In-and-Out Burger

When Amy found out that I was going to California, she excitedly quipped, “Mmmm, I can already smell that Animal Style burger.” When I first walked into Barnes and Nobles at the Third Street Promenade in Santa Monica, I saw a stack of gleaming blue covers that bore the name, “In and Out.” And as I was preparing for my arrival back to the East coast, Clare asked, “Jessie, can you pleaseee bring us back some In and Out? I don’t care if it’s smushed or defaced, heck I’ll eat an In and Out burger however it looks.”
So what exactly is this phenomenon that seems to spark long awaited lines and traffic jams whenever a new location opens up? It’s hard for us non-West coasters to imagine what In and Out can be. Afterall, we have plenty of McDonalds, Wendys, and so forth. But In and Out has consistently been rated as a top fast food restaurant although I wouldn’t even categorize it as that because if you read Stacy Perman’s In and Out: Behind the Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain that Breaks All the Rules you’ll find that the quality of meat that they use is superior to that of any other fast food restaurants.

So there wasn’t an In and Out in Santa Monica and that meant that I had to take a bus to get to one. I figured that the closest one to me was in Westwood, and I finally had the chance to go there one afternoon. By the time I got there (I got miserably lost…), I was so disappointed to find that they only had three burgers on the menu. YES, only THREE!! What happened to “Animal style” or “Protein style” that I kept on hearing about? Supposedly, there’s a secret menu…
Thanks to Scott Birch, I found out the secret menu, that is, after I arrived back to Jersey. But for my future reference and possibly for your benefit:

• 2 by 4: 2 meat patties with 4 slices of cheese (OMG, I don’t even know what to say to that…)
• 4 by 4: 4 meat patties with 4 slices of cheese (in even more shock…)
• Veggie Burger: normal hamburger setup without the meat/cheese
• Animal Style: hamburger meat cooked with mustard. Add pickles, more thousand island spread, and grilled onions
• Double Meat: double meat patties without cheese
• Flying Dutchman: imagine a 2 by 2
• Fries well done: extra crispy
• Fries Light: barely cooked
• Extra Toast: bun is toasted a bit more so that it’s crispy
• Protein Style: Bun is replaced with lettuce cups
• Neopolitan Shake: Whole milk + vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry ice cream swirled together

Of course, I managed to shame my one and only shot (for now) by ordering a cheeseburger. Sigh, what was I thinking?? I should have done my usual research, but the one time that I neglect to do so… Anyway, the cheeseburger was delicious, but I didn’t think that it was so spectacular that it beat out every other burger I’ve had (which is still Shake Shack). I blame my experience on the secret menu that should be made unsecret. But like Slo says, a good burger is a good burger, even if I didn’t order off the secret menu. I do admit that In and Out is like a franchised version of Shake Shack.

I mentioned in my Fatburger post that I thought Fatburger was superior to In and Out. But, really, I’m comparing two different breeds here.

1. Fatburger gives you a choice as to whether you want your meat fried or grilled.
2. Everything is made to order so you wait around 10 minutes. I went to In and Out when it was slow, and it took approximately 3 minutes to get my order. Now, that’s how long it takes to assemble a burger, not cook it!
3. Fatburger gives you the choice of toppings, and if you add bacon (like I did), how could the burger not taste better? Isn’t there some saying that goes, “Bacon makes everything more delicious?”
4. Fatburger is greasy. In and Out is not. Enough said. (Slo scoffed when I defended with, “But Fatburger says it’s 100% lean meat!!)

But, I will admit that In and Out’s sauce is way better than Fatburger. But maybe not compared to Shake Shack’s…

But man, I would love for another go and order an Animal Style. The fries were good, though they were a bit too crispy. I guess next time I should ask for Fries Light. And I guess next time, I’d order a Neopolitan shake, rather than a vanilla.

(Supposedly, their cups have Biblical verses on the bottom. Guess I missed that too!)

MENU
Official “Secret MENU”

You should also check out:

• Diddy Riese’s
• Santa Monica Farmer’s Market
• Fatburger
• Nice Time Deli
• 21 Choices Frozen Yogurt

Tagged as: burger review, cali