In N Out Burger

In N Out Burger…  What exactly is it about In N Out Burger that makes them so iconic?  This is only the second time I have eaten at In N Out and the place was absolutely packed.  The first time I ate at In N Out was in Hollywood CA.  It was just as busy.  A constant line of hungry customers wanting to take part in the In N Out phenomenon.  They don’t offer a lot of variety.  Hamburger, Cheeseburger and Double Cheeseburger.  That’s it.  Shakes and drinks and fries.  They seem to have found their very specific niche, and have worked hard to perfect what works very well for them.   On this visit I ordered combo number 2.  Cheeseburger, fries and medium drink.  I was a little surprised by the price.  It was only $4.94 for the entire meal.  Kudos to the good people at In N Out for keeping the combo under $5 bucks.

My assessment of the hamburger was that it tasted very good.  I noticed that the onion ( optional), tomato and lettuce were all particularly fresh.  The lettuce was crisp, the tomato was ripe, but not mushy, and the onion was cut to a thickness that was not too thick or too thin.  The hamburger had what appeared to be a special type of sauce which had a unique flavor, although the color and texture was a lot like fry sauce.  One criticism that I do have of the hamburger is that the hamburger patty was very thin.  Too thin for my preferences, but no doubt there are a lot of people that obviously like a thinner patty.  Having said that, upon my next visit I will have to go with a Double Double which is a double cheeseburger.

As I was observing those around me, the double cheeseburger appeared to be very popular.  The french fries were cut thin, but I noticed that they didn’t seem greasy and they didn’t get soft and mushy as they cooled off.  I recall that in California, the store cut their potato’s in house, and as a result, they were obviously very fresh.  I believe all of their locations do the same, but the kitchen was so crowded, I couldn’t see the person cutting the potato’s.   They obviously did not goo through the freezing process, which makes me wonder if that may have something to do with their unique flavor and texture.   They had ketchup for the fries, but no fry sauce.

I struck up conversation with the gentleman next to me at the bar, and he indicated he had been to the location in Las Vegas, and it was very busy also.  I commented that the burger tasted very fresh and he remarked that “It goes out the door so fast, it doesn’t have time to go stale.”  Which I think may have a lot of truth to it.  I then noticed the big neon sign that states “Quality you can taste”.  Frankly I agree.  I agree that the freshness and quality were excellent.

The interesting thing about In N Out are their loyal customers.  In N Out has a legion of loyal customers that  that are fanatical about their food, brand and culture.  They sleep out for grand openings, the wait in very long lines, and they are very vocal about their preference for In N Out Burgers.  As a matter of fact, a young nephew of mine’s mother was out of town and he wrote on his facebook page that he had eaten at In-N-Out 4 times in a single week.  Now that’s fanatical!

Lastly, I think there is some kind of unique association in people’s minds to California.  In N Out is a California company and there are a lot of Californians that I suppose have a sort of comfort food association with their brand.  In addition, I think there are a lot of Utah natives that have traveled to California for one reason or another and have experienced In N Out in California and want to bring a little piece of California to Utah.   I could be way off.  Maybe I’m projecting my experience on everyone else.  In my defense, I would point to their cups that have a ring of palm trees around the top of the cup.  Not a lot of Palm trees in Utah.

If you haven’t already, you will want to hit an In-N-Out Burger and judge for yourself.  I quite like the food and the whole In-N-Out burger experience.  They seem to have staked a claim on freshness and quality that would be hard to dispute.

To locate the closest IN N OUT near you, check out there website.  http://www.in-n-out.com

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