On Tap

If there’s a better burger place in the world than In-n-Out, I can’t identify it.

I’m in Los Angeles for a client event, and just had the chance to slip over to the Hollywood location for a little lunch. I had the double-double burger, fries and Coke. It was, in a word, awesome.

What makes In-n-Out the best? Eric Schlosser devotes an entire chapter to the Southern California institution in his book Fast Food Nation. Schlosser attributed In-n-Out’s success to its insistence on the freshest, local ingredients, its decision to eschew certain modern technology (most notably machine-cut, flash frozen fries), and its long-standing policy against franchising. (The last point, by the way, explains why In-n-Out remains confined to southern California, Nevada and Arizona.) By and large, I think Schlosser gets it right.

But he forgets the most important part. The food just tastes great. The fries are cut fresh with an old fashioned, hand-powered fry cutter and cooked in vegetable oil (just as they were in 1948). The burgers are hand formed and seasoned at each location. The sauce is a closely guarded secret.

And there’s one other key point: In-n-Out does one thing — makes burgers and fries — and it does it very well. You won’t find In-n-Out trying to be everything to everyone by selling salads or chicken or breakfast. That’s a lesson that a lot of today’s third rate businesses could learn.

Bottom line: If you like burgers, In-n-Out is a treasure, and one that you simply must enjoy on each and every trip our west. (Not sure if there’s an In-n-Out near you? Use their handy location finder.)

Cam: In-N-Out is good. It’s probably one of the top three burgers I’ve ever had. But I also think In-N-Out has some serious marketing savvy. For instance, I actually own three In-N-Out t-shirts (from CA, AZ, and Vegas). There’s a certain “coolness” cachet about In-N-Out.

Now the fast food franchise I dream about here in Northern Virginia is Sonic. Since they’re headquartered in Oklahoma City, I grew up with a Sonic on every corner, and I have to say their Double Sonic burger with mayo is at least the equal to In-N-Out.

Also, while you’re out in L.A., try a Fatburger. I’ve heard those are pretty darn good as well.

Marshall: Cam, your friend Farrah just laid the smackdown on you over your Sonic comment.

Let’s pretend there’s such a thing as a burger quality scale. On the top of the scale there’s In-N-Out. It’s not a subjective measurement, it’s a scientific fact. Like global warming.

Moving on down the scale, below the acceptable burgers and the burgers you’d only eat under threat of bodily harm…there’s Sonic. How can a burger from a place that has fried cheese on the menu be equal to an In-N-Out burger? Not possible.

Don’t shed a tear for poor Sonic. The poor Sonic burger is in good company. Congealing at the bottom of the list is the red-headed stepchild of California burger institutions…Tommy’s Burger. And congeal it does. Any burger joint open 24 hours and puts chili on everything on its menu can’t do much more than congeal.

Well said, Farrah. And from where I sit, I couldn’t agree more.

Cam: Y’all are high. There’s simply no other explanation for your belief that Sonic is not only equal to In-N-Out, but a sub-par burger. Sonic is overall the greatest fast food restaurant in America, and insulting their burgers is a Cindy Sheehan-esque move designed to showcase your hatred for America (or something like that).

This entry was posted on Sunday, June 3rd, 2007 at June 3, 2007 - 2:18 pm and is filed under Cooking, Eating Out, Environment. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.