I did not count on driving that far. On the map, Yosemite to Santa Clara does look near and I thought it would be Interstate road conditions all the way. A big part of the trip are on windy, narrow roads until I get to the valley.
Dang … California sure had so many fruit plantations. It was delightful driving through so many fruit stops. We stopped at one place to get some strawberries. The strawberries looked so good — big and bright red. They are very good and cheap too. We asked the guy at the stall to wash a basket for us to eat in the car but he said it’s already cleaned. We did not trust him. Since we had so much bottled water from the road trip to Death Valley, we gave it a thorough rinse before we set on our way.
Two years ago when we had our Disneyland vacation, we noticed a lot of burger joints called In-N-Out. We did not try any that time and so made it a point to drop by one … one more food place to blog about, you see.
In-N-Out is basically a California burger place. Although they do not have as many outlets like McDonalds, Wendy’s, DQ, etc, they are very popular among Californians.
What we like is their menu — it is so simple. They have only three, as I recall. There is the Cheeseburger and the Hamburger … and then there is the Double-Double. Off hand, you would know what burger size you want. You know, in McD’s, it’s kind of confusing sometimes making the difference between a BigMac, Big Xtra, Quarter Pounders and what nots. See that menu above the cashier’s head? Well, the menu is that simple. I like it.
The major difference in In-N-Out is their focus on freshness. The burgers and fries are made to order. So, you see a bit of a wait while they prepare your order.
The burgers were great. Some of the best we had ever tried from a fast food place. They gave us our orders in a neatly stacked box of four … just perfect for an obsessive-compulsive person like me. Well, almost perfect … one piece of lettuce stuck out which was not a problem because I just need to push it in to make it perfect.
According to In-N-Out, they do not pre-cook anything nor do they use heating lamps. The burgers are cooked fresh and not cook-then-preheat. The lettuce were also hand-leafed rather than pre-sliced.
Even the potatoes were whole potatoes and only cut-and-cook on-site in the restaurant. Our boys like it a lot. Even though they were no big fans of onions, they actually had onions with the burgers here.
The boys liked it so much that they pestered us to stop in an In-N-Out everytime they see one. Suanne and I liked it too. But then since Suanne and I try not go to the same place twice because there are so many other places to try out, that stop was the one and only stop we had.
Total bill … $15.17. Nice.
They also have a “secret menu” too, so it does not seem like simple burgers and fries fare.
Man that looks delish. I’ve heard about how great I&O’s burgers are for years, but since it’s been awhile that we’ve been down to CA, I’ll have to wait until next time. Too bad they don’t have franchises in OR and WA, where we visit more often.
I live in California and have had every burger available. In & Out has one of the best burgers around. Yes, they are simple but completely fresh. I eat my cheeseburger with grilled onions and my wife orders hers from the secret menu. The cheeseburger she gets is called animal-style. I don’t know why it is named that, but it is tasty. The fries are made from a machine that takes a whole potato and cuts it into fries. For the fries, we ask them to cook it well done to get them crispy. The employees call it welly. I can’t believe how cheap fresh food can be. I may make an In&Out run right now. Cheers!
Huh? What “secret menu”? How do I get to that menu? Oh … animal-style sounds just like my kind of burger!
My fav. burger place- cheap, fresh, and good! But one is usually not enough when I’m hungry ;p A simple menu is good so that we would not have a hard time choosing what we want. Straight-fwd.
I believe the secret menu consists of mainly bigger burgers. Double-double, 3×3, 4X4…
This Californian loooove In-N-Out. Did you notice the psalm numbers printed along the bottom rim of the soda cups? The owners are devout Christians.
Not that that particularly matters to me, but I thought you might get a kick out of it.
Here’s a blog post about their secret menu.
http://www.badmouth.net/in-n-outs-secret-menu/
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they just opened an In-n-Out near me and we’ve gone there almost everyday…it’s awesome and so fresh….we have actually lost weight since eating there so much…I don’t know how or why. It’s heavenly. Get the “animal fries” they’re yummy!