In-n-Out Burger

[bambam]

In-n-Out Burger was mentioned on the A-380 Airbus thread, so I thought I'd start one on it.

Is there a better fastfood place? As an East Coaster, I don't get to it very often, but I love it when I do. First found out about it in mid-90s when Scott Davis took me to one while we were going out to Mt. Sac. Since then, everytime I'm in California, I scout one out. At medical conferences they often put us up in nice hotels. Typical scenario at the concierge desk is this:

1st doctor and wife: "We'd like to go to a fine French restaurant in [city]? Can you help us??
2nd doctor and wife: "We're looking for good Italian with a nice wine list?"
Me: "Where's the nearest In-n-Out Burger???"

[gm]

Having driven more than 40 miles in search of one not long ago, I would have to agree with the good doctor!

[tafnut]

Typical scenario at the concierge desk is this:
Me: "Where's the nearest In-n-Out Burger???"

Better'n Jack-in-the-Box??!!

Here ya go - knock yourself out - Bay Area style:

http://www.in-n-out.com/locations_map.asp

[guru]

Is there a better fastfood place?

That discussion begins and ends with Fuddruckers, if you consider them fast food. HUGE burgers, potato wedges the size of your fingers, and a fabulous fixin's bar for your burger. And don't get me started on the brownies and sundaes.

[Daisy]

déjà vu all over again?

Can't wait for bad hammey to chime in here

[paulthefan]

there is nothing quite as exciting and satisfying as burying your face in an inandout burger!

[SQUACKEE]

Well Hammy is correct, In and out cant compare to "gourmet burgers" BUT as a chain burger they are amazingly good, really really good. I only had em once after a hangover and 2 bloody marys but they took me back in time. They felt, tasted and smelled they way a burger must have been on route 66 in the 1950's. Im a fan and burgers are very very important to me.

[paulthefan]

gorgeous juicy burgers!.. delicately prepared for devouring!!

[bad hammy]

Well I've apparently said it all before. I will only add to it that while the In and Out burger is total crap, it is infinitely better than the total crap they call hamburgers at McDonalds. How that company made is so big on burgers I’ll never understand. Great fries and Egg McMuffins, but the burgers are worse than total crap.

[tandfman]

I can't remember the last time I had a fast food burger---it's been more than a couple of decades, I'm sure. But you guys have me curious. I'm an East Coaster myself, but next time in California (which will probably be the NCAA's this year in Sacramento), I'll try to remember to sample one of these just to see what all the fuss is about.

[bad hammy]

That discussion begins and ends with Fuddruckers, if you consider them fast food. HUGE burgers, potato wedges the size of your fingers, and a fabulous fixin's bar for your burger. And don't get me started on the brownies and sundaes.

Wouldn't call this fast food, or the best burgers, but they are pretty damn good. And they have ostrich and buffalo burgers too.

OK, my votes would go like this:

Best large-chain fast food burger: Burger King Whoppers (it has probably been at least 10 years since I've had a burger at any big fast food chain, so things could have changed).

Best small chain burger: Tie between Nations and Barneys.

Best burger period: Cafe Rouge in Berkeley. Run by ex-chefs from Chez Panisse who grind their own meat.

[tafnut]

I can't remember the last time I had a fast food burger---it's been more than a couple of decades, I'm sure. But you guys have me curious. I'm an East Coaster myself, but next time in California (which will probably be the NCAA's this year in Sacramento), I'll try to remember to sample one of these just to see what all the fuss is about.

As the reigning King of all that is bourgeois hoi polloi crapola, I can tell you that the Burger King flame-broiled-have-it-your-way-Angus-Beef-quarter-pounder hamburger is NOT TOO SHABBY, and I'm sure my gourmand pal Squackee will tell ya the same!!!!


(Speaking of 'Reigning', today I saw Reign Over Me with Adam Sandler as the guy whose wife and three small daughters were killed in a 9/11 plane crash and Don Cheadle as the guy who tries to help him reconnect with reality. It was stunningly poignant and AS was actually superb in a very depressing role!)

[mike renfro]

I mostly don't do junk food burgers, but when I did, it was at Burger King. I had my 1st (I think only) in&out burger at MSR a few years ago. They set up a stand inside the stadium. Pretty good burger. But, in the bay area, they have only fairly recently arrived and started to spread. Never was one close to us. We tried to go to one in Kettleman City (on I5), but no space in the lot. Wait, we actually did stop on another trip. Again, pretty good burgers. But, cooking your own burger is not rocket science, and you have some control over the quality of meat, cheese (gorgonzola, please) and roll. But, I guess, on the road, BK or I&O would be the choices.

I can't imagine being hungry enough to eat ANTHING served at McD's

[gm]

Funnily enough, I completely disagree with bh... what a shocker, huh?
Burger King is the absolute worst fast-food burger because of that awful flame taste. Don't usually touch Jack-in-the-Box burgers, either.

Of the big chains, Sonic and Dairy Queen are tops on my list, though I will eat McD's anywhere in the world, any time.

Whataburger is tops in Texas for chains, and I enjoyed Fatburger in LA, too.

Just like music, though, it's all up to individual taste!

[bad hammy]

Funnily enough, I completely disagree with bh... what a shocker, huh?

Wait, there is common ground between us – Eric Clapton. Other than that you’re a complete idiot!

[jhc68]

In-n-Out is by far the best fast food burger chain. No question, no doubt.

But, according to newspaper reports, the grandchildren of the founders are now looking to take the totally family owned-company public and possibly franchise the brand name nationally. Then the famous double-double would quickly degrade into a Big Mac-ish mess!!!

[Mennisco]

Strange thread - such titillation over eating dead cows. There's a wickedly great burger chain in Toronto called Lick's. But I've yet to find anything remotely like a properly prepared home burger, few people have a clue how to do it. As for MuckDonald's, how could its success shock anyone? Do you live under a rock? For God's sake, it's from the nation that gives us Jerry Springer, Paula Abdul and Texas biscuits and "gravy" - milk, flour and grease.

[proofs in the pudd'in]

I'd go for a Tommy's burger anyday over any of these. Talk about heart wrenching triple by-pass.

Also for the fast food chain - definatly Wendy's

[TrackCEO]

I vote for the double-double with onions (at In-N-Out) as best fast-food burger. Also in the running: the sliders at White Castle.

Best burger overall MUST be the Kobe Burger at Cheesecake Factory -- made with real Kobe beef. Unbelievable.

K E N

[SQUACKEE]

As a kid i loved Mcdonald cheeseburgers but they are nothin but mush. Theyre just mushy mush. The big mac is less mushy but still mushy.' Mcfish is mush but its a different tasting mush.

Burger Kings not bad but lately ive enjoyed the Wendys junior cheeseburger deluxe for 99 cents. Burger,cheese, pickles, onion-fresh, tomato,lettuce, mayo, catsup, mustard and bun. I believe the best burger in the world for under a dollar. A perfectly fine little burger.

I cant wait to have another In and Out experience. 8)

[Dietmar239]

Sorry guys, but for my money, nothing beats a burger and ice cream from Braums. If you're from the Oklahoma/north Texas area, you know exactly what I'm talking about.

[tafnut]

Strange thread - such titillation over eating dead cows.

We should eat them live?

[gh]

There's an In/Out about 3 blocks from the office. Have never eaten one.

[gm]

There's an In/Out about 3 blocks from the office. Have never eaten one.

SL can't say the same, though, I bet
Ol' double-double man himself!

[tandfman]

Best burger overall MUST be the Kobe Burger at Cheesecake Factory -- made with real Kobe beef. Unbelievable.

Another view:

http://www.ajc.com/living/content/livin ... urger.html

[gh]

Why Kobe (Wagyu) is soo good.

<<This breed is genetically predisposed to intense marbling, and produces a higher percentage of oleaginous, unsaturated fat than any other breed of cattle known in the world.>>

http://members.tripod.com/~BayGourmet/wagyu.html

My local kushiyaki joint does Kobe skewers at $4.50 per 1.5-ounce chunk.

[bad hammy]

Why Kobe (Wagyu) is soo good.

I thought it was the beer massages.

Haven't been to a Cheesecake Factory, but I know where one is at and this kobe burger sounds like it is worth a trip.

[Mennisco]

Strange thread - such titillation over eating dead cows.

We should eat them live?

Yank their big teaties and leave it at that. I hate VEGANS!

[gh]

La Folie in San Francisco has a "La Bouef" dish that's beef prepared three ways including the "Burger Rossini," which is, of course a takeoff on Tournedos Rossini.

A hamburger bun about 1.5 times the size of a silver dollar on which there is a chunk of filet, topped with foie gras and drenched in truffle madeira sauce. Indescribably good.

[Cooter Brown]

Haven't been to a Cheesecake Factory, but I know where one is at and this kobe burger sounds like it is worth a trip.

I've had a kobe burger and it was surprisingly dry. Maybe grinding it up ruins the attributes that makes a great steak?

Also, at In and Out why is the double double is a perfect fast food burger but the single single is lame? It should taste the same but it definitely doesn't.

[gh]

...I've had a kobe burger and it was surprisingly dry. Maybe grinding it up ruins the attributes that makes a great steak?...

Once it's ground you have no idea what cut it was to begin with, and even if Wagyu are different than other cattle overall, there are still different chunks of the cow that give off different meat. Particularly depending on how the butcher has trimmed it.

Sad truth about great burgers is that the taste is directly tied to the fat content, which is why ground chuck (20% fat) makes a far better burger than ground sirloin, even though it's cheaper. I think too many people when they want to make a "special burger" go the more expensive route, but in the process are downgrading the desired product.

[tafnut]

Once it's ground you have no idea what cut it was to begin with, and even if Wagyu are different than other cattle overall, there are still different chunks of the cow that give off different meat. Particularly depending on how the butcher has trimmed it.
Sad truth about great burgers is that the taste is directly tied to the fat content, which is why ground chuck (20% fat) makes a far better burger than ground sirloin, even though it's cheaper. I think too many people when they want to make a "special burger" go the more expensive route, but in the process are downgrading the desired product.

So true, When someone says they want a juicy hamburger, guess what that 'juice' is?! And once you see that 'juice' in its natural (room temperature) state - greasy white lard - you'll understand why it's the fast road to blocked arteries! (But mmmm-mmmm-mmm whatta way to go!)

[Cooter Brown]

So true, When someone says they want a juicy hamburger, guess what that 'juice' is?! And once you see that 'juice' in its natural (room temperature) state - greasy white lard - you'll understand why it's the fast road to blocked arteries! (But mmmm-mmmm-mmm whatta way to go!)

It is better to die from a steak than a salad.

[SQUACKEE]

So true, When someone says they want a juicy hamburger, guess what that 'juice' is?! And once you see that 'juice' in its natural (room temperature) state - greasy white lard - you'll understand why it's the fast road to blocked arteries! (But mmmm-mmmm-mmm whatta way to go!)

It is better to die from a steak than a salad.

Poetry Mr. Brown, poetry!

[bambam]

So true, When someone says they want a juicy hamburger, guess what that 'juice' is?! And once you see that 'juice' in its natural (room temperature) state - greasy white lard - you'll understand why it's the fast road to blocked arteries! (But mmmm-mmmm-mmm whatta way to go!)

It is better to die from a steak than a salad.

Best ordering line I've heard in that vein - "No salad, I want something that used to be in a cow."