's a wonderful thing, eh??
That's a sight I don't even want to contemplate Doc. You are lucky you didn't get savaged by a rogue chupacabra. Or maybe the chupacabra's lucky, given what you are describing here.
However, do you think I'm right about this? Good American hamburgers taste like a piece of decent steak if they cooked right, and all attempts to copy them fail miserably.
What about those shockers in England ... Wimpy burgers???
6 - Dr Dreadful
Oh, absolutely. If I were pressed to pick one thing which America does better than anyone else, it would be the hamburger.
Nowhere else even has a clue... especially not Wimpy, which bizarrely is still in business. I remember a visit to Wimpy being a real treat as a kid, because it was the first and only American-style restaurant in Britain. Pity about the plastic food... even that's been bettered now - McDonald's tastes like cardboard.
7 - STM
I like Carl's Jr too.
Good stuff. This is making me want to go to America just for a burger.
Aussie burgers used to be made with about 10 different types of salad included, plus if you wanted, grilled pineapple, bacon and a fried egg (the lot, thanks!)
McDonald's in Australia did an aussie-style one called the McOz, but they didn't quite get it. They added ketchup and a slice of beetroot to the usual salad mix, but it just wasn't great although I know a few people who liked it if they got one fresh.
Consequently, everyone I know went for the usual McDonald's stuff: quarter pounder, double-cheese, Big Mac, etc.
I always asked for my burgers at Aussie burger joints with no beetroot. You do have to stipulate.
I can't understand why anyone would ruin a perfectly good meal by adding a slice of bloody beetroot to it. I am assured that the phenomenon comes from the great Aussie lunch-time salad sandwich or roll, which you ordered fresh. So back in the 1950s, when they got the idea of loading up hamburgers with salad American-style, they kept the beetroot. Yuk. It seems peculiar to this country.
Which is why I love American burgers.
Aussie pizza though ... that's a different ballgame. Italian-Australians tell me Aussies were the first to put 50 different kinds of topping on pizzas, and it's true that we seem to have many more interesting varities than Americans.
Which you've gotta love.
You know it was a good pizza when you wake up with a hangover on a Saturday morning and the roof of you mouth has a little burn on it.
8 - duane
If I were pressed to pick one thing which America does better than anyone else, it would be the hamburger.
High praise, indeed.
You guys are taking about chains. In n Out has a few things going for it. It's relatively inexpensive, the menu is simple, the food is consistent, the employees are the best fast food workers that I've ever seen in action. Downside -- lousy, relatively healthy, harmless, boring fries (although my son strongly disagrees), and (for a price) better burgers are easily available almost anywhere in the state, even Fresno.
The best mini-chain is Nation's, hands down. Not easy to find, however. The best fast food burgers are made at the so-called "Greek joints," like Athens Burgers in my hometown. Those guys can cook. Typical meal for two: one Athens burger, an order of fried zucchini, one gyro, a bowl of chili with cheese and onions, one Coke, one vanilla shake. That can last the whole day. Haute cuisine, folks. About $25.
Damn, I'm getting hungry. I wonder if they're open this late.
9 - STM
Duane,
I loved the food overall in America. You might find the French sniffing at the idea of a genuine American cuisine, but there is one and it IS good. Yes, some of it's not great, but nothing's perfect.
For me, it just dovetails nicely with everything that's good about America ... the main one being that the portions are always generous, which is how I see Americans generally. A nation's food says a lot about a nation.
Which is also why ours in Australia is so multicultural ... a real mix of italian, greek, lebanese, anglo-celtic, five different kinds of asian, etc
Plus the American cultural influence is so strong here, we've got yours too.
It's just not quite as good as it is in America.
Our cars are better though!
10 - duane
Our cars are better though!
Ha! Well, yes, no doubt. Most of the people around buy Japanese cars, and the more well-to-do buy German. Poor me ... I own a Ford ... have owned Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Chrysler. I miss my little Honda Prelude more than any of the others. For one thing, the dashboard was flat ... perfect for stowing my onboard In 'n' Out burger and fries while navigating the highway and listening to the very nice factory-installed stereo system.
Don't see many Holdens around here.
11 - STM
Duane,
The new Holden Commodore is now being exported to the US as a left-hand drive and sold there as the Pontiac G8. It's an all-Aussie design, as GM tasked Holden with its big rear-wheel drive Zeta platform and Holden built the car around it.
Ford Australia pretty much does its own local designs too in a similar vein too ... like the Falcon, which is a thumping big six or V8 married to a rear-wheel drive - the true muscle car, which seems to have died out in the US. I believe the 2008 Falcon might also be exported to the US in left-hand drive.
We love our pick-ups like you blokes, but they're different. We call 'em utilities (Utes, as in Yoots), and they are like the El Camino or Ranchero, the ideas for which were both picked up by Ford and GM from Australia as that's the style of car the farmers have been driving here since the 1920s. the truck-style pick-ups Americans love aren't that popular. We love our V8s with a work-tray.
Toyota also does its own Aussie designs, as what we like is a lot different to what they like in Japan and elsewhere. We like proper cars!
I guess that's where the crossover between the arms of the brands comes in. We get lots of GM and Ford products from Europe too, but strangely, virtually none from America.
However, a couple of American manufacturers are using the fall in the greenback to open markets in Australia, where US-build cars haven't really been seen since the 1960s, and even then ionly in small numbers.
But you will see plenty on the road at the moment, and one, the Chrysler 300C (?), is getting big raps and looks nice too. A mate of mine bought the top-of-the-range wagon and loves it and raves about the quality. And because it looks so American, it's also a head turner.
12 - Joanne Huspek
Thanks for the comments.
It's got to be genius on In-N-Out's part to ONLY serve burgers and fries. That kind of concentration on two products, plus using only fresh ingredients, is probably one reason why it's so popular.
Like I said, I'm not much of a burger person anymore, thanks to health issues. I'm rather alarmed at the entire "grain" fed beef on buns made from the same grain. If I eat a burger these days, I'll choose grass fed buffalo. Better for the heart, and tasty in a different way. I have to admit to regular, fast food hamburger cravings, and In-N-Out seems to be a good alternative.
Too bad they won't expand to Michigan.
13 - Silver Surfer
We'll probably get them in Australia before they get to Michigan!
Geez, we really are the 51st state, even if it's only de facto (and we've still got a proper flag in the corner of ours ... no, wait, Hawaii has a Union Jack in the corner of its state flag, so we wouldn't be the first).
It'd all be good though if Americans didn't speak so funny - you're just so hard to understand :)
14 - Joanne Huspek
Hmm... I always thought of Canada as the 51st state... :-) It could be because I'm so close to it. Although I've heard only great things about Australia, even from Canadians!
15 - Silver Surfer
Canada = America's hat
America = Canada's undies.
16 - Joanne Huspek
;-)
Now THAT's funny!
17 - Phillip Winn
It is true that I've found a number of "indie" burger shops that do burgers proud, but usually at a price.
In-N-Out is more than just the quality of the burgers, though. It really is amazing.
P.S. The problem with the fries is that they're served unsalted. Salt them generously as soon as you get them (while they're still hot), and they're excellent.
18 - Joanne Huspek
I love that the fries are unsalted. The one thing that appalls me about fast food is too much salt. At least since the fries are served unsalted, you can control the amount on your own order.
19 - Ruvy in Jerusalem
I read your well written article, and all the comments through, Joanne, and you certainly did present an interesting picture for this former Burger King manager. I can see why folks come to eat there. The food is fresh made! That immediately gives it about a thousand points over any Burger King anywhere, not to mention the real trash dumps, like Mc&Don's dog food pretending to be a meal.
Hmmm....
File that under finding a good mashgiaH and fresh beef....
I always did want to own a restaurant....
20 - Dr Dreadful
Who knew that an article about a fast food place could generate so many interesting comments?
While it's true that superior burgers are usually not the ones you'll get at chains, because it's the national dish you can get a good one in almost any restaurant (even some 'ethnic' ones!). On the West Coast, Red Robin probably does the best non-fast food corporate burgers. Of the little privately-run places, I recommend Hodad's in San Diego's Ocean Beach neighborhood for a greasy, messy treat that's hard to beat anywhere.
The Aussie obsession with beetroots on everything is famous. I love beetroot so that's fine by me, although I think I've only ever had one such burger Down Under. There's so much wonderful and exotic cuisine to be found in Australia that to settle for a burger just seems... well - chicken.
As for pizza: by far the best pizza I've ever eaten was - believe it or not - barbecued. Last fall we visited a friend of my wife's who lives in the Sierra Nevada foothills just east of Sacramento. Her husband went and bought some freshly-made pizza dough which we rolled out, covered in the toppings of our fancy and slapped on the barbie out on the veranda. Twenty minutes later, a little taste of heaven while watching the sun set over Mount Diablo. Fantastic.
21 - Joanne Huspek
I don't know what a beetroot is, but if it's like Vegemite, I'll pass. Barbecued pizza is another thing altogether.
All this talk of food, is making me... well... hungry. I guess my diet is waiting another day.
22 - Dr Dreadful
Beetroots are known simply as beets in America.
23 - duane
Red Robin burgers. Mmmmm. Oh, yeah. Good call, Dr. D.
Joanne says, The one thing that appalls me about fast food is too much salt.
Never happens. Fries without a ton of salt is like ... like ...
- going to the beach wearing boots
- listening to your favorite CD with the volume set to 1
- driving a 5.0 liter Mustang in the 25 mph school zone
- playing a Stratocaster without an amp
- being a vegetarian at the company barbecue
- visiting Paris and staying inside watching dubbed reruns of Starsky and Hutch on the TV
Well, everything in moderation, except salt on the fries.
24 - Joanne Huspek
Beets like red beets? I like those, but probably not on a burger.
Damn, Duane, you're a salt lover! I'm trying to stay healthy, so I started putting half as much salt and sugar into everything, so now when I eat prepared foods, I can really taste it. I'm sure you'd think it was blasphemous, but I can eat fries without salt!
25 - duane
...I can eat fries without salt!
Perish the thought.
But seriously, good for you. Hang in there. It takes discipline to avoid eating food the way God intended. Heh.
Cars ... burgers and cars. Hmmm ...
Ya know, STM, when I was a kid, there was a TV show called The Green Hornet, which followed in the wake of the Batman series (Adam West as Batman, and Burt Ward as his youthful ward Dick Grayson). Van Williams played the Green Hornet (alias Britt Reed), and an up-and-coming Bruce Lee played his trusty and menacing sidekick Kato. The Green Hornet's car was called "Black Beauty," and it happened to be a Chrysler. I always thought that car was just the berries, much cooler than the garish Batmobile. The Chrysler 300C looks a lot like Black Beauty, and I think I want one. I've never driven one, but they always catch my eye as they blow by me doing 85 (140 km/h) on Hwy 5.