In N Out Burger!

We have both an In N Out and a Five Guys here. I much prefer In N Out personally. Last night I got the late night craving and went there for the first time in a year. A Dbl Dbl and fries cost me $5.10, the same thing at Five Guys would have been $9+. Granted Five Guys is more food, but extra quantity is irrelevent as the dbl dbl and fries was more than enough. I skipped the drink, and enjoyed a nice Denny's Vanilla Bourbon Porter with it.

However culturally there are massive differences between the two. Go to glassdoor or the like and compare the companies. In n Out has a much better employee satisfaction rating, and pays and treats their associates better. The average starting pay here for people who work at in n out is $10+ an hour, more than 2/hr higher than state minimum wage. I've never once walked into any In N Out and had the people working there be less than polite, friendly and engage in a little banter no matter how busy the place is (Including times where it's been 25min in line just to order). They're supposedly a very good company for young (high school/college age) people to work at to make decent money and have a flexible schedule.

I can't eat fast food very often now that I'm in my 30's are get enough additional calories from beer, but when I do In n Out is usually my go to.

P.S. they're the only fast food place I've ever been to that's smart enough to ask you "will you be enjoying this in the car today?" and giving you a different style carrier that's easier to navigate while driving if you say yes.

haven't had in n out since '05. spent close to a week in LA on tour with a friend's band. We had 5-6 guys at my sister in laws place. We all ate either InO or Del Taco for every meal, their toilet broke the day after we left. hah.

jammin said:

5 guys is not a gourmet restaurant and the burgers/fries aren't as big as you make them out to be. Reality check?

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The burgers aren't insanely big, but the fries are.

I'm not bothered about the price of it as I don't eat there but a couple times a year.

Living in IL I have never had In and Out so I have no opinion on that. Though I have tried a place called Meat Heads and they seem to be 5 guys with some more options and milk shakes. I prefer 5 guys burgers though...

ReverseApacheMaster said:

I have a Five Guys about five minutes from the house. It's a little greasier than I prefer but I really like all the options.

I've tried in and out a couple times. I don't get what the big deal is. It's like a really greasy small version of a big mac. It's a small hamburger rolled in grease with thousand island dressing. No thanks.

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Me thinks that In n Out is doing it wrong. I have never thought of In n OUt burgers as greasy, actually quite the contrary. I would say the freshest burger I can get from a fast food joint.

Burger joints is the new big thing around here. We have Wow Burger, Boardwalk Burgers, Dickie Jos, blast burger, five guys, stanich's, humdingers...etc

None of them as good as when I make my own at home...

I lived/grew up within a few blocks of one of the first In-N-Out locations. The burgers there are so much better than in the new locations they've opened up in the last 10 years. The ingredients are still the same, but it just seems like the new locations are more concerned about cranking out volume instead of quality so I've gotten a lot of squished burgers. I've never been a fan of their fries tho.

I love me some In N Out, though I could not see eating it often, even if there was one near me. Just too damn heavy (though f'ing delicious).

HoppyDaze said:

So overrated! I mean it's good and all but the hype around In and Out is just stupid. Barely better than Sonic and Wendys. I prefer Five Guys

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[/begin drunk post]

I wish there was a way to "dislike" a post. In-n-out is great, and inexpensive.

I love a Five Guys burger, myself, but I hate their stupid techno-drink machines (shut up- I'm only 26) and their fries are subpar.


Anyway- how did we get into such a heated debate about such a stupid topic as regional fast food. Oh wait- we got into it because of posts like mine.

[\end drunk post]

The one thing Five Guys has going for it IMO is they give you as many free peanuts as you care to eat while you're sitting there waiting for your burger. Unless, of course, you're allergic to peanuts, in which case stay the hell away from Five Guys. That being said, a burger, fries, and drink at Five Guys costs approximately twice as much (maybe even more?) as an equivalent meal at In-N-Out, and I still think In-N-Out tastes better.

emjay said:

I don't even know a single person who has ordered a "regular" burger (ie, the one with two patties) more than once.

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You do now

weirdboy said:

The one thing Five Guys has going for it IMO is they give you as many free peanuts as you care to eat while you're sitting there waiting for your burger.

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I know we're on the same team, but to anyone else: why is this a selling point?

PEANUTS ARE THE MEASURE BY WHICH WE JUDGE SOMETHING THAT HAS NO VALUE. THEY ARE CHEAP.

"HEY BOB- DO YOU LIKE YOUR NEW JOB"

"NAW MAN, THEY ARE PAYING ME PEANUTS."

[Apparently that was not the end of my drunken Thursday postings. You give a guy access to new boards and BAM. Drunk posts.]

Dan said:

This has nothing to do with the topic and I shouldn't post. I don't buy McDs food, except every morning get a sausage biscuit or mcmufin and large coke. Dollar menu, with tax $2.15. It's not good, just something to eat.

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I don't like McDs breakfast food much, I love BK sausage croissants though.

I don't care for all these new burger joints, they taste just like a burger I would make at home. When I eat out I want somethig different. Call me crazy and I am sure most will but I really like Burger King burgers.

daksin said:

...but I hate their stupid techno-drink machines

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I'd get used to those stupid things. They're popping up everywhere, not just Five Guys. And every time I've used one, every single thing coming out tastes like vanilla or cherry. I hate em too. And I'd think they're probably here to stay.

It's why I'm glad the Five Guys down the street (one of the original five) still has the old style machines.

daksin said:

I love a Five Guys burger, myself, but I hate their stupid techno-drink machines (shut up- I'm only 26) and their fries are subpar.

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I love the techno-drink machines for one reason, vanilla root beer. You get a heck of a lot more selection since you don't have to devote 15 yards of counter space to your soda machine.

I humbly disagree about the fries as well...

In N Out is the king of subpar fries. OOOOooooh we cut the potatoes at the store and fry them fresh. Good job, they taste like ****

HoppyDaze said:

In N Out is the king of subpar fries. OOOOooooh we cut the potatoes at the store and fry them fresh. Good job, they taste like ****

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In n Out fries tend to either have people who love them or hate them. I love them, but they have to be eaten right away when hot. But, I know a lot of others who hate them too.

ryno84 said:

In n Out fries tend to either have people who love them or hate them. I love them, but they have to be eaten right away when hot. But, I know a lot of others who hate them too.

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Biggest thing I hate about their fries is that it seems the majority of them are less than 1" long. Why do they get so broken up? I really like the big meaty fries from 5 Guys, but sometimes they don't cook them right and they end up being big soggy oil sponges.

I'm thinking I'm going to Slaters this weekend to get my fix!

HoppyDaze said:

In N Out is the king of subpar fries. OOOOooooh we cut the potatoes at the store and fry them fresh. Good job, they taste like ****

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SO agree. 5 Guy's fries do taste like crap.

Boise Fry Company has Idaho locked down for king of fries. Their burgers blow the doors off of 5guys too.

Smash burger also makes 5 guys look like amateurs.

The thing I dislike most about 5 Guys myself is the bun. The few times I've eaten there, the bun tasted sweet to me which threw off the flavor of the whole burger...

HoppyDaze said:

Burger joints is the new big thing around here. We have Wow Burger, Boardwalk Burgers, Dickie Jos, blast burger, five guys, stanich's, humdingers...etc

None of them as good as when I make my own at home...

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Word. I'm grilling up burgers now. But you know that.

Anyway. How's the Smash Burger? We saw one while driving around aimlessly one day.

Wasn't this thread about In n Out Burger?

Had in and out once wasn't that thrilled I like whataburger better. They are only in Texas if I remember correctly.

jammin said:

SO agree. 5 Guy's fries do taste like crap.

Boise Fry Company has Idaho locked down for king of fries. Their burgers blow the doors off of 5guys too.

Smash burger also makes 5 guys look like amateurs.

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i went there visiting my folks in Boise in October. Agree hands down.

ryno84 said:

In n Out fries tend to either have people who love them or hate them. I love them, but they have to be eaten right away when hot. But, I know a lot of others who hate them too.

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Absolutely. The trick is to eat the fries in the car on the way home. When I got In n Out the other night I started eating the fries as soon as she handed the bag to me. They were hot and delicious. By the time I got home, less than 10 minutes later and unpacked the bag at the table, they were lukewarm and unremarkable.

The other trick with In-N-Out fries is to ask for them to cook them a bit longer.


Also, animal style fries. My wife always orders her fries animal style.

Where's the playbook?

Obviously I don't eat fast food much, but what the fark is a techno drink machine?

I can agree about five guys fries. I don't know why they tend to get cold so quickly. The first time I ate there the fries came home nice and hot the second time not so much. The fries come in a huge container. Even splitting them with another person we usually don't finish a regular order. They are very tasty cut up and added to eggs in the morning.

Jukas said:

Obviously I don't eat fast food much, but what the fark is a techno drink machine?

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http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coca-Cola_Freestyle