All that hype...

Double-Double Animal Style w/ Chopped Chilis
Originally uploaded by jaceman4

So I took a visit down to California yesterday, and of course, as everyone should do in California, or so everyone says, is to visit probably the most hyped burger joint in the nation: In-N-Out. It's not that I've never had it before, but I've never had it during the short life of this blog, so it's a good excuse to go out and get my burger fix. I had a friend whose co-worker was saying that if it's my first real visit down to California in a while, then it's only appropriate that I get my fair share of In-N-Out before I leave, which I did. Now, from my perspective, the very first thing that I noticed when I went to In-N-Out (the actual first time I went) was that it lived up to the hype, it's one of those things that becomes legendary in the East Coast. You have conversations along the lines of:

"Oh, you went to California? Did you go to In-N-Out?"

"Oh yeah."

"How was it?"

"It was awesome."

I have to say, in my experience with In-N-Out, it is quite good. Even now, after dubbing myself "The Burger Snob" I must say, it is probably the best fast-food burger deal you'll find anywhere. The quality you get for your money is so worth it. Of course, there's also always the fun of ordering all the off-menu stuff.

Anyways, you're here to read about what I think about the burger, right? Well, at least I hope so. This one particular In-N-Out was one I used to frequent often, as it was the one closest to my apartment, it was rather crowded, and I'm not sure I got the best quality service that I've experienced at In-N-Out, either the demand has forced quality control to go down,or it was just an off day, I hope it's the latter. Overall, it's what you expect, the meat was generally a good quality, it's not quite as greasy as most other burger joints, but the quality is good enough that you do get away with it. The patties are on the smaller side, which is why I generally recommend a double-double. The bun is well toasted, nothing fancy, but it serves the job, well. The fixings are fresh and they really add a lot to the burger as a whole, generally speaking while you do need the lettuce, tomato, and cheese, what really adds to the burger are the optional fixings, i.e. grilled and/or raw onions and chopped chilis. Keep in mind though, if you try to be "healthier" and get extra lettuce and extra tomatoes on your burger, you may run the risk of overwhelming the burger with veggies. Of course, what's most renown I think about In-N-Out is the animal style sauce, which essentially is a fancy Thousand Island dressing with onions grilled inside. All-in-all, a very good burger, and honestly, it's cheaper than most burger places you can find, yes, that does include McDonald's. Now when I say cheaper, I don't mean that it's less expensive than if you shotgun order off the dollar menu, but if you're getting a value meal, In-N-Out has them all beat.

A quick blurb about the fries, they're good since they're literally just deep fried strips of potatoes (some fancy one from Idaho I hear). Apparently, you can get them "well-done" which means fried again, as the batch you normally get are still a little raw. I like them, but they're not my favorites.

Rating of the Burger:
Meat: A-
Bun: B
Fixings: A
Condiments: A+
Sides: B
Price: $3-$7
Overall Grade: A
Recommended Burger: Double-Double Animal Style with Chopped Chilis