Jenny and Coco were visiting from out of town and as SoCal girls, one of their top requests was a pilgrimage to the West Coast's burger Mecca: In-n-Out. The basic menu is fairly limited- ie burger, cheeseburger, double double (2 hamburger patties and 2 slices of cheese) and fries. Burgers come sandwiched in a bun with "spread" (Idaho fry sauce- kind of like thousand island dressing), lettuce, 1 or 2 slices of tomato, and optional onions (raw-default, grilled, extra/lite). Fries are fresh cut in-house, but to my taste a bit anemic. Drinks are standard fountain, plus choc, vanil & strawb shakes. Please notice my abbreviation indicates these flavors as artificial syrup approximations, altho deemed acceptable in the context of "fast food".
As the host, my responsibility was to do some sleuthing, pick a location conducive to the rest of the day's activities and optimize our selection to make the most of eating at a(n albeit famous and popular) fast food joint. Central to my research was In-n-Out's- secret menu. Many bold and hearty eaters have tried to fully investigate the bounds and limits of the not so closely guarded yet mysterious information. I mean how classified can it be if they have a page devoted to some of the options on their website? I didn't try all the combinations myself, rather relying on others for the goods. Well, as any epicurean is aware, not all data are created equal and the official website is somewhat lacking in completeness. The "known" options are served with with all the fixin's- standard bun, veg & sauce, with changes listed below
Double Meat- two meat patties (no cheese)
Grilled Cheese- just cheese (no meat) ask your veggie friends if they like this version?
Protein Style- no bun, wrapped in lettuce (Atkin's Homage)
Animal Style- extra pickles, extra fry sauce and grilled onions (burger is cooked in mustard) but can order fries this way also
3x3 AND 4x4 refers to # meat patties by # cheese slices
And thus ends the official word.
BUT what you should know- it is possible to order any amount and combination of meat and cheese, for example 2x4 is 2 meat by 4 cheese slices and also kind of punny. However you may have better luck if you order your 100x100 late at nite when no one else is waiting for food. And yes people have ordered these before just google it.
3x meat- 3 meat patties (no cheese) here again the secret is #by meat
The Flying Dutchman- 2 beef patties, 2 slices of cheese-no bun, no fixin's (another loCarb option, kind of like that Jack in the Box ad- But you'll get it all over your hands!)
Extra Toast- toasted bun (apparently they already toast the bun, but I can't tell so I always ask)
Fries Lite (undercooked) as previously stated, I find their fries anemic so I don't know why someone would order raw fries but hey it's a free country and people get to eat how they like. I did read an article on how raw potato was an appetite suppressant but I think you have to ingest several tons (and who wouldn't feel full after that?!).
Fries Well done- I always get them done extra so that at least they've got a bit of snap and crunch to them and aren't soggy. This also helps if you get them animal style, coz the sauce may cause wilting.
Chiles- chopped jalapenos for heat
extra fixin's- you can always ask for more at no extra charge
no salt- at your peril but you can add your own to taste later if needed
Shakes can be swirled 2 at a time or Neapolitan style.
We ordered a range of items, mixing/combining options to try and get a representative set. However we were limited more by our stomachs. I got Animal style double double burger, fries extra crispy & Neapolitan shake. Gwynie got protein style burger, animal style fries and soda (she said next time she'd get the burger Animal & Protein style with plain fries extra crispy). I forget exactly what Jenny and Coco got but all pronounced themselves stuffed and happy.
Then we went to Sports Basement to buy workout gear, which we needed after eating so much!
