Nicole, you, well, your state, made the news here in California. Lol.

In-N-Out is an OK burger. Much better than McDonalds but not as good you can get at a few remaining old school mom and pop burger places. The main thing going for it is fresh ingredients compared to most other fast food chains. The patty is rather thin and I find the buns are kind of soft for my taste. They turn soggy rather quickly. It's not a burger that travels well. Best eaten on the spot. But I am a fifties kid and grew up with drive in burgers that were always cooked to order anyway so my benchmark for burgers is different than for someone who equates fast food with McDonalds.

When I do order a burger there I ask for the number of the burger I want, with onion, extra toast with light spread. That means the bun will be toasted a bit more. If you want crispier fries ask for fries, well. If you want grilled onions get your burger animal style. It will come with extra spread and the burger will be grilled with a bit of mustard.

I agree with Lars its the novelty. When Popeyes first opened in my town 15 years or so ago, the lines caused traffic jams and accidents and the police had to come to direct traffic for weeks after it opened. Such a waste of resources for some chicken......

Popeyes is no better than any other fast food fried chicken. The chicken,the sides, the biscuits are all comparable to KFC or Churches or Bojangles and probably every other chain.

A tornado destroyed the one and only Krispy Kreme in town years ago.When it opened back up a year later, same thing. The police had to direct traffic to prevent disaster. I admit, I was one of those that showed up on the first day they reopened. It wasn't that long a wait, maybe 10 minutes. Just lots and lots of people. I showed my gratitude by buying 3 dozen mixed doughnuts for the police officers that were directing traffic. I imagine a lot of people did that for them that day. I do love Krispy Kreme.....

As for in and out, I have never had it, and as I live in the south and not out west, probably never will. I will not wait 20 minutes for fast food, so 14 hours sounds insane. I have heard good things about their fries. But 14 hours? For a burger and fries? Nope. Nothing tastes that good.

When a FF restaurant opens in my smallish town this happens too. EVERYONE wants to go the first week. After a month at the most things calm down. Novelty is HUGE, but WHO has that time? If you do you can't afford FF!!! But sorry I don't buy this. There isn't a way for a line to form that would take 14 hours to get through!

I'll have a double double, animal style light on the spread, fries well done, please.

I saw video of a fist fight between people waiting in line to drive thru. Crazy stuff.

We drove by at 5pm last night. Whoah! I've NEVER seen such madness. There must have been 2000 cars...? The lines of cars were several MILES long!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Then......there were people on foot, wrapped around the neighborhood. They had propane stand heaters near the entrance.....kind of pretty.....but.....just INSANE!

Yes. Popeyes ran out of spicy sandwiches here too. Chick fil a also has lines. Kangaroo Coffee......anyone have these? Also cars in the street blocking a lane trying to get in. It was the 12-14 hour wait that GOT my attention! ☺ Luckily the distribution center is next door to the In-N-Out...so they would NOT run out of anything.

I like Culvers. They're busy.....nothing like this. ☺

I’ve been to I n Out a couple times when I was out west. We don’t have them here. As mentioned, it’s better than McDonalds but that’s not saying much. We have Shake Shack here and I Think their burgers were better than In N Out, but we shouldn’t be eating that junk anyway.

dedtired, better than Shake Shake is Habit Burger, over by Wegman's. Shake Shake is just ok, and overpriced. Habit Burger is far better, more variety. Love the fried green beans.

https://order.habitburger.com/store/52e7f1ee-c4dc-e811-822e-02eaf1e04748/category/4654cbcf-03a5-ea11-aa56-a0a6ff472831

Nicole, if you want an InNOut burger, you better pack a lunch!

They do put out a decent burger--the closest thing to a MomnPop joint that I've found in a fast food place, exception Braum's. But I've only eaten there a couple of times when I was out west. So, I'm jealous!

I do really miss Braum's since we moved to WI. We have Culver's here but their ice cream isn't nearly as good as Braum's. Have had a Butter Burger a couple of times but it's next to impossible to get a burger w/o cheese here & Culver's always, always screws up my order...no cheese & light chocolate in the malted. So I've given up on them.

Yep, novelty. Is your new phone any better if you stand in line to be among the first to buy it, than if you wait a few weeks? People are funny like that.

My kids and I ate at one on our last trip to the Reno, Sparks area. It was just okay. I didn't understand what the big deal was. Same thing with Shake Shack which my Japanese exchange student loved. She was excited that they were opening one up in Lexington. After all the excitement died down we went and it wasn't great. I've had better burgers at little mom and pop burger places.

Not sure I’d wait 14 hours for a burger, but I had an In-n-Out in Arizona once, and it was really good! On a par with our local good chain, Steak n’ Shake. I can see some people waiting in line, though: so many Californians have moved to Colorado, right? It’s their taste of ”home”. Kind of like when I was in school in Switzerland we’d occasionally take the train to Lausanne to get McDonalds or a pizza.

And don’t be silly, of course you can’t compare to a restaurant or diner burger. But among fast-food, those two are good burgers.

In N Out burgers are good - better than your standard fast food burger chain - but not that good! Nothing I would have driven out of my way for and certainly not something I'd wait in a long line for!

I like burgers but fast food burgers tend not to be my first choice.....or second :-) The exception is a local chain (Dick's) that has been around for almost 70 years. With limited locations and a limited menu (just 5 different burgers, fries and handmade shakes and ice cream), it is still very popular and always has a full parking lot (no indoor seating). I grew up with Dick's burgers and I will drive out of my way to get one if in the area! Prices stay low and they have always paid well above minimum wage to their employees. They are kind of a Seattle institution!

There are other local burger emporiums around that are somewhere between fast food and sit down dining and most are pretty good. But not cheap....$10 burgers!! In a response to the pandemic shutdown, a local farm to table fine dining restaurant adapted their marketing strategy to offer weekly CSA packaged meals (ala Blue Apron) and a weekend special 'bag o' burgers'. That was so successful that they have now converted to a full time burgerhaus! Burgers are on the gourmet end of the scale and not inexpensive but head and shoulders above fast food fare.

Still wouldn't wait in line hours to get one :-)

I like InNOut protein burger, I have one every few months. Lars I agree with you on their fries, kinda soggy. I like Habit too, but haven't had one for at least several years. Not much of a fast food eater ever since Jack in the Box discontinued their garbage tacos. I loved those things.

Ooh, Jack in the Box takes me back. I would get off work at 11pm and still have studies for the next day, so I needed sustenance for the next couple of house, without rattling in the kitchen and waking my roommate. The only drive-through open that late was Jack in the Box.

bpath, do you still have Steak N Shakes in your area? All of ours closed. I miss them. They were really good. We have Five Guys and they are good but they are not close to my house so I never think to go there.

The name always makes me think of the movie A Clockwork Orange. "No time for the old in-n-out, love. I've come to read the meter."

Inn and Out opened up here last year I think. Lines were too long for me to try it. Finally, tried one in Austin. I didn't think it was anything special. I prefer Whataburger. Even that tastes different in other states.

I probably had my first In-N-Out burger circa 1965. A burger and coke were 55 cents. Tons of In-N-Outs here in SoCal. We think their burgers are so-so, and their fries get cold too fast. We like The Habit for fast burgers. Good salads, too. Long lines have been common at In-N-Out forever...but definitely NOT 14 hours! None of the Habits we've been to have drive throughs.

You can head out in just about any direction around here and be close to an In-N-Out or Habit. Ours are both a mile from home.

I never had one, but I must confess that I found the name a bit off-putting!

murraysmom, I was introduced to them in DS’ college town, and was so excited to drive through a town here some time back and see one! I made a U-turn just to get a sandwich and a shake. I think there’s another, a little closer, but neither town is on my ”normal routes” and too far out of the way just to go the Steak and Shake. So I hope they are still there, and I wish there were one closer!

Don't have it in my area. Favorite here for me is Five Guys, but have not been since the pandemic started. Their little burger with grilled green pepper slices, mushrooms and grilled onions. Nothing else, not even fries, cause I'm not a fry person.

They've had a major presence in my area for a long time and I often visit In N Out's main home turf in SoCal. I don't think they're fantastic at all. Greasy hamburgers, mediocre fries, long waits and always too crowded, even at out-in-the-boondocks locations.

How it's different:

-The crowds are not just a phenomenon when a new locations open. It'll calm down but the company has a fanatical customer base who return again and again. I've never been to one where there wasn't a crowded parking lot and some form of wait.

-Always located at freeway off-ramps or on VERY busy streets with a lot of traffic. Sometimes the locations are both, an off-ramp for a major street.

-Food is fresh, nothing frozen. Fries go through the receiving door in the form of whole potatoes and are cut onsite, as an example.

-Menu is limited

-Bible verse cites printed on the bottom of cups

-All locations are company owned, no franchise owners.

-Employees often seem to me to be the religious equivalent of Stepford wives. As if lobotomized, creepy smiles and creepy personalities.

-Burgers are cooked to order so a wait is always involved after ordering.

We avoid fast food except when on the road. In N Out is the opposite of fast, one often has to spend a lot of wait time (to get a parking spot, in line, to get food) and it defeats any intent of "quickly grab a bite and go". My wife likes it for some reason, I don't. Pinks in Hollywood that lars mentioned, along with the small chain Tommy's a bit lower on the ranking list, are much better for burgers plus Pinks has the world's best chili dogs.

In N Out's founders and current ownership is in a family of whacked out religious extremists. The current owner inherited the shares because her father died of a drug overdose. She's had bouts of drug abuse and alcoholism but is an evangelical Christian. The current owner was on husband #4 by about age 30 or so. She's a billionaire because it's a very successful business. I give them credit for that over all these years but nothing else about it appeals to me.

The first In n Out north of the California border opened here 5 years ago in Southern Oregon. People drove 4.5 hours down from Portland, and probably from farther away to be there. The lines were very long for months and months. It's still very popular with long lines at the drive thru.

Here's the secret - you need to eat your burger, and especially the fries immediately. Don't pick it up and take it home. The fries are excellent when they are fresh, but disappointing if you wait more than about five minutes to eat them.

And there is a well known "secret menu," that's not really so secret 😅🤫

https://www.eatthis.com/in-n-out-secret-menu-items/

In n Out is the only restaurant that my husband and I have eaten at during the pandemic - at one of their outside tables.

"Employees often seem to me to be the religious equivalent of Stepford wives. As if lobotomized, creepy smiles and creepy personalities."

Never noticed anything like that at all. Yes, the current owner has an interesting background.

And here I thought the situation only involved food addiction.

Dang! This is a GREAT place to open a burger joint with "unusual" employees. ☺ It is built close to a highway. In a developing area, which will become busier as the new builds are completed. Scheels, the sporting goods store with a ferris wheel inside...is across the street.

Elmer....your description paints a picture. You have "no" idea how weird this all seems to me. ☺ I'm beginning to feel very fish-out-of-water...living away from Manitou Springs, where everything was a self-started business.

Thanks for the tip, Sushi. I’ll try it some day. The one that’s really bad is Smashburger. Yuck. We also have M2 Burgers but I haven’t tried them yet. After the pandemic is over we’ll have to meet up for lunch.

Do they cook the smash burgers using waffle irons?

Memories from Ohio when I eat too much fast food...

Worst burger, or near the bottom: Dairy Queen in Bainbridge (but they had the best Banana Splits)

Best, or one of the best: Dairy Queen in Athens.

Location, local franchise owner, whatever seems to matter.

Another "one of the best", Shake and Steak in Chillicothe, Ohio. Had to wait (or had the privilege of waiting) but it was worth the wait.

Shake and Steak, Vero Beach, Florida, didn't have to wait and it was NOT worth the non-wait. I've never gone back.

Another of the best, or two actually, is the two I got up and cooked last night at least partially because of this dang thread. :)

My taste buds said "Yum". My belly is still saying ouch. :)

Never saw a burger on a waffle iron. Smashburgers web site says: smashing a fresh, never frozen, 100% Certified Angus Beef® hand-packed ball of meat on a hot seasoned grill

I think they are awful.

I'm on the Shake Shack bandwagon. They just opened one about 25 minutes or so from us and we get food there every 3-4 weeks to get out of the house. I like the quality and portion sizes, especially that you can get a real small soda. They are also known for their custards, but I never have room after a burger and fries.

Second is Habit Burger, but I've been eating their garden salad with try-tip when I go.

Burgers and fries are bad for me.

Sometimes I like things that are bad for me.

That is all.

I haven't been in or drove thru a fast food place in 40 years so....

I don't care for fast food either. If I want a burger, I make it at home. Quite awhile ago...maybe a couple of years, I had my first Big Mac. I thought it was awful. Couldn't believe people actually like them.

Buns as dry as the sands of the Sahara, thin, amazingly flavorless beef patties, processed cheese - what's not to like about McDonald's burgers?

Never heard of In & Out until this thread. And no, I don't know: "(after all a reality star was elected as you know what)" ???

Reagan was also an entertainer that went into politics.

I went to one many years ago and wasn't impressed. It tasted like every fast food burger I have ever eaten. If I want a good burger I would go to RedRobin.

The original Red Robin had good burgers.....and cheap, too! Lived on them as a student at the UW when it was still just a tavern and food was only a sideline. After they changed their focus to food, started expanding and franchising in the late 70's, things started to go downhill and the prices went up.

We have a small family owned chain of burger places in the SFBay area called Gott's. Those are good burgers.

I don't get it. Its a chain restaurant. With a 14 hour wait their motto should be fast food, made slow.

One of the main things I like about where I live is the number of good locally owned restaurants. One on the downtown pedestrian mall is named Citizen Burger Bar, they use fresh beef from locally raised grass fed cows. Even if the very first In-and-Out Burger was absolutely outstanding, the only way they can grow to a nationwide scale is to become regimented and formulaic. There is no way a nationwide chain however streamlined their supply chain can match that in freshness and quality on the scale they have to.

I agree with you bob. Because the locations are so far company owned, I don't think In n Out wants to be nationwide. They have a pretty dense presence throughout California, especially in the south. It is absolutely a regimented and formulaic operation but I think that's a necessity as a business grows. It's also something customers like, they know what to expect at a new location of an old favorite.

It's anything but fast food, as I mentioned before. People are willing to wait. For their food, I'm not.

Somewhere I am willing to wait is at Pinks, the place mentioned before. It's a low density urban location. I grew up in the city where it's located (and ate there as a kid) but I don't live there anymore. I'm willing to wait. They use a serpentine queue on the sidewalk like at an airport check-in or waiting for TSA security, with stanchions and rope (or belt) lines between them. I once waited nearly an hour. Yes it's worth it for me but I go when I can afford to spare the time. It's not right off a freeway and its aficionados know when the wait is shorter and when it is what it is.

We now have a few in the DFW area. I tried it once and found it to be a nothing burger. What-A-Burger is the place to go here.

I think of In N Out as fast food. When the lines get long they send real bodies out to take your order. The lines may appear long but they move fast. When you get to the window your order is only a few seconds from being ready. It's fresh and hot. They do a good job of getting the timing right.

I laugh at how people complain about polite customer service being creepy. Says more about them than the servers. Pathetic.

We used to have a Wahlburgers but it closed before I ever got there. Probably just as well.

The personal insult is inappropriate and not permitted. I'm sure you noticed that many of your extreme opinions aren't shared here. No reason to lash out at me or anyone else about that.

In and Out Burger is okay but really generic compared to Whataburger here.

We have In N Out local and it is always packed.. My kids really love it, it is very fresh and the grilled onions add to the flavor. To be honest I rarely eat a burger and when I do it’s usually at home. Family also likes The Habit, I usually get the Ahi Sandwich Not sure I have ever had a burger there.

Pink’s is one I don’t get. Have been twice and was not impressed.

It's amazing how much people vary in what they think is good eats.