In 'N Out Burger is a Good Thing

I was running very late to a meeting yesterday, so I decided to stop for a quickie lunch at In 'N Out in Scottsdale. In 'N Out is what McDonalds would be like if they served real food. In 'N Out has a small menu of burger basics, shakes and fries, which they prepare to order and with great care. I ordered a #2, which consisted of a single cheeseburger (as opposed to their double double, which is two patties and two slices of cheese..that is a #1), fries and a medium drink. Total price $4.99.

In 'N Out #2


Sure, it kind of looks like McDonalds, but there are several important differences. The fries are cut fresh in the store and are never frozen, so even though they look like the fries you get anywhere, they are much fresher and better. The burgers are also fresh (not frozen) and have some real taste to the beef. The lettuce garnish, while iceberg lettuce, is pulled fresh from the head and not prepackaged, resulting in some real crunch...and get a look at the tomatoes. It's the middle of winter, tomato crops are in the dumper, prices are high, yet the tomatoes on this sandwich are red and ripe. The most impressive thing about In 'N Out burgers is that they are cooked to order (not assembled to order from pre cooked burger patties like so many other fast food joints). That means that you have to actually WAIT for your food to be cooked...what a novel approach. The other thing is that the workers there are actually friendly and into their jobs. They treat each customer as a guest...literally. When your order is ready, they don't bellow your order number into the PA system "#93". They say, "Guest #93, your order is ready". It's a small thing, but a noticable difference over the competition (if there is any competition).

In 'N Out Cheeseburger


Now, don't get me wrong. I still prefer a good burger form one of our local mom & pop burger shops to any fast food chain, but in a world where those types of places are hard to find (Phoenix), In 'N Out is a very great alternative.

Damn you!

I love In-N-Out. I always get my burgers "Animal-Style." I love the Neopolitan Shakes, too. Here's the Secret Menu.

Regards,
Erik M.

That isn't mayo on your first pic, is it? Am I the only one who considers mayo to be the worst thing to happen to hamburgers?

JoelF wrote:That isn't mayo on your first pic, is it? Am I the only one who considers mayo to be the worst thing to happen to hamburgers?

You're not alone.. but I consider unflavored mayo (that is, not aioli, caesar salad dressing, etc etc) the worst thing to happen to virtually everything. So maybe I'm not the best judge.

-ed

Erik M. wrote:I love In-N-Out. I always get my burgers "Animal-Style." I love the Neopolitan Shakes, too. Here's the Secret Menu.

Regards,
Erik M.

A 5x5?? Wow. Thanks for posting the link, I'll try to remember those options if I ever see an In-N-Out.

JoelF wrote:That isn't mayo on your first pic, is it? Am I the only one who considers mayo to be the worst thing to happen to hamburgers?

I couldn't deal with mayo on my burgers until the gummint decided that, rather than improve the quality of the beef supply, it was better to just overcook everything to death. Since I don't like ketchup or mustard, mayo it was -- otherwise the thing's as dry as a hockey puck.

Kman wrote:A 5x5?? Wow. Thanks for posting the link, I'll try to remember those options if I ever see an In-N-Out.

Two people each eat a 20x20 and live to tell about it:

fool #1

fool #2

-ed

Bob S. wrote:

JoelF wrote:That isn't mayo on your first pic, is it? Am I the only one who considers mayo to be the worst thing to happen to hamburgers?

I couldn't deal with mayo on my burgers until the gummint decided that, rather than improve the quality of the beef supply, it was better to just overcook everything to death. Since I don't like ketchup or mustard, mayo it was -- otherwise the thing's as dry as a hockey puck.

That's it. I don't love mayo (I'm not even sure I like it), but with done-to-dryness meat on a sandwich, it's the only thing between me and gagging.

Hammond

gleam wrote:
Two people each eat a 20x20 and live to tell about it:

fool #1

fool #2

-ed

Hmm, I notice one of those people is named "Jared" . . . could this be a certain someone prior to a life of Subway?

It reminded me of some Food Network episode I saw where they went from place to place where they were famous for serving huge portions of something. One place was somewhere back east and it was a boatload of burgers. Whoever was able to top the previous record had the meal renamed after themself. Another was a place out northwest at the end of the trail. Carb-starved hikers came in and were served gargantuan pancakes. Rules were simple - eat them ALL and there's no charge. Ralph inside the diner and YOU clean it up.

Just to level the playing field, I love mayo. Probably because I grew up around Spaniards and Cubans who think they are Spaniards. Perfect with fries, cold seafood (or, fried seafood), eggs, and the perfect complement to a cold, thinly sliced prime steak not eaten the night before at S&W, Morton's et al. And on cold-cut sandwiches, especially from Bari. Chicago hot giardinera and mayo complement each other very well.

Not for hamburgers or hot dogs, however. Throws the whole balance off.

I do like the animal style sauce, which is mayo-based, though.

I like to make my own, which is pretty darn easy, but we are lucky to have a mass-marketed product (Hellman's/Best's) that, much like Heinz ketchup, ain't half bad.

JoelF wrote:That isn't mayo on your first pic, is it? Am I the only one who considers mayo to be the worst thing to happen to hamburgers?

Chacun son go't.

Personally, I think that ketchup--anyway, anyhow--is an abomination. For me, it is mayo and/or mustard on a burger, and mayo, aioli, or vinegar on fries.

I'm not a big mayo fan, but mayo on a burger is one of the places I happen to love it, although the condoment in question is not mayo. It is actually In 'N Out secret sauce.

Alton Brown made the following suggestion for burger dressing and I have found it a good one:

toast the bun.
spread mayo, top and bottom.
cover mayo generously with fresh ground black pepper

Being a native southerner, we eat mayo on everything. I can even remember my mom putting mayo on a hot dog when i was a kid (no jokes please, it IS my mom after all), a habit which we seem to have broken her of in her old age.

I like mayo on a burger primarily because it creates a seal between the meat and the bun that keeps the bun from turning to mush.

The southern drive in chain Sonic serves its burgers #1 style (with mayo) or #2 style (with mustard) as the base. I guess they can appeal to all tastes that way.

One of the more unusual burgers I have ever had was when I was a college student in Columbia, SC. Most of the local burger joints served a pimento cheese burger with a thick layer of homemade pimento cheese that melted over a relatively thin seared patty. It was a local delicacy and it was actually very good.

stevez wrote: In 'N Out is what McDonalds would be like if they served real food.

Mr. Z,

Maybe this should be an LTHForum quote of the day.

I'm an In 'N Out fan myself, my preference being Animal style. Like the fries, like the polite efficiency, like pretty much everything about the place.


Don't get me wrong, it ain't no Tommy's


Or even Jay's Jayburger,


But it's pretty darn good.

By the way, nice pictures Mr. Z.

Enjoy,
Gary

Ahhh. Tommy's ChiliBurger...the 24 hour taste treat.

I'm due in LA soon. Both In N Out and Tommy's will be on my usual list of must eats.

Maybe an In N Out appetizer by LAX followed by dinner on the grounds at Tommy's.

JoelF wrote:That isn't mayo on your first pic, is it? Am I the only one who considers mayo to be the worst thing to happen to hamburgers?

i've recently (within the last 2 yrs of so) begun to request my double/double sans 'in n out secret sauce'. the 'secret sauce' was evoking my gag reflex near the end of every burger. perhaps this is a recent 'adult' development as i've been eating in-n-out for over 10 yrs... *shrug*

on a few occasions, i snuck in my own mayo for the double/doubles. much better this way i believe....

on certain days when i just can't stand red meat during work's lunch break, i'd go in, order 2 fries and a strawberry shake. plenty of carbs for lunch, and dipping the fries into the shake always bring provocative stares from the neighboring suits...

In-n-Out makes a decent burger, but I really don't like the fries much. I have heard they're better well-done, but with that being part of the "secret" menu, I haven't had the opportunity to try it yet, since I don't live in INO country, but only go there occasionally. I think people over-rate the burger, but it's clearly better than McDonald's or the other national chains. I always think it's funny how bent-out-of-shape some get when they discover that there's a religious message with each order.

Isn't Tommy's less about the burger and more about what covers up the burger?

If you're going to cover up a burger, this is the way to do it (Crown Burgers in Salt Lake City):




PS: I'm with Erik on ketchup. The stuff overwhelms anything with sugar, imo.

extramsg wrote:Isn't Tommy's less about the burger and more about what covers up the burger?

Extramsg,

For me it's the whole gestalt, place, time, smell, taste, memory of my first visit to Los Angeles as a wide-eyed 15-year-old from Milwaukee. Tommy's Chili Cheeseburger per se is very (very) good, overall experience, to quote Mastercard, priceless.

extramsg wrote:If you're going to cover up a burger, this is the way to do it (Crown Burgers in Salt Lake City):

Hot Damn that looks good. I see a pastrami burger in my very near future. Manny's has the pastrami covered, I wonder if they have hamburgers?

Enjoy,
Gary

Take off the cheese and it's like the ultimate Kosher bacon burger. Every town should have one, but then there wouldn't be much point in going to SLC.

In-N-Out 20x20

I hit In 'N Out for a double double animal style as soon as I got off the plane here in Phoenix. I thought I was eating a lot. Now I'm shamed.

extramsg wrote:In-n-Out makes a decent burger, but I really don't like the fries much. I think people over-rate the burger, but it's clearly better than McDonald's or the other national chains.

agreed.

Speaking of Tommy's, aren't there faux Tommy burger places in LA to watch out for?

Sweet Willie wrote:Speaking of Tommy's, aren't there faux Tommy burger places in LA to watch out for?

Willie,

From my viewpoint, aside from the original, they are all faux Tommy's. Over the years I've tried Tommy's from Orange County to Encino, none measure up to the Original Tommy's at Beverly and Rampart.

Original Tommy's




Original Tommy's
Los Angeles, California
2575 W. Beverly Blvd.
213-389-9060

don't forget the bag:


ugh. looking at that 20x20 in-n-out made me want to skip dinner.

JoelF wrote:That isn't mayo on your first pic, is it? Am I the only one who considers mayo to be the worst thing to happen to hamburgers?

Have you ever seen "The Whole Nine Yards" with Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry? Bruce Willis says that mayo should not be put on a hamburger only ketchup.

I think they were on Montreal and mayo is something they put on a hamburger there.

Hi all,

I have to chime in on the mayo and burger conversation. It may be that the general disdain for the mayo on the burger comes from poor quality mayo. There are only 2 kinds of mayo in the world, Dukes, and homemade. Either of these may grace everything from burgers and fries, to pancakes and eggs, but this post concerns the former.

Hellmans, Kraft, and whatever other kinds of insipid creamy-ish gunk you folks are spreading on your sandwiches pale in comparison to Dukes mayo. As far as I can tell it can be found south of the Mason-Dixon, and only at low-brow grocery stores (skip the Piggly-Wiggly and go to Winn-Dixie).

It has 7 ingredients soybean oil, eggs, water, vinegar, salt, paprika and natural flavouring. It is made by the C.F. Sauer company out of Richmond, VA.

Despite the fact that I live in Montreal (a town of mayo-philes), a good 700 miles from the Mason-Dixon line, we always have a jar of Dukes in the fridge (in-laws live in Fla., and send it Fedex)

I implore you to seek out a jar of this stuff. Make a burger, slather it on, then get back to me.

Finally, a note about ketchup. I know that Gingrich and Reagan at one time considered it a vegetable, and that it is an important, one might say cornerstone, condiment in American history, but it's really overrated.
As far as condiments go, mustard, mayo and salsa have ketchup beat any day of the week, on any kind of sandwich.

chefmike wrote: Have you ever seen "The Whole Nine Yards" with Bruce Willis and Matthew Perry? Bruce Willis says that mayo should not be put on a hamburger only ketchup.

What does he know?

at mazo's today, i told her to hold the 'dressing' and bring some nasty american mayo on the side.

i've had plenty of homemade mayo while in europe. instead, i prefer my creamy, gooey kraft light