In N Out Burger

By Stacy Perman

Quite a subtitle on this one: A Behind-the-Counter Look at the Fast-Food Chain That Breaks All the Rules.

Even though I grew up in Southern California I didn't start going to In-N-Out until high school. Up until then my burger of choice was the Carl's Jr. Western Bacon Cheeseburger. And you know, when I have a burger with bacon, or BBQ sauce, or onion rings, I am always comparing it to Carl's Jr's Western Bacon Cheeseburger. A really good burger. That said In-N-Out has the best burgers of any restaurant.

The book is more a biography about the Snyder family (Harry was the founder on the store) rather than an in depth look into the business practices of the chain. This is probably due to the fact that the company is family owned, including all of the stores, and is very private when it comes to the media.

If you are a fan of the food then you might find the book interesting. I did. The wording in the book gave the impression of someone talking breathlessly. Maybe because they are just so excited to tell me about In-N-Out. I found this a tad distracting. I read some other reviews that complained how the book talked about some of the other fast food chains. How they started, made changes to their menus, etc. Periodically the author would point out that in such and such year McDonald's had XXXX's of stores while In-N-Out was just breaking double digits. I found these insights to be enlightening and help to place the story in the context of the rest of the world.

Just like the book says I can remember the first time I had an In-N-Out burger. It was at the Carson Street store, just off the 110 freeway. It was after a baseball game and we were all in the back of the coach's suburban. I was in the very back and it was dark enough that I really couldn't see what I was eating. I was handed a double double and proceeded to go into hamburger bliss. I only realized that I was done when I bit into the outer wrapper (that is wax lined?) I had eaten the burger and part of the inner paper wrapper that had soaked up the sauce and drippings from the burger. Also like the book mentions when I fly into CA the first thing I do after leaving the airport is stop at an In-N-Out Burger.

If you haven't been to In-N-Out, eat there first. The book can wait.