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| Build it and they will come... |
Many, many posts ago...I presented you with the opening of the first INO Burger restaurant in Texas. And come they did!! In fact you can relive that right HERE.
Sufficent time has past since those crazy days and Saturday I decided to finally try out this establishment. I confess that I had an ulterior motive due to the fact my wife and I bought one of these Friday night...
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| For $50k are you kidding me!!! I am kidding you though... This is what we really bought. |
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| 2012 Jeep Liberty...very nice! |
Back to the post at hand. In N Out Burger. My first time. The location is about 7 miles from where I live so after breathing deeply of the new car smell (makes you WANT to drive) I headed out to get some lunch.
When I arrived around 1:30 or so the line was just back to the entrance of the store. There were two girls with mobile order taking things and they were walking back down the line taking orders in a cheerful manner. Since I had never been there before I was concerned (for a moment) I would hold up the line while navigating a Wendy's or McDonald's-like overinformative menu board. Not to worry, INO has only about 5 menu selections and that's it. So I ordered a double-double with cheese, fries, chocolate shake. A nice "less than $8" lunch.
The line moved pretty quick and in total I was probably out of there 10 minutes after I ordered...considering there were about that many cars in front of me, not bad at all. The cool thing is from the payment window to the pick up window it is like a tour of the operation in full view through glass windows. Very unique.
Okay, being the semi-genius that I am, I brought an insulated food carrier to put my hot meal in for the twenty minute trip back home. Didn't want my first experience to be dulled by cold food. Clever, eh? I know, whatever.
Once home, I breathe in deeply one more time of the new car smell, fully intoxicated...I head in to eat.
Food Review ~
The burger was still hot and I must say pretty damn good. Easy to eat without pulling all the fixins' out with the first bite. Although in the interest of full-disclosure I did NOT get onions and those are usually the culprits (and pickles). The sauce they put on their burgers is some tasty stuff and not over powering like the Special Sauce on a Big Mac...I swear THAT stuff has heroin in it so you want to just keep eating them!! There wasn't so much on this burger that it dripped everywhere whenever I took a bite. I give the burger a 4+ out of 5 Stars. One of the better experiences short of a home grilled burger.
The fries probably would have been better had I eaten them on the drive home (not gonna happen in a new car) but they were good and not overly salted or overcooked like you get at so many other places. I like the idea they make their own fries on site. Not frozen or preserved. At the payment window I saw the pallet stacked five feet high with bags of potatoes. Nice touch. I give the fries a 5 Star.
The chocolate shake was chocolately and cold. It didn't taste artificial. Good enough for me. 5 Stars! (I am easy that way)
So in the end this was left...
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| Remnants of the meal...I like the palm tree touch |
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| Apparently INO gives away all their money!!! And still makes good food..is this Scientology?? |
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| Yepper, fresh tators! Did we know about trans-fat and cholestrol problems in 1948? I dunno.. |
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| Fresh never frozen, a plus for me. Sorry about the ketchup mess, had to dip my fries ya know! |
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| $7.42 for a three-course lunch... |
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| And I know you have been wanting to see my insulated carrier (for hot or cold)...TaDa!! |
All in all, the new car drive was great, the experience at the store was better than most, the food experience was a solid 4+ out of 5, and the best part.....
When I was all done I took a nap for an hour!!
Top That for a Saturday!!
12 comments:
Damn, you're lucky. I've seen news reports of people actually crying because an INO was built in their town.
Unforunately, I'm all the way up in Mass. We're just starting to get Sonics nevermind In an Out Burgers. Those won't reach us for ages.
Chiz: I am afraid you will need to move to ever see one of these...think, it will be Ice Ages before you see one.
We've always had INO here in SoCal. It seems like they ALL are very busy. One thing about the fries though. It's kind of a known thing that the fries need to be eaten pretty quickly. If you still liked them after your drive, imagine what they were like fresh! AWESOME! Another interesting thing about INO is that they pay their employees MUCH more than all the other fast food places, because they expect them to work hard and work fast. Also, it's not a chain, it's all family owned. I LOVE IN-N-OUT.
Congrats on the new Jeep! I love them. A lot of folks tow them behind their RV's. For some reason, Jeeps make you want to go out and do things... We LOVE our Jeep.
Pat: Yeah, fries are a delicate food best eaten fresh outta the fryer, you're right. Couldn't compromise my no eating in the new car policy...so I suffered for my food!
I hated the Jeep Wrangler we had. Terrible vehicle for city and highway driving. The Liberty is a sweet ride though and I am glad we got it!
It's 9:30 at night and I've got to find something to eat 'cause you made this meal sound soooo tasty.
Thanks for dropping in on the tour today.
On my recent road trip to Florida I was surprised to see the In-and-Out signs in Dallas. I didn't bother with going there since I've got 2 locations within a few miles of my house.
I eat In-and-Out about once every 2 or 3 months. I'm not fanatic about it. Now my daughters, who live in New Jersey, are nuts about the place and when they come to visit me they'll go every day they're here. I mean it's pretty good and all, but I'm not as much of a hamburger person as I used to be.
My preference is a double cheese with grilled onions and mustard only. The fries really need to be eaten on site. Even in the short drive back to my house they lose that freshness of coming right out of the fryer. They are darn good fries.
The restaurant is a So.Cal. icon. Stephen Tremp even featured it in his first book Breakthrough.
Lee
Wrote By Rote
Have to admit this post brought a smile to my face.
The closest I have come to INO is the souvenir tee shirt I picked up at a local yard sale. I get a lot of ribbing when I wear it since everyone thinks I actually purchased it on vacation.
We do not have this franchise in my part of the country. I did see some of them when I was visiting in California but never stopped at one. I will have to add that to my "must Do" list for our next trip to Texas.
I'm sorry to hear that you had a wrangler and didn't like it. We have one and love it. We've done things and gone places that we'd never have experienced without it. Is it as comfy and quite as the BMW we traded in for it? No way, but it has plastic fenders for crying out loud, crunch 'em on a rock and just replace 'em! I like the Jeep Liberty a lot also and we almost bought one to tow. But they look so darn nice, that we knew we wouldn't be able to bring ourselves to do any truly gnarly things with it in the desert.
JL: Thanks for stopping by!
Arlee: Yeah I could only do this about once every three months or so...kinda got off the fast food wagon a while ago.
I got Stephen's book on my Kindle but haven't started yet!
Rita: There are a few in Texas now and several in the Dallas area...probably not far from Southlake. It is worth the trip at least once.
Pat: If I was going where you go in the desert then the Wrangler would be the perfect vehicle...weaving in and out of 70 miles an hour traffic on the highways in Dallas...not so much. The Liberty is awesome and would NOT be the off-roading vehicle of choice.
I wish there was an INO burger near me in NY. I am envious of your food venture. Mail me some please and make sure you use your hot/cold carrier.
Well, if I ever see one when I visit Texas, I'll convince my husband to try it. I'm in Texas a lot.
PTM: I am afraid more than just the fries would be bad when it got there...no matter what I used to ship it in!!
Clarissa: I am not sure where all in Texas they are but there are several in the DFW area. It's worth at least one trip.
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