The Watchtower of Destruction: The Ferrett's Journal - East Coast, Y'All, East Coast
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03:03 pm
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East Coast, Y'All, East Coast
I always enjoy trying foods that have become cults. And lo, when I tried to squeeze my rented car into the parking lot of In'N'Out Burger - supposedly the best burger anywhere in the world - I saw flocking masses teeming around the joint. The drive-thru line was so long that they had people with radios at the back of the lot, taking orders to relay them to the front. The restaurant itself, a little McDonald's-sized joint with a spartan menu that involved three combos (each involving hamburgers), was so packed we had to dive to get a shared seat.
"In'N'Out is the best," she said, upon learning we were first-timers. "It wins 'Best Burger' polls in states that don't have it!" She informed me of the secret menu items you could get, the way she'd come out here when the cravings struck, her friends' reactions to In'N'Out. And I knew she was not alone; the slew of debates that had broken out on Yelp! and other foodie bulletin boards about THE BEST BURGER were legion, and at some point the In'N'Out faction always came thundering in.
So my mouth watered when I picked up my burger. And...
It was all right. The burger meat was a distinct cut above McDonald's or any other fast food joint, making it nice. The lettuce and onions were fresh. The bun was a solid bread-style, and the cheese was nicely melted onto the Thousand Island dressing.
But honestly? It wasn't a patch on In'N'Out's East Coast competitor, Five Guys Burgers, which has a far greater selection of toppings (crunchy, good bacon, freshly-fried mushrooms) and a better cut of meat. In 'N' Out was fast food - Five Guys was a sit-down burger. And their fries are way better.
Yet if we're really getting into it, local Cleveland chain Swenson's is far above either of them, cheaper and tastier, and filled with the hidden satisfaction that you have unlocked the finest burgers in Cleveland - and, perhaps, the world.
Alas. I wanted to find the best burgers in the world, a West Coast thing that would make me do little hops with joy whenever I flew out to the West Coast (as I do for actual Greek fuckin' diners on the East Coast). Instead, I found a burger that was merely all right. Alas.
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Swenson's is better than Five Guys? Ok, take me when we visit (sometime) this year.
Lys - always on the prowl for the tasty burger.
Well, you're gonna have three days and less than a week to do it, so you'd better plan that visit quick!
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/26266179/609252) | | From: | ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) nex0s |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:11 pm (UTC) |
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In & Out is alright.
Personally my favorite NYC burger is Shake Shack, my second favorite is actually GoodBurger followed by Stand (which is on the gourmet side). I also LOVE White Manna in NJ! I discovered them before the Food Network did. OMG soooooo good.
Five Guys is alright. Never had Swensen's so I can't say.
But yeah, ShakeShack kicks the ass of In&Out....
I also like Louis'Lunch in New Haven - but that's a primative burger - like the wolf is to the domesticated dog. Noble - but not for the faint of heart! Have it with a foxon's local soda and DO NOT ORDER RARE - it WILL be cold inside.
N.
Heh. I was going to comment on this post in the first place because I am very curious as to what Ferrett would make of a Shake Shack burger.
Fat Burger is good, but I've never actually had a burger of theirs. Instead, I have this monstrous stack with eggs and bacon and chili everything they have to offer that may have a burger somewhere in there.
Perhaps some day I'll try it without the overkill and discover the burger within.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/90073675/82283) | | From: | kishi |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:11 pm (UTC) |
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Yeah, as someone who's lived in the Western US for his whole life, I've never understood the In'n'Out obsession. I remember when my dad and I stopped there the first time, and it the burgers are okay, but the fries are terrible, in my opinion. And the burgers weren't good enough to live up to the overwhelming hype everyone gives them- but, really, nothing would. Plus, it always seems to take ten or fifteen minutes to get your food, even when it's not all that busy. Pretty much everywhere has someplace better, if you just take a little time to look for it. We just got a Culvers in town, though, and they're pretty damn delicious.
Okay now Culver's is awesome! I only was able to get some on a road trip and we purposely stopped there . . . but they are a really, really good chain burger!
Yeah, it's a good-ass fast-food burger. It's used in Fast Food Nation, Super-Size Me and Don't Eat This Book as what can and should be done when feeding people on a mass scale.
But I think Run, Burger, Run, has better fast food burgers (though it has been 10 years!) and I have made burgers and had them in sit-down restaurants.
Cult is an interesting thing; it gets to a point where they don't have to be good, they just have to have people believe they are. It's like wearing a made-in-China t-shirt with a designer's name on it; the cachet is all in what the reader brings.
And I really don't like In-and-Out's french fries. Yeah, I said it.
I was not impressed with anything from In 'N Out. I'll take Carl's Jr. over it any day!
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/34450774/615482) | | From: | tsgeisel |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:13 pm (UTC) |
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I won't argue that there's better than In'n'Out. But I love the fact that I can have raw or grilled onions on my hamburger. And the food really is far closer to fresh than any of the other chains.
Alas, their french fries taste like those shoestring potatoes you get in a can at the grocery store.
I only eat at In'n'Out on long trips, when I can stop in, bring a book and wait for my food, or all I'm getting is a chocolate shake.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/2614151/22625) | | From: | prodigal |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 09:26 pm (UTC) |
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Whataburger kicks In-And-Out's ass.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/5031764/511948) | | From: | kyburg |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:16 pm (UTC) |
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Sacriledge. *laughs* Best part of In-n-Out is the fries - don't let anyone say differently. But yeah, hype is hype and it's just a really good burger...the best part is the consistency. It's ALWAYS a really great burger, you don't have to think about it. Did anyone take you for a Tommy burger? No? They say they're friends! THEY LIE. Best at 3:00 AM, downtown LA, around the corner from the bagel bakery. Kid you not.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/23866044/511948) | | From: | kyburg |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:21 pm (UTC) |
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I'm also enjoying reading about the sucktastic In-N-Out fries...from folks north of Fresno.
Come South, and join the dark side. We have decent french fries. At least...I think we do.
They have the awesome bread, wine and so on. We gotta have something as a consolation prize, I guess.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/61912977/810751) | | From: | jfargo |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:17 pm (UTC) |
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If you're ever in the Buffalo area there's a fantastic little Greek restaurant called Athena's. There are lots of "Greek" restaurants in that area, but this place takes the cake.
Lifelong East Coaster here...had Five Guys for the first time this year (sorry, was vegan for 12 years so I'm making up time). It was quite possible the best burger I've ever had (THE TOPPINGS!!!!) and the fries with malt? Holy shit. Only problem? Gotta scarf before the grease melts the bag. Only complaint? No shakes on the menu.
Request a double-bag for the fries. It helps a LOT.
Burgers are such a cult these days. As far as chains go, I'll take Steak 'n Shake, though I realize that some branches really don't put forth the quality that it deserves.
As far as local stuff goes, it's really hard to beat Shopsin's burger, or the Luger Burger.
I've heard Steak n' Shake is really good.
The best CHAIN burger I've ever eaten was from Culver's!
Back in 2005, I was in Orange County, CA. Being that I had never had anything from In 'N Out, my cousin took me to get food there (and I got food for my roommates, too, as I was at an event in a hotel with two roommates).
I like my burgers plain - burger and cheese, and sometimes the bacon if I want bacon.
It was nothing extraordinary at all.
I much preferred the burger I had from Carl's Jr. earlier when my other cousin had picked me up from the airport and we got something to eat and chatted before he brought me to the hotel.
I don't know about THE BEST burger in the world, but I LOVE the burgers from Cotten's Famous Hamburgers in my town of Lake Charles, LA!
You can get them however you want, and the really impressive food that they have are the onion "rings."
I'd tell people, if they want onion on their burger, don't get the Old Fashioned (which does have onion), but put the onion rings on the burger that they get. I even eat the onion rings and eat them on the burger and I don't like onions!
My mom often gets a fried egg on her burgers.
So, yeah, if you're ever down this way when they are open (11am-3pm and Mon-Sat!), then you've gotta try those burgers!
Unfortunately, we don't have too many Carl's Jr/Hardee's in Southeast LA. We *do* have Mel's Diner here in Lafayette, though, and the Ground Pat'i, they kick Carl's Jr's ass anyday. They're about even with Cotten's though.
Have you tried Carls Jr? I've been out here a year, and In-N-Out is ok for a cheap burger, but as far as reliable-yum goes in 'fast food', far prefer Carls Jr.
I have not. I've seen them in Cleveland on the other side of town, so I may now have to investigate.
The wonderful thing about five guys is the way they use the big boxes of peanuts thumb their corporate nose at the allergen warriors. It's a small gesture to be sure, far short of whacking, bleeding, and grinding their beef in plain view for the the benefit of the PETA crowd. Still, there's a certain "our house, our rules" quality that I enjoy.
Read my review. I actually laud them for this.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/33961341/3640767) | | From: | merle_ |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:28 pm (UTC) |
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She told you about the secret menu? That doesn't make it much of a secret.
Yeah, their burgers are okay, but nothing to write home about, unless you lead a really dull life and need something to say. I find the best burgers are found at small local short order cook places, but that's just my opinion.
It's still a secret. Secrets don't have to be well-kept to be secrets.
In and Out varies a lot based on where you are, too. In California the best In'n'out burgers are in SoCal. They get increasingly worse as you drive up the coast. I don't bother eating them up here in the Bay Area.
If you want a top-notch burger and you're ever in the Bay Area, eat at Barney's. It's a small chain of burger restaurants that has won "best of the bay" so many times they're not allowed to compete any more.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/3152718/19930) | | From: | xiphias |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:32 pm (UTC) |
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The best burgers in the world are at a stand called Jumpin' Jack's Drive-In, in Schenectady, NY.
Okay.
They're the best of one style of burger. If it's not the style you like best, it won't be The Best Burger. But I like it.
If you say so. I've had them, they were pretty sad.
Wow, you've made me very excited to go out and try the burgers at the Five Guys that just opened up in my home town of Oak Park, Illinois! Thanks for the recommend! :)
It's definitely worth trying. I'm not the biggest fan of burgers, but theirs are solid.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/44052276/815686) | | | That's a good burger, Walter. | (Link) |
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You're only looking at chain places. The best burgers are the Jucy Lucys (sic) at Matt's Bar in Minneapolis. They put the cheese inside the burger, so when you bite into it, it's like a molten cheese volcano. It's absolutely sublime with fried onions, a basket of french fries, and a draft pint of Newcastle. And the best part is, it's in my neighborhood, so I don't have to go to LA for a damn cheeseburger. :)
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/6212659/1119638) | | From: | joakleaf |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 09:14 pm (UTC) |
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| | Re: That's a good burger, Walter. | (Link) |
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Additionally, the Cajun Lucy on that same menu is wonderful, if you like spicy.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/84257125/957780) | | From: | bfirrera |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:43 pm (UTC) |
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Some of our friends have enjoyed Five Guys...
...while my mouth quite enjoyed it, my hands didn't (way too greasy or, as the Wendy's chain puts it: "juicy") and neither did my innards (nor Paul's innards)...luckily, the grocery store we stopped at afterwards had public bathrooms, 'cause the runs hit us extremely quickly.
As far as I'm concerned, a burger without grease is not a burger. I'm sorry for your gastrointestinal difficulties, though.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/8008457/866906) | | From: | mcsnee |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:48 pm (UTC) |
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Having had both Five Guys and In-n-Out, and knowing that taste is a very personal and subjective thing, I think you're completely turned around on this.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/85727770/5452894) | | From: | gryphart |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 08:52 pm (UTC) |
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In-n-Out is indeed boring. Moved to the West Coast a while back, ate it twice, have no desire to eat it again. Too much truly good food out here to bother, in my opinion.
I'll have to give Five Guys a whirl if I'm ever near one.
Hmm. I shall have to try that the next time I'm in town.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/12007593/2216402) | | From: | james_b |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 09:10 pm (UTC) |
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If you're in Oklahoma City, try Bunny's Onion Burger (at NW 50th & Meridian). It's an old fashioned place with limited space (from memory around 4 tables plus stools at the counter), but boy are those burgers memorable. I make it a point to go there for lunch at least once every time I'm in OKC.
I can't comment on In'N'Out, but I'm interested to know what you think constitutes an "actual" Greek diner.
That would be a whole separate post.
![[User Picture]](http://l-userpic.livejournal.com/37353164/425756) | | From: | varna |
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| Date: | December 23rd, 2008 09:35 pm (UTC) |
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I actually like In 'N' Out because they'll wrap my burger in lettuce for me. Sure, some places will serve it without the bun, or even on a little dish with lettuce, but there, it's actually on the (secret) menu. Since I'm on Atkins, I always feel a little sad throwing the buns away. This way, fast food, no throwing away the bun, and no getting grease and cheese and mustard all over my fingers.
That was the first secret menu we got told. And I was entertained. THe lettuce was good, though. |
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